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The Students Hume 



A HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE REVOLUTION 
IN 1688 



BASED ON THE HISTORY OP 

DAVID HUME 

Incorporating the Corrections and Researches of Recent Historians 

CONTINUED TO THE TREATY OF BERLIN 
IN 1878 



NEW EDITION, REVISED AND CORRECTED 

By J. S. BREWER, M.A. 

LATE PROFESSOR OF MODERN HISTORY AND ENGLISH LITERATURE, KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON 

WITH AN APPENDIX BY AN AMERICAN EDITOR 
ILLUSTRATED BY MAPS AND ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD 

of coir,: 



N^f v.'.v 



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Copyright, 18S0, by Harper & Brothers. 



PEEFACB 



The Student's Hume was originally published in 1858. 
Its object was to supply a long-acknowledged want in our 
School and College Literature — a Student's History op 
England in a volume of moderate size, free from sectarian 
and party prejudice, containing the results of the researches 
of the best modern historians, tracing more particularly 
the development of the Constitution, and bringing out 
prominently the characters and actions of the great men 
of our country. That this object has been attained is 
attested by the approval the Work has received from those 
most competent to express an opinion upon the subject, 
by its continued use in many of our best Public Schools 
and Colleges, and by the very great and constant demand 
for new editions of the book. But the progress of events, 
and the publication of many important historical docu- 
ments, public and private, previously unknown, induced 
the Editor to subject the Work to a thorough revision ; and, 
in order to render the book as perfect as possible, he called 
to his aid the late Professor Brewer, who, possessing an 
unrivalled knowledge of all periods of English History, 
was, perhaps, the highest authority upon the subject in 
the present day. He bestowed unwearied pains upon the 
revision of the Work, and left it ready for publication a 



Vi PREFACE. 

few weeks before his lamented death. A short time 
previously, he gave, in a private letter written to the 
Editor, the following account of his labours and the 
principles which guided him in the revision. The italics 
are Mr. Brewer's. 

" I have brought," he says, " the Work down to the 
Treaty of Berlin, of course with the brevity compatible 
with your wish that the Work should not exceed its 
original dimensions. On the whole, I think it is the 
most handy and complete Manual of English History 
which exists for Schools, — and experience will prove it to 
be so. To keep -the Work to its title and its size, to intro- 
duce the corrections necessitated by the progress of original 
research, to remove positive misstatements, has required 
no small amount of care and judgment. But I have been 
guided, to the best of my ability, by historical truth, by 
the investigations of recent trustworthy historians, by the 
wants of the student, and by my own researches, now of 
some years' standing. In the most anxious of all periods 
— that of the seventeenth century — I have been guided by 
Banke and Bawson Gardiner, whose authority is not only 
the highest for that period, but to my mind — and I know 
what I am saying — is now the only authority worth re- 
garding. The research, the industry, the accuracy, the 
candour of Bawson Gardiner are unquestionable, though 
he is in politics and religion inclined to the Barliament 
strongly, and has no liking for the Stuarts ; but his more 
equitable way of considering the great controversies of 
the times must eventually prevail against the less careful 
statements and the prejudices of Brodie, Macaulay, Forster, 
and others I need not name. 

" The popularity of the Work must depend on its merits 



PREFACE. Vll 

for accuracy and ability, and its sufficiency as a good 
Manual. Competitive examinations have entirely put it 
out of any schoolmaster's power to exclude a thoroughly 
good History from his schoolroom, because he may have 
a sentimental dislike to some of its statements. I am 
fully convinced that the road to success is by careful 
investigations and temperate narrative, showing the 
reader that there is another side to the question than that 
which some recent writers have presented. 

" Wherever there was fair evidence for Hume's state- 
ments, I have retained them, and still more frequently 
Hume's estimate of motives and characters, when he had 
the jacts before him, because, though not entirely free from 
prejudice, he had excellent good sense and sound judg- 
ment." 

The present History, unlike some others of the same 
class, gives as full an account of Celtic and Eoman 
Britain as the limits of the work would allow. Mr. 
Brewer strongly disapproved of the modern fashion of 
ignoring the Boman occupation of Great Britain, and 
starting at once from the Anglo-Saxon invasion. He 
pointed out, in an article which he wrote in the Quarterly 
Beview* that the Celtic and Boman occupation of the 
island was closely connected with its subsequent history ; 
that the Saxon Conquest, though a change of the highest 
moment, did not break up society ; and that the Saxon 
State was built upon the ruins of the past. 

As much prominence as possible is given in the 
present Work to the rise and progress of the Constitution ; 
but in order to economize space, and at the same time not 
interrupt the narrative, much important information upon 

* See Quarterly Beview, vol. 141, p. 295, seqq. 



Vlii PREFACE. 

this subject is inserted in a smaller type in the " Notes 
and Illustrations," where the student will find an account 
of the " government, laws, and institutions of the Anglo- 
Saxons," of the "Anglo-Norman Constitution," of the 
" origin and progress of Parliament," and of other matters 
of a similar kind. Several constitutional documents, such 
as the Petition of Right and the Bill of Eights, are printed 
at length. These Notes and Illustrations, which contain 
discussions on various other historical and antiquarian 
subjects, have been drawn up mainly with the view of 
assisting the student in further enquiries ; and with the 
same object a copious list of authorities is appended. 



NOTE BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR. 

In the portions of this volume relating to America are a 
few errors and some important omissions. The errors have 
been corrected and the omissions supplied in some Supple- 
mentary Notes, which may be found immediately preceding 
the Index. At the head of each note, the page in the text to 
which it refers is given ; while in the text the number of the 
Note in the Supplement making corrections or additions is 
referred to. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



BOOK I. 

The Britons, Romans, and Anglo-Saxons, b.c. 55-a.d. 1066. 



CHAPTER I. 
The Bkitons and the Romans, b.c. 55-a.d. 450. 



B.C. 



PAGE 
2 



Earliest notices of Britain 
55-4. Caesar's two invasions . . . . 7 

A.D. 

43. Invasion by Claudius. AuVus 

Plautius 8 

BO. Caractacus carried captive to ■ 

Borne 9 

58-61. Suetonius Paulinus. Mona. 

Boadicea 9, 10 

78-85. Britain subdued by Agricola 10 
120. Visit of Hadrian. The Roman 

vVall 11 

139. Wall of Antoninus 11 

208-211. Conquests and death of 

Severus 11 



A.D. PAGE 

286-296. Usurpation of Carausius 

and Allectus 12 

306. Constantius Chlorus dies at 

York 12 

367. Picts and Scots repulsed by 

Theodosius 

388. Usurpation of Maximus 
410. Departure of the Roman legions 
443. Last vain supplication to Aetius 
450. The Saxons are called in . . 
Britain under the Romans 
Christianity in Britain 
432. Conversion of Ireland by St. 

Patrick 16 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. Cffisar's Voyages to Britain 16 

B. The Roman Walls 16 

C. The "Comes Littoris Saxonici" 17 

D. The Scots and Picts 17 



E. Government and Divisions of Britain 

under the Romans 18 

F. Authorities for the Period 19 



CHAPTER II. 
The Anglo-Saxons till the Reign op Egbert, a.d. 450-827. 



The Saxons, Angles, and Jutes 21 
450. I. First settlement, of Jutes 

under Hengest and Horsa . . 24 
455-473. Their battles. Kingdom of 

Kent 25, 26 

477-519. II. Second settlement, of 

Saxons. Ella in Sussex . . 26 
495-577. III. Cerdic and Cynric — 

Kingdom of Wessex . . 26, 27 
526. IV Kingdom of the East 

Saxons 27 

550 ? V. Kingdom of the East Angles 27 

Norfolk and Suffolk 27 

547 ? VI. Angles in Northumbria . . 28 

Ida, king of Bernicia .. .. 28 

Ella, king of Deira 28 

617. Kingdom of Northumbria united 

under Edwin 28 

1* 



626. VII. Kingdom of Mercia under 

Penda 28 

The Heptarchy. British States 28 

The Bretwaldas 31 

492. (1) Ella of Sussex 31 

568. (2) Ceawlin of W%ssex .. . . 31 
His victory over iEthelberht at 

Wimbledon 31 

592. His great defeat at Wodesbeorg 31 
(3) ^thelberht of Kent . . 31 
597. His conversion by Augustine . . 32 
610. Bishoprics of Canterbury, Lon- 
don, and Rochester . . . . 32 

616. (4) Redwald of East Anglia . . 33 

617. Victory over JEthelfrith of 

Northumbria 33 

624. (5) Edwin of Northumbria . . 33 

627. His conversion by Paulinus . . 31 



CONTENTS. 



A.D. PAGE 

633. Edwin slain by Penda of Mercia 34 

634. (6) Oswald, son of iEthelfrith 34 
Scottish Christianity in North- 

umbria 34 

642. Oswald slain by Penda . . . . 34 

655. (7) Oswy kills Penda . . . . 34 
685. Ecgfrith killed by the Picts at 

at Nechtansmere 35 

Literature in Northumbria. 

Great monasteries 35 



A.D. PAGE 

Csedmon and Bede 35 

793. Ravages of the .Northmen .. 35 

795. Anarchy in Northumbria .. 35 

688. Wessex. Laws of Ina . . . . 35 

800. Egbert becomes king . . . . 36 
716-755. Supremacy of Mercia under 

iEthelbald 36 

755-796. Its climax under Offa . . 36 
827. Utiion of the kingdoms under 

Egbert 38 



A. The Frisians in Britain 

B. The Isle of Thanet 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 

38 I C. Celtic Words in the English Language 



CHAPTER III. 

The Anglo-Saxons from the Union of England under Egbert till the Reign 
of Canute the Dane, a.d. 827-1016 



830. 
832, 
836 
853, 
856, 
858, 
866. 
870, 
871. 

875, 
878, 



893, 
901. 



922, 
925. 
927. 
937. 
940. 
945. 



Egbert reduces Wales . . . . 40 

Appearance of the Northmen 41 

jEthelwulf and jEthelstan 42 

iEthelwulf goes to Rome . . . . 42 

Revolt of tEthelbald . . . . 42 

.Ethelbald and jEthelberht 43 

jEthelredI. Danish invasions 43 

St; Edmund of East Anglia . . 43 

Victory at Ashdown 43 

Alfred the Great 43 

First English naval victory . . 44 
Guthrum in Wessex. Alfred a 

fugitive in Athelney . . . . 44 
Treaty of Wedmore. England 

partitioned. The Danelagh . . 45 

The Danish war renewed . . 46 

Alfred's character and works . . 46 

Laws ascribed to Alfred . . . . 48 

Edward I. the Elder . . . . 48 

Union of all Southern Britain 48 

JEthelstan 49 

Annexes Northumbria . . . . 49 

His victory at Brunariburh . . 49 

Edmund I. the Elder . . . . 49 
Cumberland conquered ; and 



51 



given to Malcolm, of Scotland, 

to hold under Edmund 
946. Edred. Power of Dunstan .. 
955. Edwt. Quarrel with Dunstan 

958. Revolt of Edgar 

Divorce of Elgiva 52 

959. Edgar the Peaceable .. .. 52 
959. Dunstan made archbishop . . 52 

Laws of Edgar 52 

975. Edward II. the Martyr . . 53 

Ecclesiastical conflicts . . . . 53 

979. jEthelred II. the Unready 53 

988. Death of archbishop Dunstan 54 

993. Invasion of Sweyn and Anlaf 54 

997. The Danes again. Danegeld . . 54 
1002. iEthelred marries Emma of 

Normandy 54 

Nov. 13. Massacre of the Danes .. 55 

1013. Sweyn conquers England . . 55 

1014. Hisdeath. Return of iEthelred 55 

1015. Canute's invasion 56 

Death of iEthelred 56 

1016. Edmund Ironside and Canute 56 
Partition of England . . . . 56 
Death of Edmund 56 



CHAPTER IV. 

Danes and Anglo-Saxons from Canute to the Norman Conquest, 

a.d. 1016-1066. 

I. The Danish Kings. 



1017. Canute marries Emma of 

Normandy 58 

The four earldoms 58 

Rise of Godwin 59 

1031. Canute conquers Malcolm of 

Scotland. Macbeth .. .. 60 



1035. Harold I. Harefoot . . . . 60 

1036. Murder of Alfred, son of 

iEthelred 60 

1040. Hardicanute 61 

Danegeld reimposed 61 

His sudden death 61 



II. The Restored Line of Cerdic. 



1042. Edward III. the Confessor 61 

1051. Norman influence 62 

Godwin banished 63 

William of Normandy visits 

Edward 63 

1052-3. Return and death of Godwin 64 



1055. Power of Harold 64 

1040-54. Scotland: Duncan, Macbeth, 

and Malcolm 64 

1057. Return and death of Edward 
the Stranger. Designation 
of William as successor . . 65 



CONTENTS. 



XI 



A.D. PAGE 

1057. Harold's oath to William .. 65 

1063. Harold reduces Wales . . . . 66 

1065. Tostig, earl of Northumbria, 

deposed 66 

1066. Death of Edward 66 

His character and laws . . . . 66 



A.D. PAGE 

1066. Election of Harold II 67 

Invasion of Tostig and Harold 

Hardrada 67 

Sept. 25. Battle of Stamford Bridge 67 

Oct. 14. Battle of Hastings ,. .. 68 

Death of Harold 68 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. The Government, Laws, and Institutions 

of the Anglo-Saxons 70 

B. Anglo-Saxon Language and Literature .. 76 



C. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 77 

D. Authorities for the Period 77 



BOOK ir. 
The Norman and Early Plantagenet Kings, a.d. 1066-1199. 



CHAPTER V. 



William 1. th Conqueror, 6. 1027 ; r. 1066-1087. 



911. 

933. 

942. 

996. 
1028. 
1035. 
1047. 
1066. 
1067. 

1068. 



1069. 
1070. 



1087. 
1088. 
1089. 
1090. 
1091 



1093 
1097 



History of Normandy .. 
Rolf the Ganger becomes count 

of Neustria 

His son, William Longsword 
Richard I. the Fearless 
His son, Richard II. the Good 
His brother, Robert the Devil 
His natural son, William II. 

Secures Normandy 

William king of England . . 
William visits Normandy 
Revolt in England ; suppressed 
Insurrection of Edwin and 

Morcar 

Mulcolm swears fealty to 

William 

New rebellion 

Landing of Danes 

Marriage of Margaret the 

Saxon to Malcolm 



1070. William devastates Yorkshire 87 
Stigand deposed : Lanfranc 

made primate 87 

1071. " Camp of Refuge" in Isle of 

Ely taken 88 

Edgar iEtheling submits to 

William 88 

1075. Insurrection of Norman barons 89 

1076. Execution of earl Waltheof . . 90 
1078. Norman wars. Revolt of 

Robert 90 

1080-1. Wars with Scotland and 

Wales 91 

1085. Threatened Danish invasion. 

Danegeld 91 

1086. Domesday Book 91 

1087. War with France 92 

Death of William 92 

His character and government 92 



CHAPTER VI. 
William II., Henry I., Stephen, a.d. 1087-1154. 



William II. Rufus, 6 1060 ; 

r. 1087-1100 95 

Rebellion of bishop Odo and 

Norman barons 95 

Death of Lanfranc 95 

William's tyranny 95 

Wars in Normandy with 

Robert and Henry . . . . 95 
Submission of Malcolm and 

Edgar jEtheling 96 

Cumberland made an English 

county . . . . 96 

First Crusade 96 

Robert pledges Normandy . . 96 
Anselm made archbishop . . 97 
Quarrel between the king and 

primate 97 

Death and character of William 97 
Henry I. Beadclerk, b 1070 ; 

r. 1100-1135 98 

His charter to the church, 

barons, and people . . . . 98 



1100. Incorporation of London .. 99 
Henry marries Maud, of the 

Saxon line 99 

1101. Invasion of Robert 99 

1105. Battle of Tinchebray . . . . 100 

1106. Conquest of Normandy .. .. 100 

1134. Death of Robert 100 

Death of Edgar iEtheling . . 100 

1106. End of the dispute with An- 
selm about investitures .. 101 

1120. Prince William drowned .. 101 

1121. Henry marries Adelais .. .. 102 

1125. Death of the emperor Henry 

V., husband of Matilda, 
daughter of Henry 1 102 

1126. The English nobles swear 

fealty to Matilda 102 

1128. She marries Geoffrey, count 

of Anjou 102 

1133. Birth of her son (Henry II.) .. 102 

1135. Death and character of 

Henry 1 102 



Xll 



CONTENTS. 



A.D. 



PAGE 
103 
103 



1135. STEPHEN,&.1096;r.ll35-1154 
Acknowledged in Normandy 

1138. Scottish invasion. Battle of 

the Standard 104 

1139. Invasion of Matilda. Civil war 104 

1141. Stephen captured, and ex- 

changed for Robert, earl of 
Gloucester 105 

1142. Flight of Matilda from Oxford 105 
1145. Death of earl Robert . . . . 105 



A.D. PAGE 

1146. Departure of Matilda .. .. 105 

1149. War renewed by Henry .. 105 

1150. He succeeds his father in 

Anjou, and marries Eleanor 106 

His great possessions . . . . 106 

He invades England . . . . 106 

Treaty of Wallingford . . . . 106 

1154. Death and character of 

Stephen 106 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE EARLY PLANTAGENET KINGS. 
Henry II. and Richard I., a.d. 1154-1199. 



1154. Henry II., h. 1133; r. 1154- 
1189. His vast continental 
possessions 107, 108 

He restores order 108 

1157. Thomas Becket chancellor .. 109 

1162. Becket archbishop 110 

His quarrel with Henry . . 110 

1164. Constitutions of Clarendon 111 

Oct. 6. Council of Northampton 112 

Becket's flight 112 

1170. Coronation of prince Henry.. 113 

Return of Becket 113 

New quarrel with Henry .. 113 

Dec. 29. Murder of Becket .. .. 115 

His character 115 

1171. Henry submits to the pope . . 115 

1172. Conquest of Ireland .. .. 117 

1173. Rebellion of the king's sons 117 

1174. His penance at Becket's tomb 118 
Battle of Alnwick. William 

the Lion taken prisoner . . 118 

1175. The Scots do homage .. .. 118 



1183- 
1187. 
1189. 

1190. 
1191. 



1193 
1194 

1199 



Administration of Henry .. 118 

Itinerant justices 118 

6. Family discords. Deaths of 
young Henry and Geoffrey 
Jerusalem taken by Saladin 
The Second Crusade 
Rebellion of Richard and John 
Death and character of Henry 
Richard I., b. 1167 ; r. 1189- 

1199. Third Crusade 
Meeting of Richard and Philip 

at Vezelay 

Richard in Sicily and Cyprus 
His marriage to Berengaria . . 
Takes Acre and Ascalon 
Concludes a truce with Saladin 
Made prisoner by Leopold of 

Austria 

League of John with Philip 
Richard before the diet 
Is ransomed and returns 
His death and character 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



119 
119 
119 
119 
119 

120 

121 

121 
121 
121 
122 



122 
122 
122 
123 
123 



A. The Anglo-Norman Constitution 

B. Authorities for Norman History 



C. Authorities for Anglo-Norman History .. 129 



BOOK III. 

Development of the English Constitution. 

From the Accession of John to the Death op Richard III., a.d. 1199-1485. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET— Cot 
John and Henry III. a.d. 1199-1272. 



1199. John, 6. 1167 ; r. 1199-1216 . . 132 
Arthur, duke of Brittany . . 132 

1200. War and treaty with Philip 

Augustus of France . . . . 132 
John marries Isabella of 

Angouleme 133 

1202. War with France 133 

Death of Arthur 133 

120,4. Loss of Normandy, etc . . .. 133 



1205. Quarrel with Innocent III. .. 134 

1207. Stephen Langton primate .. 135 

1208. Papal interdict 135 

1212. Excommunication of John . . 135 

1213. John becomes a vassal of the 

pope for England . . . . 135 

Philip makes war on John . . 135 

Naval victory at Damme . . 135 

1214. John makes war in France .. 135 



CONTENTS. 



Xlll 



A.D. 
1214. 



1215. 
1216. 



1217. 
1219. 



1232. 
1236. 



1242. 
1245, 



l'AGE 

Battle of Bouvines 136 

136 

137 
140 
139 



140 



Confederacy of the barons . . 
John grants Magna Carta 
Charter to the city of London 
John obtains a dispensation 
Civil war. The barons call 
in prince Louis of France . . 
Death and character of John 
Henry III., 6. 1207; r. 

1216-1272 

William Marshal, earl of Pem- 
broke, protector 140 

Confirmation of the Charter . . 141 

The French depart 141 

Government of Des Roches 

and De Burgh 142 

War with Louis VIII 142 

Character and government of 

Henry 142 

Hubert de Burgh dismissed. 

Foreign favourites . . . . 142 
Henry marries Eleanor of 

Provence 143 

War with Louis IX 143 

etc. Usurpations and exac- 
tions of Rome 143 



A.D. 

1255. 



1257. 
1253. 



1261. 
1264. 



1270. 
1272. 



PAGE 

Project for the conquest of 
Naples 144 

Richard, earl of Cornwall, 
elected king of the Romans 

Renewal of the Great Charter 

Disputes with the barons. 
Simon de Montfort . 

The Mad I arliament . 

Provisions of Oxford . 

First public document in 
English 

Treaty with Louis IX. .. 

Final cession of Normandy 

The Barons' War 

Mediation of Louis IX. fails 

Battle and Mise of Lewes . . 

Parliament summoned by De 
Montfort : regarded as the 
origin of the House of Com- 
mons 

Battle of Evesham. Death of 
Simon de Montfort . . . . 148 

The Dictum, de Kenilworth . . 148 

Edward goes on a crusade . . 149 

Death and character of Henry 149 



144 
144 

145 

145 
145 

183 
147 
147 
147 
147 
147 



148 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



B. Confirmations of the Great Charter .. 149 

C. Trial by Jury 150 



CHAPTER IX. 
HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET— Continued. 



Edward I. and Edward II. 
1272. Edward I., 6. 1239 ; r. 1272 1297 

1307 151 

First recognition of a king's 
accession before his corona- 
tion : the " king's peace " 

proclaimed 152 

1274. His return and coronation .. 152 

1279. His administration 152 

Statute of Mortmain .. .. 153 

1283. Conquest of Wales 153 

Execution of Llewelyn . . . . 153 

1284. Statute of Wales. Birth of 

Edward, prince of Wales . . 154 

1290. The Jews banished . . . . 155 
1286. Death of Alexander III. of 

1290. Scotland, and his granddaugh- 

ter, the maid of Norway . . 155 

Competitors for the crown . . 156 
The dispute submitted to 

Edward 156 

1291. His supremacy acknowledged 156 

1292. JohnBalliol king of Scotland 156 

1294. War with France. Alliance 
of France and Scotland . . 157 

1295. First model parliament .. 158 

1296. Edward conquers Scotland .. 158 

1297. War for recovery of Guienne 158 
Confirmation of the Charters 159 

1298. Peace with France 160 

1290. Death of queen Eleanor .. 160 

1299. Edward marries Margaret of 

France 160 



1298, 
1304. 
1305, 

1306. 



1307 



1308- 
1312. 



1314. 



1321. 
1322. 



1323. 
1325. 



1326. 



1327. 



A.D. 1272-1327. 

Revolt of William Wallace 160 

His victory at Stirling . . .. 160 

Edward's victory at Falkirk 160 

Reconquest of Scotland . . 161 

Execution of Wallace . . . . 161 

Bruce flies to Scotland .. .. 161 

He kills Comyn 161 

His coronation at Scone .. 161 
His defeat at Methven . . . . 162 
Death and character of Ed- 
ward I 162 

Edward II., 6. 1284 ; r. 1307- 

1327 162 

He marries Isabella of France 163 
■1312. Quarrel with the nobles 

about Gaveston 163 

Execution of Gaveston by the 

earl of Lancaster .. .. 164 
Battle of Bannockburn . . .. 164 
Parliament at York. Condi- 
tions imposed on Edward 164 
Banishment of the Despensers 164 
Edward recovers power .. 165 
Lancaster beheaded .. .. 165 
End of the war. with Scotland 1 65 
Conspiracy of queen Isabella 

and Mortimer 165 

Civil war 166 

The Spensers hanged .. .. 166 
Deposition and murder of 

Edward 166 



XIV 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER X. 

HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET— Continued. 

Edward III. and Richard II. a.d. 1327-1399. 



A.D. 

1327. 



1328. 
1330. 
1331. 
1332. 



1341. 
1337. 



1342. 
1346. 



1347. 
1349. 



1356. 
1360. 
1367. 
1369. 
1374. 
1376. 



PAGE 

Edward III., 6. 1312; r. 
1327-1377 .. .... .. 167 

Earl of Lancaster protector . . 167 
Independence of Scotland . . 
Fall of Mortimer and Isabella 
David Bruce, king of Scotland 
Edward Balliol set up by- 
England 

Berwick ceded to Edward III. 
Expulsion of Edward Balliol 
Battle of Halidon Hill . . 

Balliol restored 

David II. recalled from exile 
Edward claims the crown of 

France 170 

Great naval victory off Sluys 171 
Domestic disturbances .. .. 171 
The Charter confirmed . . 171 
Affairs of Brittany. Edward 

supports Montfort .. .. 172 
Invasion of France .. .. 173 

Battle of Crecy 173 

David II. taken prisoner at 

Neville's Cross 175 

Calais taken by Edward .. 175 
New war in its defence . . 176 
Order of the Garter .. .. 176 

The Black Death 176 

Statute of Labourers .. .. 176 

Battle of Poitiers 177 

Peace of Bretigny with France 179 
The Black Prince in Spain . . 180 
New war with France . . . . 181 
Loss of the English conquests 181 
The Good Parliament .. .. 181 
Death of the Black Prince .. 181 



168 
169 
169 

169 
170 
170 
170 
170 
170 



A.D. 

1377. 



1351. 
1353. 



1380. 
1381. 

1385. 

1386. 

1389. 

1388. 
1394. 
1396. 

1397. 

1398. 

1399. 



182 
182 
182 
183 
183 

183 
183 

183 
184 

185 
186 



Death and character of Ed- 
ward III 

Influence of parliament 

Statute of Treasons 

Statute of Provisors 

Appeals to Rome forbidden . . 

Edward III. the father of 
English commerce 

French disused in pleadings 

Richard II., 6. 1366 ; r. 
1377-1399 

Poll tax. Rebellion 

The insurgents in London. 
Death of Wat Tyler . . 

Richard in Scotland 

Domestic troubles 186 

Council of regency under 
Gloucester 186 

The king resumes the govern- 
ment 187 

Skirmish of Chevy Chase . . 187 

Richard in Ireland 187 

Truce with France. Richard 
marries Isabella 187 

Counter revolution 187 

Murder of Gloucester . . . . 188 

Henry, duke of Hereford, 
banished 

Death of John of Gaunt 

Invasion of Henry, now duke 
of Lancaster 

Richard deposed 

His death and character 

John Wickliffe and Geoffrey 
Chaucer 



188 
188 



190 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
A. Death of Richard II 191 I B. Statute of Prwmunire (16 Kic. II. c. 5) 191 



CHAPTER XI. 
THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER. 
Henry IV., Henry V., Henry VI. a.d. 1399-1461. 



1399. Henry IV., 6. 1366; r. 1399- 

1413 

1400. Plot betrayed by Rutland . . 
Persecution of the Lollards . . 

1401. Statute against heresy .. 
First burning of a heretic in 

England 

Insurrection of Owen Glen- 
dower in Wales 193 

1402. Battle of Homildon Hill. 

Douglas taken 193 

1403. Rebellion of the Percies. 

Battle of Shrewsbury 
1405-8. Deaths of archbishop 
Scrope, Nottingham, and 
Northumberland 

1405. Captivity of prince James of 

1406. Scotland (James I.) .. 



192 
193 
193 
193 

193 



194 



194 



195 



1413. Death and character of Henry 195 
Henry V., b. 1388 ; r. 1413- 

1422 196 

His youthful excesses and 

reformation 196 

1413-18. Persecution of the Lol- 
lards. Oldcastle burnt . . 197 
1415. Invasion of France .. .. 198 
Battle of Agincourt . . . . 198 
1417. Second invasion of France .. 199 

1419. Conquest of Normandy . . 199 
Capture of Rouen 199 

1420. Treaty of Troyes. Henry 

marries Katharine . . . . 200 

1421. The duke of Clarence killed 

at Beauge 200 

1422. Henry dies at Vincennes .. 201 
His character 201 



CONTENTS. 



XV 



A.D. PAGE 

1422. Henry VI., 6. 1421 ; r. 1422- 

1461; ob. 1471 201 

Gloucester protector ; bishop 

Beaufort guardian . . . . 201 
Charles VII. claims the 

French crown 202 

1424. Treaty with Scotland and re- 
lease of James 1 202 

1427. Victory of Bedford at 

Verneuil 202 

1429. Joan of Arc raises the siege of 

Orleans 202 

Charles VII. crowned at 

Rheims 203 

1430-1. Joan of Arc captured and 

burnt 204 

1431. Henry VI. crowned at Paris 205 
1435. Death of the duke of 
1436 Bedford. The English ex- 
pelled from Paris 205 

1444. Truce between England and 

France 205 

Wars of 
1455. First battle of St. Albans :— 209 
Henry taken prisoner and 
Somerset killed 209 

1459. The Lancastrians defeated at 

Bloreheath 210 

The Duke of York's army 
dispersed at Ludlow .. .. 210 

1460. Battle of Northampton. Henry 

captured 210 

The peers declare York heir 
to the throne 210 



A.D. PAGE 

1444. Rivalry of Gloucester and the 

Beauforts 205 

1445. Henry marries Margaret of 

Anjou 206 

Power of De la Pole, earl of 

Suffolk 206 

1447. Arrest and death of Gloucester 206 

1451. The English expelled from 

France 207 

Richard, duke of York and 

heir of Clarence 207 

The earls of Westmoreland, 

Salisbury, and Warwick . . 207 
1450. Impeachment and murder of 

Suffolk 208 

Insurrection of Jack Cade . . 208 
Edmund Beaufort, duke of 

Somerset, minister . . . . 209 

1452. York takes up arms . . . . 209 

1453. Birth of Edward, prince of 

Wales 209 

1454. The duke of York protector 209 

the Roses. 

1460. Battle of Wakefield.:— 

York and Rutland killed . . 

1461. Victory of Edward at Mor- 
Feb. 2. timer's Cross : Jasper Tudor 

taken and beheaded 
Feb. 17. Margaret defeats Warwick 

at St. Albans 

Feb. 28. Edward enters London .. 

Mar. 3. Proclaimed king 211 

List of the Battles in the 

AVabs of the Roses .. 212 



211 



211 



211 
211 



CHAPTER XII. 
THE HOUSE OF YORK. 



Edward IV, Edward 
1461. Edward IV., 6. 1442; r. 

1461-1483 

His victory at Towton .. 
Escape of Margaret and the 

prince of Wales 

1464. Battles of Eedgeley Moor and 

Hexham 214, 

1466. Henry in the Tower 

1463. Edward marries Elizabeth 

Woodville 

1469-70. Alliance of Warwick and 
Clarence with Margaret . . 

1470. Invasion of Warwick 

Flight of Edward 

Temporary restoration of 

Henry VI 

1471. Edward IV. lands at Raven- 

spur 

Battle of Barnet. Death of 

Warwick 

Defeat of Margaret at Tewkes- 
bury. Murder of Edward, 

prince of Wales 

Death of Henry VI 

1475. Edward invades France 
Peace of Pecquigny 



V., Richard III. a .d. 1461-1485. 

1478. Death of Clarence in the Tower 218 

1482. Death of Margaret of Anjou 218 

1483. Death of Edward IV 219 

Edward V., b. 1470 ; r. April 

9— June 26, 1483 . . . . 219 
Violent proceedings of the 

duke of Gloucester 219 

He is appointed protector .. 219 

Execution of Rivers, etc. . . 220 

Execution of Hastings .. .. 221 

Penance of Jane Shore . . . . 221 

Gloucester accepts the crown 221 
Murder of the king and duke 

of York 221 

Richard III., o. 1450. r. 1483- 

1485 222 

Conspiracy on behalf of Henry, 

earl of Richmond . . . . 222 

Execution of Buckingham . . 223 

1485. Invasion of Henry 224 

Battle of Bosworth .. .. 224 
Death and character of Richard 

III 224 

State of the nation under the 

Plantagenets 225 

Invention of printing 219 n., 226 



213 
214 

214 

215 
215 

215 

215 
216 
2)6 

216 

216 

217 



217 
217 
218 
218 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
A. Origin and Progress of Parliament .. .. 226 | B. Authorities for Book III. 



XVI 



CONTENTS. 



BOOK IV. 
The House of Tudor, a.d. 1485-1603 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Henry VII., b. a.d. 1456; r. 1485-1509. 



A.D. PAGE 

Epoch marked by the Tudor 

accession 229 

1485. Nature of Henry's title . . 230 
His coronation 231 

1486. He marries Elizabeth of 

York 231 

Abortive insurrection of Lovel 231 

1487. Insurrection of Simnel . . 232 
1488-91. Foreign affairs. France 

and Brittany 233 

1491. Henry levies a Benevolence .. 233 

1492. Henry invades France . . . . 234 

Treaty of Estaples 234 

Perkin Warbeck personates 

Richard of York .. .. 234 
Proofs of the death of Edward 

V. and Richard 235 

1493. Execution of sir William 

Stanley 235 

1495. Perkin in Ireland 235 

Poynings's Law .. . . 235 n. 

1496. Perkin aided by James IV. 

of Scotland 236 



A.D. PAGE 

1497. Cornish insurgents defeated at 

Blackheath 236 

Perkin lands in Cornwall; is 

taken and imprisoned . . 236 
1499. Execution of Perkin and the 

earl of Warwick 237 

1501-2. Marriage and death of 

Arthur, prince of Wales . . 237 

1502. Katharine of Arragon be- 

trothed to prince Henry . . 237 
Margaret Tudor married to 

James IV 234 

1503. Death of queen Elizabeth .. 237 

1504. The king's exactions .. .. 237 
Empson and Dudley . . . . 237 

1506. Henry's matrimonial negocia- 

tions 238 

1509. His death and character . . 238 

The Great Intercourse . . . . 239 

The Star Chamber 239 

1492. Discovery of America by Co- 
lumbus 239 

1498. Voyage of Sebastian Cabot . . 239 



CHAPTER XIV. 



Henry VIII., b. 1491 ; r. 1509-1547. 
From his Accession to the Death of Wolsey, a.d. 1509-1530. 



1509. Henry's character and min- 

isters : Surrey and Fox . . 240 

1510. Execution of Empson and 

Dudley .. 241 

1509. Henry's marriage to Katharine 241 
1509-11. He joins the Holy League 

against Louis XII 241 

1511-12. Fruitless invasion of 

France 242 

1513. Wolsey minister 242 

Naval action at Conquet . . 243 
Battle of the Spurs . . . . 243 
Battle of Flodden Field . . . . 243 
James IV. killed 243 

1514. Peace with France. Mary 

Tudor marries Louis XII., 
who dies, Jan. 1, 1515 .. 244 

1515. Mary marries Brandon, duke 

of Suffolk 244 

Wolsey made cardinal and 
chancellor 244 

1518. Treaty with France. Tournay 

ceded to Francis 1 245 

1519. Election of Charles I. of Spain 

as the emperor Charles V. 245 



1520. His visit to England . . . . 246 
Meeting of Henry and Francis 

near Calais 246 

1521. Henry mediates between 

Charles and Francis 
Execution of Stafford, duke of 

Buckingham 

Luther and the Protestant 

Reformation 

Henry styled Defender of the 

Faith 247 

Adrian VI. pope 247 

1522. Second visit of Charles V. to 

England 

War with France and Scot- 
land 

1523. Wolsey's dispute with parlia- 

ment. Illegal taxation by 

royal authority alone 
Confederacy against France . . 
Clement VI. pope 

1525. Battle of Pavia 

Francis taken prisoner 
Treaty between England and 

France 249 



247 

247 



247 



247 
247 



24ft 
248 
248 
249 
249 



CONTENTS. 



XV11 



A.D. PAGE 

1525. The Amicable Loan. Popular 

discontents 249 

1526. Liberation of Francis. His 

league with Henry . . . . 250 

1527. Sack of Rome by the con- 

stable Bourbon 250 

Henry renounces all claim to 

the French crown . . . . 250 

Henry dtsires a divorce . . 251 

Anne Boleyn 251 



A.D. PAGE 

1529. Trial legates Cam- 

peggio and Wolsey. The 

cause referred to Rome . . 251 

Wolsey's impeachment and fall 252 

Peace of Cambray 253 

Rise of Cranmer 253 

The Universities consulted 

on the divorce 253 

1530. Arrest and death of Wolsey 254 



Henry VIII.— 



CHAPTER XV. 

From the Death of Wolsey to the Death 
of the King, a.d. 1530-1547. 



1531. The whole clergy subject to 

praemunire 256 

Convocation declares the king 
the Protector and Supreme 
Bead of the Church of Eng- 
land 256 

1532. Law against levying first- 

fruits 256 

Sir Thomas More resigns the 
great seal 256 

1533. Private marriage of Henry to 

Anne Boleyn (second wife) 
Archbishop Cranmer pro- 
nounces the divorce 

Elizabeth born at Greenwich 

1534. Acts of parliament completing 

the separation of the English 
Church from. Rome 

Establishment of the succes- 
sion to the crown. Fisher 
and More sent to the Tower 

Act of supremacy, declaring 
the king the only supreme 
head on earth of the 
church of England 

Catholics and Protestants . . 

Henry adheres to Catholic 
doctrine 

Tyndale's Bible forbidden in 

England 

1533-4. Conspiracy of the Holy Maid 

of Kent 259 

1535. Execution of Fisher and More 260 
Papal excommunication of 

Henry 260 

Thomas Cromwell made vicar- 
general 261 

1536. Death of queen Katharine . . 260 
The lesser monasteries sup- 
pressed 261 

Wales incorporated with Eng- 
land 

Parliament dissolved, having 
sat since 1529 

Execution of queen Anne . . 

Henry marries Jane Seymour 
(third wife) 262 

Settlement of the succession 262 
1536-7. Insurrections. The Pil- 
grimage of Grace .. .. 262 

1537. Birth of a son (Edward VI.) 263 
Death of queen Jane . . . . 263 
Suppression of the greater 

monasteries. New bishop- 
rics. Gifts to courtiers 263, 264 



257 



257 
257 



257 



258 



258 



259 



261 



261 
262 



267 
267 



267 



1544 
1545, 



1545 
1546. 



Bull of excommunication 
published 264 

Cardinal Pole's opposition to 
Henry. Execution of mem- 
bers of his family . . . . 264 

New parliament 265 

The Six Articles 265 

The king's proclamation made 
equal to statutes 265 

Cranmer's Bible set up in the 
churches 265 

Marriage and divorce of Anne 
of Cleves (fourth wife) 266, 267 

Execution of Cromwell . . 266 

Henry's fifth wife, Katharine 
Howard 267 

Burning of Protestants, and 
hanging of Catholics 

The countess of Salisbury 
beheaded 

Trial and execution of the 
queen and others 

War with Scotland. Battle of 
Solway Moss 268 

Birth of Mary, queen of Scots, 
and death of James V. . . 268 

Henry's scheme for uniting 
England and Scotland .. 268 

Frustrated by cardinal Bea- 
ton and the Catholics . . 268 

League of Henry and Charles 
against France 268 

Henry's sixth and last wife, 
Katharine Parr 268 

Capture of Boulogne by Henry 269 

New settlement of the crown 271 

French attempts at an in- 
vasion 269 

Battle of Ancrum Muir . . 269 

Peace made with France and 
Scotland 

The first English Prayer-book 

Henry's theological dogma- 
tism 

Burning of Anne Askew 

Danger and dexterity of queen 
Katharine Parr 270 

Execution of Surrey, and 
attainder of Norfolk . . . . 271 

Death and character of Henry 271 

Educational foundations of the 
king and Wolsey . . . . 272 

Flourishing state of learning 
in England 272 



269 
269 



270 
270 



Will 



OONTKNTS. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
Edward VI., 6. 1537; r. 1517-1553. 



A.D. I 

1517. Henry's will set aside .. 

Edward Seymour, earl of 

Hertford, protector .. .. 

New titles : Seymour made 

duke of Somerset 
Progress of the Reformation 
Visitation of the dioceses 
Opposition of Gardiner, Bon- 
ner, and princess Mary .. 
1546, Scotland. Assassination of 

cardinal Ronton 

1517. Somerset defeats tho Scots at 

Pinkie 

1548, Mary, queen of Scots, sent to 

France 

Proceedings in parliament . . 
Further reformation 

1519. Lord Seymour of Sudoley 
executed 

Act for Uniformity of Public 
worship 



A.GE 

273 


A.l>. 
1550 


273 

271 
274 
275 


1549 


275 


1551. 


275 




275 




275 
275 
276 


1552. 
1553. 


270 




276 





paob 

Heretics persecuted. Joan 
Bocher burnt 276 

(ieneral discontent— its causes 276 

Insurrections in Devon and 
Norfolk 277 

War with Scotland and France 277 

Fall of Somerset. Tower of 
Warwick 278 

Peace with France and Scot- 
land 279 

Second Prayer-book. The 
Forty-two Articles .. .. 279 

Warwick made duke of North- 
umberland 280 

1552. Trial and execution of Somer- 
set 280 

L553. Schemes of Northumberland. 

Edward settles the crown on 
lady Jane Grey 280 

The King's death 280 



CHAPTER XVII. 
Iauy r., b. 1516 j r. 1553-1558. Philip and Mary, 1554-1558. 



1 553. Proclamation of the lady Jane 282 
Mary acknowledged as queen 283 
Trial and execution of North- 
umberland 283 

The Roman Catholic religion 

restored 284 

Imprisonment of Ridley, 

Latimer, and Oranmer 281 

Reform of the law of treason 284 

Proposed marriage of Mary 

with Philip of Spain . . .. 285 

1504. Insurrection of W'yatt .. .. 285 

{Execution of lady Jane and 

lord Gtaildford Dudley .. 286 
Tho princess K.li/.abeth .. .. 286 
Marriage of KINO Philip and 
tJUEEN Mary 286 



1 554. Cardinal Pole arrives as legate, 

and reconciles England with 
Rome 286 

1555. The Marian persecution .. 287 
Burning of Rogers, Hooper, 

Latimer, and Ridley . . .. 287 

1556. Execution of Oranmer . . .. 288 
Cardinal Pole archhishop .. 288 

1557. Commission to Bonner, etc., 

against heretics 289 

1556. Philip becomes king of Spain 
1657. as Philip II.: involves 

England In war with France 289 

1558. Loss of Calais. Grief of Mary 289 
Her death and character .. 290 
Death of cardinal Pole . . .. 290 
Intercourse with Russia ., 290 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Elizabeth, b. 1533; r. 1658-1603. From her Accession to the 

Death OT Mauv, Queen op Scots, a.d. 1558-1587. 



292 



292 



1668, Joy at Elizabeth's accession 
New councillors, Bacon and 
Ceoll. Caution i measures 
for restoring Protestantism 

1559. Coronation by the bishop of 

Carlisle 292 

Court of High Commission .. 293 
Act s oi Supremacy and Uni- 
formity 293 

Protestant bishops. Parker 
made primate 293 

Peace of C<iti\iu Cambirsis 
with France .. 293 

Claim of Mary, queen of Scots, 
to the English crown .. 291 



1559. The Scotch Reformation. 

John Knox 

1560. Elizabeth aids the Scotch 

Protestants. Capitulation 
Of the French at Leith 
Death of Mary's husband, 
Francis IT. of France .. 

1561. Mary returns to Scotland .. 

Her troubles 

Religions wars in Franca .. 

1562. Elizabeth aids the Hugue- 

nots 

1563. The Thirty-nine Articles .. 
Rise of Robert I hulloy. earl of 

Leicester 



295 
295 
296 
297 

297 
298 



CONTENTS. 



XIX 



A.D. PAGE 

1565. Marriage of Mary to lord 

Darn ley. The Scotch Pro- 
testants take arms under 
the earl of Murray . . . . 299 

1566. Murder of Rizzio. Birth of 

James (afterwards James 

VI.) 300 

156V. Murder of Darnley .. .. 301 
Mary marries Both well . . 302 
The nobles take arms. 

Battle of C'arberry Bill . . 302 
Mary imprisoned at Loch- 

leven castle 302 

Her abdication. James VI. 

king ; Murray regent . . 303 

1568. Mary's escape from Loch- 

leven; defeat at Lnngside, 
and flight to England 303, 304 
Trial of her case 304 

1569. Conspiracy of the duke of 

Norfolk. Rising and flight 
of Northumberland and 
Westmorland .. .. 306,307 

1570. Murder of the regent Murray 307 
Pope Pius V. excommunicates 

Elizabeth 307 

Rise of the Puritans . . . . 308 
Opposed by Elizabeth . . . . 308 
Elizabeth's relations to foreign 

Protestants 308 

Proposed marriage with the 

duke of Anjou 308 

Tyranny of Alva in the 

Netherlands 309 



A.D. PAGE 

1570. Elizabeth protects the Flemish 

protestants 309 

1572. Execution of Norfolk and 

Northumberland .. .. 310 

Aug. 24. Massacre of St. Bartholo- 
mew at Paris 310 

Revolt of Holland and Zea- 
land. Policy of Elizabeth 312 

1577-80. Drake's voyage round the 

world 312 

1579-82, Negociations for marriage 

with the duke of Anjou .. 313 

1584. Conspiracies against Elizabeth. 

The Association 314 

Dr. (alter wards cardinal) Allen 
and the seminary priests .. 315 

1583. Proceedings against the 

Puritans 315 

Primacies of Parker ; Grindal 
(1575); and Whilgift (1883) 315 

1585. Conspiracy of Dr. Parry .. 316 

1584. Murder of William of Orange 316 
15*5. Elizabeth sends an army to 

the Netherlands 316 

Expedition of Drake against 
Spanish America .. .. 316 

1586. Battle of Zutphen. Death of 

sir Philip Sidney .. .. 317 
Babington's conspiracy . . .. 318 
Trial and condemnation of 

Mary, queen of Scots . . 319-20 

1587. Her execution .. 322 

Elizabeth's indignation . . .. 324 
King James nacilied . . . . 324 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Elizabeth — Continued. From the Execution op the Queen op Scots to the 
Death op Elizabeth, a.d. 1587-1U03. 



1587. Philip prepares an invasion. 325 
Preparations for defence 326, 327 

1588. The Invincible Armada 327-9 

1589. Expedition against Portugal 329 
France: murder of Henry III. 330 

1591. Elizabeth assists Henry IV. 330 
Rise of Robert Devereux, earl 
of Essex 330 

1593. Elizabeth dictates to parlia- 
ment. Measures against 
Puritans and Papists 330, 331 
Henry IV. abjures Protes- 
tantism. Elizabeth still aids 
him against Philip . . . . 331 

1598. Peace between Franco and 

Spain 331 

1594^8. Spanish plots against the 
queen's life. Naval enter- 
prises of Hawkins, Drake, 
Raleigh, etc 331,332 

1596-7. Expeditions against Cadiz 

and Ferrol 332 

1598. Death of Burleigh and of 

Philip II 333 



1598. State of Ireland. Tyrone's 

rebellion 333 

1599. Essex in Ireland 334 

His return and disgrace .. 335 

Relations of Bacon to Essex 335 

1601. Insurrection of Essex and 

Southampton 335 

Execution of Essex . . . . 336 
1603. Death and character of 

Elizabeth 337 

Review of the Tudor period 338 

Augmented power of the 

crown 338 

Exactions by benevolences 

and Monopolies 339 

Relations of the crown and 

commons 339 

Administration of justice .. 340 

Consequences of the Reforma- 
tion 341 

Jealousy of the Court of High 

Commission 341 

General state of the nation 341 

Literature 34H 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
A. The Court of Star Chamber 3.12 I B. Authorities for Period of the Tudors 



XX 



CONTENTS. 



BOOK V. 

The House of Stuart, to the Abdication of James II. 
a.d. 1603-1688. 



CHAPTER XX. 
James I., b. 1566; r. 1603-1625. 



A.D. PAGE 

1603. Quiet succession and title of 

the Stuarts 345 

Character of James . . . . 346 
His Scotch courtiers . . . . 346 
Services of Robert Cecil, after- 
wards earl of Salisbury . . 347 
Conspiracy in favour of 

Arabella Stuart 347 

The Main and Bye plots. 
Trial of Raleigh 347 

1604. The Hampton Court con- 

ference : its failure . . . . 347 
First parliament. Tonnage 

and poundage granted . . 348 
Peace with Spain. The cause 

of Holland renounced . . 348 

1605. The Gunpowder plot . . 348-350 

1607. Proposed union of England 

and Scotland 350 

1608. Taxes raised by the king's 

authority 351 

1610. Beginning of contests with 

parliament 351 

The Great Contract, com- 
muting feudal rights . . 351 
Murder of Henry IV 351 

1611. Dissolution of parliament .. 351 
Ireland. Settlement of Ulster 351 
The order of baronets in- 
stituted 352 

1612. Death of Henry, prince of 

Wales 352 

1613. Princess Elizabeth married to 

the elector palatine 
Rise of Robert Carr, earl of 
Somerset. Murder of sir 
Thomas Overbury 

1615-22. Condemnation and pardon 
of Somerset and his coun- 
tess 352, 353 

1615. Rise of George Villiers, duke 

of Buckingham 353 

1606-10. Beginning of English colo- 
nization. Settlements in 
Virginia and Newfoundland 354 

1600-9. Charters to the East India 

Company 354 



352 



352 



A.D. PAGE 

1612. First English factory at Surat 354 

1617. Raleigh's expedition to Guiana 354 

1618. His return and execution .. 355 
1614. James's second — called the 

Addled — parliament . . 355 
1611-14. Negociations for the 

Spanish match 355 

1618. The elector palatine chosen 

king of Bohemia . . . . 355 
Beginning of the Thirty 

Fears' War 355 

1620. Battle of Prague. Palatinate 

overrun 356 

Emigration of the " Pilgrim 
Fathers " to New Eng- 
land 376 

1621. Discontent. Third parlia- 

ment of James 1 356 

Impeachment and fall of 

lord Bacon 356 

The commons espouse the 

elector's cause 357 

Rupture with the king. The 

Protestation 358 

1622. Parliament dissolved. Mem- 

bers imprisoned 358 

James raises money by a 

Benevolence 358 

Negociations for the Spanish 

match renewed 358 

1623. Prince Charles and Bucking- 

ham visit Spain 359 

The match broken off by 
Buckingham 360 

1624. James's fourth parliament. 

Its temper 360 

Enforcement of laws against 

Catholics 360 

Act against monopolies . . 360 
Impeachment of the earl of 

Middlesex 360 

Army sent to Holland under 

count Mansfeld 361 

War with Spain. Treaty with 

France 361 

1625. Death and character of 

James 1 361 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Charles I., 6. 1600; r. 1625-1649. From his Accession to the Commencement 
of the Civil War, a.d. 1625-1642. 



1625. The king marries Henrietta 

Maria of France 362 

His first parliament. The 
" country party " ,. .. 363 



1625. Small subsidies. Tonnage and 

poundage for one year . . 363 
Religious grievances before 
supply 363 



CONTENTS. 



XXI 



A.D. PAGE 

1625. Charles dissolves the parlia- 

ment 363 

Expedition against Cadiz . . 364 
Aid to France against the 

Protestants in Rochelle . . 364 

1626. Second parliament; of same 

spirit as the first . . . . 364 
Proceedings against Bucking- 
ham. Dissolution . . . . 365 
Charles raises money without 

consent of parliament . . 365 
Loans and benevolences. 
Ship-money. General loan 366 

1627. War with France. Bucking- 

ham's expedition . . . . 366 

1628. Third parliament 367 

The Petition of Right . . 368 
Proceedings against Bucking- 
ham and Manwaring . . . . 368 

Assassination of Bucking- 
ham by Felton 369 

Surrender of the Protestants 
in Rochelle 369 

1629. Dispute about tonnage and 

poundage 370 

Parliament dissolved. Mem- 
bers imprisoned 371 

1632. Death of sir John Eliot in the 

Tower 371 

1629-40. Eleven years without a 

parliament 371 

Charles practically absolute 372 
His advisers — Wentworth 
(afterwards earl of Straf- 
ford), Laud, and others . . 372 
Laud's innovations in the 

church 372 

Arbitrary means of taxation 

revived 372 

1634. Court of Star Chamber . . . . 373 
Sentence on Prynne . . . . 373 
Edict for Sunday sports . . 373 
Power and character of arch- 
bishop Laud 374 

1637. Ship-money sanctioned by the 
judges. Refusal and trial 
of John Hampden . . . . 375 

1630. Puritan emigration. Charter 

of Massachusetts . . . . 376 
1637. Discontent in Scotland. 

Laud's liturgy 376 

Subscription of the Covenant 377 
1638-9. The general assembly abo- 
lishes episcopacy . . . . 377 

1639. Pacification with Scotland .. 378 

1640. Fourt h — called the Short- 

parliament 378 

Riots in London 379 



A.D. PAGE 

1640. Attack on Court of High 

Commission 379 

War with the Scots. Battle 
of Neviburn 379 

Newcastle taken. Joint com- 
mission at Ripon . . . . 380 
- Council at York. Agreement 

with the Scots 380 

Nov. 3. Fifth— called the Long- 
parliament 380 

Lenthall chosen speaker. 
Strafford impeached . . . . 380 

Proceedings against delin- 
quents 381 

Speeches of members first 
published 381 

Reversal of sentences on 
Prynne, etc 382 

1641. Demolition of images, altars, 

and crosses 382 

Committee of Scandalous 

Ministers 382 

Act for triennial parliaments 382 
Trial, attainder, and execution 

of Strafford 383-5 

Act for continuance of par- 
liament 386 

The Star Chamber and High 

Commission abolished . . 386 
The king in Scotland . . . . 386 
Rebellion and massacre in 

Ireland 3S6 

Proceedings in parliament. 

The Remonstrance .. . . 388 
Conflicts between Soundheads 

and Cavaliers 389 

Protest and impeachment of 

the bishops 389 

1642. Attempt of Charles to arrest 

the five members . . . . 390 

The king withdraws from 
London 391 

The commons occupy Hull, 
Portsmouth, and the Tower 392 

They claim to command the 
militia 392 

The queen goes abroad ; the 
king to York 392 

Rallying of both parties . . 393 

Charles refused entrance to 
Hull 393 

Zeal of London for the parlia- 
ment 393 

Their inadmissible conditions 393 
Aug. 22. The king sets up his stan- 
dard at Nottingham. Be- 
ginning of the Civil War or 
Great Rebellion 394 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Text of the Petition of Eight 



XX11 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Charles I. — Continued. From the Commencement of the Civil War to 
the Trial and Execution of the King, a.d. 1642-1649. 



A.D. PAGE 

1642. The two parties and their 

forces 397 

Oct. 23. Battle of Edgehill .. .. 399 
The king threatens London. 

Skirmish at Brentford . . 400 
Charles at Oxford. Negotia- 
tions 400 

1643. Campaign of 1643 400 

Skirmish of Chalgrove Field, 

and death of Hampden .. 401 
Success of the royalists in the 

west 401 

Eupert takes Bristol and be- 
sieges Gloucester 401 

First battle of Newbury. 

Death of lord Falkland . . 402 
Rise of sir Thomas Fairfax 

and Oliver Cromwell . . . . 402 
Actions in the north. Ather- 

ton Moor 402 

Siege of Hull. Conspiracy of 

Hotham 403 

Scotland. The Solemn League 

and Covenant 403 

The Assembly of Divines at 

Westminster . . . . 404, 409 
Ormond sends troops from 

Ireland 404 

16 14. Royal parliament at Oxford . . 404 
An excise imposed by both 

parliaments 404 

Fairfax defeats the Irish at 

Nantwich 405 

July 2. Victory of Fairfax and 

Cromwell at Marston Moor 405 
Cropredy Bridge. Success of 

Charles in the west . . . . 406 
Surrender of Skippon at 

Plymouth 406 

Second battle of Newbury . . 406 
Growing power of the Inde- 
pendents 407 

1615. The Self-denying Ordinance 408 
The army under Fairfax and 

Cromwell 408 

Abortive conferences at Ux- 

bridge 409 

Trial and execution of Laud 409 
Victories of Montrose in Scot- 
land 410 

New model of the parlia- 
mentary army. Different 
spirit of the royal forces . . 410 

Campaign of 1645 410 

Decisive defeat of Charles at 

Naseby 411 

Fairfax in the west. He 
takes Bridsewater, Bath, 

etc. .. • 411 

Surrender of Bristol. Disgrace 
of Rupert 412 



412 



412 



412 



413 



413 



414 



417 
41 a 



418 



1645. Defeat of Montrose at Philip- 

haugh 

The prince of Wales leaves 
England 

Charles at Oxford. Negotia- 
tions 

Discovery of Glamorgan's 
commission in Ireland 

1646. Charles flies to the Scots at 

Newark 

1647. They sell him to the parlia- 

ment 

Charles at Holmby 414 

Death of Essex 415 

Attempts to reduce the army. 

The adjutators 415 

Charles seized and brought to 

the army 416 

Camp at Hounslow Heath. 

Submission of parliament . . 
Charles at Hampton Court . . 
Cromwell's policy and cha- 
racter. The Levellers 
Flight of Charles to the Isle of 

Wight 419 

Cromwell reduces the army 

under discipline 419 

Deliberations about bringing 

the king to trial 419 

Counter proposals of the king 

and parliament 419 

Charles attempts to escape 

from Carisbrooke . . . . 420 

1648. Vote against further inter- 

course with him 420 

1647-8. The Engagement of the 
Scots with Charles 

1648. The fleet declares for the king 
Presbyterian ascendency 
Treaty made with the king at 

Newport 

The army carries Charles to 

Hurst Castle 421 

Defeat of the Scots by Crom- 
well 421 

Fairfax takes Colchester . . 421 
Remonstrance of the army 

with parliament . . . . 421 
The army marches on London 422 
Parliament confirms the treaty 422 
" Colonel Pride's purge " . . 422 
The Rump parliament . . . . 422 

1649. The High Court of Justice 

voted 

Jan. 20-27. Trial of the king . . 
Jan. 30. Execution and character of 

Charles I 

House of Lords and monarchy 

abolished 

Execution of Hamilton, Capel, 
and Holland 426 



420 
420 
420 

420 



422 
423 



425 



425 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



CONTENTS. 



XXlll 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
The Commonwealth, a.d. 1649-1660. 



A.D. PAGE 

1649. Parties in England. Exe- 

cutive council 428 

Feb. 5. Charles II. proclaimed king 

in Scotland 428 

Ormond in Ireland . . . . 429 
Cromwell appointed lieu- 
tenant aad general . . . . 429 
He reduces Ireland 430 

1650. Execution of Montrose . . 430, 431 
Charles II. in Scotland . . 431 

Sept. 3. Cromwell defeats Leslie at 

Dunbar 432 

1651. Charles crowned at Scone . . 432 
He marches into England . . 432 

Sept. 3. Battle of Worcester . . 433 

Escape of Charles 433 

Settlement of the Common- 
wealth 434 

Naval exploits of Blake . . 434 

Peace with Portugal . . . . 434 
Colonies and dependencies 

subdued 434 

Scotland reduced by Monk . . 435 

Disputes with Holland . . 435 

Navigation Act 435 

1652. First Dutch war. Blake, 

Tromp, and De Ruyter . . 436 
Parliament attempts to reduce 

the army . . . . . . . . 437 

1653. Cromwell expels the parlia- 

ment 43? 

Council of state 437 

Barebones' Parliament .. 437 

Ckomwell Protector . . . . 439 

1654. Peace with Holland. First 

Treaty of Westminster . . 440 
Sept. 3. Cromwell's first parliament: 

dissolved Jan. 22, 1655 . . 440 

1655. Royalist insurrection. Mili- 

tary despotism 441 

Alliance with France against 

Spain 442 



A.D. PAGE 

1655. Blake's exploits against Al- 

giers and Tunis 442 

Capture of Jamaica .. .. 443 

War declared by Spain . . 443 
1657. Last exploits and death of 

Blake 443 

1656. The Protector's second par- 

liament 444 

1657. Cromwell refuses the crown 444 
The Bumble Petition and 

Advice 445 

1658. A House of Peers 445 

Parliament dissolved . . . . 446 

Dunkirk taken from Spain . . 446 

Discontents and plots . . . , 446 

Alarm of Cromwell . . . . 446 

His death and character . . 447 
His foreign policy ; manners ; 

family 447 

Richard Cromwell Pro- 
tector : Henry Cromwell 

governor of Ireland . . . . 448 

1659. New parliament. Council of 

officers 449 

Parliament dissolved . . . . 449 

Richard abdicates 449 

The Long Parliament restored 

and again expelled . . . . 449 

Lambert's Committee of Safety 450 
Monk, in Scotland, declares 

for the parliament . . . . 4 50 
The Long Parliament again 

assembled 450 

1660. Monk enters London . . . . 450 
The Long Parliament dis- 
solves itself 451 

Monk's correspondence with 

Charles 451 

The Convention Parliament 451 

The Declaration of Breda . . 452 

Proclamation of Charles II. . . 452 

May 29. He enters London . . . . 452 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
Charles IT., 6. 1630 ; r. 1660-1685, or from 1649, according to the legal 

RECKONING-. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE PEACE OF NlMEGUEN, A.D. 
1660-1678. 



1660. Character of Charles II. .. 453 
His ministers, Albemarle and 

Clarendon 454 

General pardon, excepting 

the regicides and others . . 454 
Revenue. Abolition of 

knights' service 455 

Punishment of the regicides 455 
The Convention Parliament 

dissolved 455 

The army disbanded . . . . 455 

Ejected clergy reinstated . . 455 

The liturgy restored . . . . 455 

1661. The Scottish parliament .. 455 | 
The Covenant renounced. I 

Episcopacy restored . . . . 455 ' 



1661. Execution of Argyle and 

Guthrie 456 

The Savoy Conference .. .. 456 
Second parliament. Its re- 
actionary temper . . . . 456 
Corporation Act. Oath of 
Non-resistance 456 

1662. Act of Uniformity .. .. 456 
Charles marries Catharine of 

Braganza. Portugal cedes 

Tangier and Bombay. . . . 457 

Trial of Vane and Lambert. 

Execution of Vane . . . . 457 

Aug. 24. St. Bartholomew .. . . 458 

Presbyterian clergy ejected . . 458 

Sale of Dunkirk to France . . 459 



XXIV 



CONTENTS. 



A.D. 

1663. 



1665 



1668 
1670 



1670 
1671 



PAGE 

Declaration of indulgence to 

dissenters 458 

Last separate taxing of the 

clergy 458 

The Triennial Act repealed 459 

The Conventicle Act .. .. 459 
Capture of New Amsterdam, 

henceforth called New York 464 

Second Dutch War 459 

Battle of Solebay 460 

The Great Plague of London 461 

Parliament at Oxford . . . . 461 

The Five-mile Act 461 

War declared by France and 

Denmark 460 

Four days' sea-fight with the 

Dutch and French . . . . 462 

The Great Fire of London . . 463 

The Dutch fleet in the Thames 464 
Peace of Breda with Holland 

and Fiance 464 

Fall and exile of Clarendon 464 

The Cabal ministry . . . . 465 
Triple Alliance of England, 

Holland, and Venice . . . . 466 
Secret Treaty of Dover with 

Louis XIV 466 

-1. Crimes of Colonel Blood .. 467 
Disputes with the Dutch. 

Recal of Temple . . . . 468 
The bankers' funds in the 

exchequer seized. First 



A.D. PAGE 

nucleus of the National 
Debt 468 

1672. Third war with Holland. Sea- 

fight off South wold Bay . . 468 
Louis XIV. overruns the 

United Provinces . . . . 469 
■William, prince of Orange 

(afterwards William III.) 469 
Murder of the De Witts at 

Amsterdam 469 

William elected stadtholder 470 

1673. Parliament condemns the de- 

claration of indulgence . . 470 
The Test Act. Resignation of 

the duke of York 470 

Lord Shaftesbury leader of 

the opposition 471 

He is dismissed from the 

chancellorship 471 

Danby chief minister .. .. 471 

1674. Separate peace with the Dutch 471 
1675-7. Conflict in parliament .. 472 

Repeated prorogations . . 472 

1676. Second secret treaty of Charles 

with Louis 473 

Bribery of members of parlia- 
ment by France 473 

1677. Marriage of William of ' 

Orange to princess Mary . . 473 

1678. Peace of Nimeguen between 

France and Holland . . . . 473 



A. Test and Corporation Acts 

B. The Act of Uniformity 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 

.. .. 473 I C. Immunity of Juries 475 



CHAPTEE XXV. 

Charles II. — Continued. From the Peace op Nimeguen to the Death op the 
King, a.d. 1678-1685. 



1678. The Popish Plot. Oates .. 477 
Murder of sir Edmondsbury 

Godfrey. Zeal of Danby 

and the parliament . . . . 479 
Act excluding papists from 

parliament 480 

Oates and Bedloe accuse the 

queen 481 

Impeachment of Danby . . 481 

1679. The "Pension Parliament" 

dissolved 481 

Victims of the plot. General 

alarm 482 

Charles's third parliament .. 482 
The duke of York goes abroad 483 
James, duke of Monmouth. 

His character 483 

Choice of speaker. Impeach- 
ment of Danby 483 

Question of a pardon barring 

impeachment 484 

(1701. Finally decided by Act of 

Settlement, note) .. .. 484 
1679. New privy council; Shaftes- 
bury president 484 

Exclusion Bill against the 
duke of York 484 



1679. Stopped by dissolution of 

parliament 484 

The Habeas Corpus Act . . 485 
Prosecution of papists . . . . 485 
Disturbances in Scotland. 

Severity of Lauderdale . . 485 
Murder of archbishop Sharpe 486 

1679. Battles of Drumclog and Both- 

well Bridge. Duke of York 
lord high commissioner . . 486 
Shaftesbury dismissed . . . . 486 
Monmouth goes abroad. . . . 486 
Halifax, Sunderland, Law- 
rence Hyde, and Godolpbin 486 
The Meal-tub Plot got up by 

Dangerfield 486 

Anti-popery demonstrations 

in London 487 

Party-names of Addressers 
and Abhorrers, afterwards 
Whigs and Tories . . . . 487 

1680. Presentment of Shaftesbury 

against the duke of York . . 488 
Charles's fourth parliament. 

Its violence 488 

The Exclusion Bill thrown 

out by the peers 488 



CONTENTS. 



XXV 



A.D. 



PAGE 



1680.vTrial and execution of lord 
Stafford. Popular reaction 

against the plot 489 

1681. Dissolution of parliament . . 490 
Fifth parliament, at Oxford 490 
Both parties assemble in 

arms 490 

Violence of the commons . 490 

Parliament dissolved . . . . 490 

The king's declaration .. .. 491 

Popular reaction 491 

Dryden's " Absalom and 

Achitophel " 491 

Execution of College . . . . 491 
Bill against Shaftesbury 

ignored 492 

1682. Condemnation and flight of 

Argyle 492 



A.D. PAGE 

1682. The duke of York's return to 

England 492 

Halifax and the Trimmers . . 492 
Charters of London, etc., for- 
feited 493 

Plot on behalf of Monmouth 493 
Flight and death (1683) of 
Shaftesbury 493 

1683. The Rye-house plot. Flight 

of Monmouth 494 

Trial and execution of Russell 
and Sidney 495 

1684. Oates imprisoned 496 

Pardon and banishment of 

Monmouth 496 

Ascendency of the duke of 

York 496 

1685. Death and character of Charles 496 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Habeas Corpus Act 



CHAPTER XXVI. 
James II, b. 1633; r. 1685-1688; ob. 1701. 



1685 The king's declaration to the 

council 499 

Taxes levied by proclamation 500 

Character of the new parlia- 
ment 500 

Punishment of Oates . . . . 500 

Invasion and execution of 
Argyle 500 

Monmouth's invasion .. .. 501 

Battle of Sedgemoor. Execu- 
tion of Monmouth .. 501,502 

Cruelties of Kirke and Jeffreys. 
The " Bloody Assize " 502, 503 

The king's declaration in 
favour of Catholic officers 503 

Louis XIV. revokes the Edict 
of Nantes 503 

French Protestant refugees in 
England 503 

Dismissal of Rochester . . . . 504 
1686. The dispensing power af- 
firmed by the judges . . 504 

Catholic lords on the privy 

council 504 

1685-6. Violence of Tyrconnel in 

Ireland 504 

1686. High Commission revived . . 504 

Bishop of London suspended 505 

Penal laws suspended . . . . 505 

Embassy to Rome 505 

168T. Papal nuncio in England. 

Catholic bishops 506 

Charters of corporations an- 
nulled. Attempt to pack 
a parliament 506 



1688. 



1688. 



1687. The Universities. Magdalen 

College, Oxford 506 

1687-8. First and second declara- 
tions of indulgence . . . . 507 
Petition of the seven bishops 
treated as a libel. Their 
trial, and acquittal .. 507,508 
Birth of James Francis Ed- 
June 10. ward, prince of Wales .. 508 
Invitation to William, prince 

of Orange 509 

Terror of James 510 

William's declaration .. .. 511 
Nov. 5. His landing at Torbay, and 

progress in the west .. .. 511 
Disaffection of the army .. 511 
Flight of the princess Anne . . 512 

Flight of James 512 

He is taken at Sheerness and 

brought to London 
William enters London 
James sails for France 
He abdicates by leaving the 

kingdom * 

1689. Debates of the Convention . . 

Feb. 13.+ The crown offered to, and 

accepted by, William and 

Mary 

Settlement of the succession 
Declaration of Bights .. 
Review of the Stuart dynasty 
Progress of tbv nation 
Commerce. Colonies. In- 
crease m- wealth 518 

Literature, science, and art . . 519 



513 
513 
513 

513 
515 



515 

515 
515 
516 

517 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
Authorities for the Period of the Stuarts 



* The exact date of James II. 's abdication is 
technically reckoned from his flight from White- 
hall on December 11, when he threw the great 
seal into the Thames and dissolved the forms of 
legal government. 



t According to the Old Style, then used in 
England, this date fell within the year 1688, as 
the new year began on March 25. But it was 
always the custom to reckon an historical year 
beginning on January 1. 



XXVI 



CONTENTS. 



BOOK VI. 

From the Bevolution op 1688 to the Year 1878. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

William III. and Mary II.— William, &. 1650; r. 1689-1702. 
Mart, &. 1662; r. 1689-1694. 



a.d. page 

1689. Character of William III. . . 522 
The Convention declares itself 

a parliament 523 

First Mutiny Act 524 

Nonjurors. Toleration Act.. 524 
Failure of attempts to revise 

the liturgy 524 

Scotland. Victory and death 

of Dundee 525 

James in Ireland 525 

Siege of Londonderry . . . . 525 
Violent measures of the Irish 

parliament 526 

Relief of Londonderry . . . . 526 

Battle of Newton Butler . . 526 

Successes of Schomberg . . 526 

Carricbfergus taken . . . . 526 

Bill of Rights 527 

Change of ministers. Danby 

(now lord Carmarthen) .. 527 

1690. Second parliament of William 

and Mary 527 

William in Ireland. Battle 

of the Boyne 527 

James leaves Ireland .. .. 528 
William takes Wexford, etc. 

Siege of Limerick . . . . 528 

Sea-fight off Beachy Head . . 528 



A.D. PAGE 

1691. Ginkell takes Athlone .. .. 529 
Pacification of Limerick . . 529 
Nonjuring bishops deprived. 

Tillotson primate . . . . 529 

William in Holland . . . . 529 

Louis takes Mons 529 

1692. The Massacre of Glencoe . . 530 
William in Holland . . . . 531 

Jacobite intrigues 531 

Camp of James at La Hogue. 

His manifesto 

Spirit of Mary. Naval victory 
of La Hogue. Institution of 
Greenwich Hospital (1696) 

William loses Namur 

Defeated at Steinkirk 

1693. Defeated at Landen 
The Smyrna fleet cut off 
Liberty of the press by expiry 

of the Licensing Act 

1694. Unpopularity of William . . 
Disaster at Brest through 

Marlborough's treason 
Triennial Parliaments Act . . 
Deaths of Tillotson and queen 

Mary (Dec. 28) 533 

Tenison archbishop of 

Canterbury 533 



531 



532 
532 
532 
532 
533 

534 
533 

533 
533 



William III. alone, 1694-1702. 



Sept 
1697 
1698 



General corruption. The 

speaker expelled 534 

Impeachment of the duke of 

Leeds (Danby) 534 

New Statute of Treasons . . 534 
William takes Namur . . . . 535 
Conspiracy of Barclay, etc. .. 535 
The Loyal Association to de- 
fend the king 536 

Attainder and execution of 

Fen wick 536 

10. Peace of Ryswiclc .. . . 536 

-8. Reduction of the army . . 537 

The Spanish succession . . 537 

The first partition treaty . . 539 
Parliament dismisses the 

Dutch guards 539 

Resumption of grants of 

estates in Ireland . . . . 539 

Second partition treaty . . . . 540 
Death of Charles II. Crown 

bequeathed to Philip V. . . 540 
The emperor begins the War 

of the Spanish Succession . . 543 

Changes of ministry . . . . 541 



1700. The Cabinet 541 

Death of the duke of 

Gloucester 541 

1701. William's fifth parliament, 

tory ; Harley speaker . . 541 
Act op Settlement . . . . 541 
Exclusion of placemen from 

parliament 542 

Parliament condemns the 

partition treaties 
Dismissal and impeachment 

of ministers 

Grand Alliance of England, 

Holland, and the empire . . 
James II. dies at St. Germains 
Louis XIV. acknowledges his 

son as king 543 

Preparations for war . . . . 543 
William's sixth parliament, 

whig 543 

1702. Attainder of the "pretended 

prince of Wales " . . . . 543 
Act of Abjuration .. . . 544 
Death of William 544 



542 



542 



543 
543 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
The Bill of Rights. "An act for declaring the rights and liberties of the subject, and settling 
the succession of the crown (1689)" 



CONTENTS. 



xxvu 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Anne, b. 1665; r. 1702-1714. 



A.D. PAGE 

1702. The ministry ; Godolphin, etc. 549 
Marlborough made captain- 
general. Intimacy of Anne 

and lady Marlborough . . 550 
War declared against France 

and Spain 550 

Marlborough in Flanders . . 550 
Naval success at Vigo. 

Benbow's action and death 550 
Anne's first parliament .. 551 
Thanks to Marlborough. He 

receives a dukedom and a 

pension 551 

1703. Marlborough in Flanders . . 551 
The archduke Charles titular 

king of Spain 551 

Nov. 26. The great storm 552 

1704. Battle of Blenheim 552 

Capture of Gibraltar . . . . 553 

1705. Peterborough in Spain .. .. 554 

1706. Battle of Ramillies . . . . 554 
Majorca and Iviza taken . . 554 
The archduke Charles wins 

and loses Madrid . . . . 554 
1704. Scotland. Act of Security .. 555 
1704-5. Hostile resolutions of the 

English parliament 

1706. Commissioners frame articles 

of union 

1707. Union of England and 

Scotland (May 1) 
First parliament of Great 

Britain (Oct. 23) . . 
Campaigns in Spain, Germany, 

and at sea 556 

Loss of sir Cloudesley Shovel 

and his fleet 557 

1708. Alarm of invasion .. .. 557 

Victory of Byng 557 

Battle of Oudenarde .. . . 557 
Capture of Lille and Minorca 557 

1709. Battle of Halplaquet .. .. 558 
Capture of Mons 558 

1710. Campaigns in Flanders and 



555 



556 



556 



556 



558 
559 
559 

559 

559 



A.D. PAGE 

Spain. Surrender of Stan- 
hope at Brihuega 

1704. Rise of Harley and St. John 

The whig Junto 

Lady Marlborough sup- 
planted by Abigail Hill 

1708. Treason of Gregory. Dismissal 
of Harley and St. John 

1709-10. Sermon and trial of 

Dr. Sacheverell . . . . 559, 560 

1710. The whig ministry displaced 

by Harley and St. John . . 560 
Anne's fourth parliament. 
The people tory 561 

1711. Harley stabbed by Guiscard 561 
Harley made earl of Oxford 

and lord high treasurer . . 
Occasional Conformity and 

Schism Acts 

The archduke becomes the 

emperor Charles VI 

Conferences for peace opened 

at Utrecht 562 

Creation of twelve new peers 563 

1712. Censure and retirement of 

Marlborough 

Cardonnel and Walpole ex- 
pelled the house 

Ormond succeeds Marl- 
borough in Flanders 

His separation from the allies 

1713. The Peace of Uteecht 

1714. Treaty of Rastadt 
Struggle between the Jacob- 
ites and Hanoverians 

Death of the princess Sophia 
of Hanover 565 

Harley supplanted by Boling- 
broke 565 

Anne's illness. The whigs 
frustrate Bolingbroke . . 565 

Death and character of the 
queen 565 



562 



562 



562 



563 
563 

563 

563 
563 
564 

564 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. 

George I., b. 1660 ; r. 1714-1727. 



1714. Quiet accession of the new 

regal line 

Arrival of George I. and his 

son. His character 
Whig ministry. Marlborough 

captain-general 

1715. New parliament 

Impeachment of Oxford, 

Bolingbroke, Ormond, etc. 

1715. Death of Louis XIV 

The regeni Orleans 
Insurrection of Mar, Forster, 

etc 

Nov. 13. Battles of Preston and 

Sheriffmuir 

1715-16. The Pretender in Scotland 



1716. Executions .. ., „„ .. 57l 

566 1716. Jacobite feeling 571 

The Septennial Act .. . . 571 

567 The king visits Hanover . . 572 

1717. Alliances with France and 

568 Holland 572 

568 Quarrel with Charles XII. of 

Sweden 573 

568 Stanhope first lord of the 

568 treasury 573 

569 Designs of the Spanish minis- 

ter Alberoni 573 

569 1718. Stanhope forms the Quad- 
ruple Alliance 573 

569 ' Defeat of the Spanish fleet off 

570 Cape Passaro 574 



XXV111 



CONTENTS. 



1720. Spain joins the Quadruple 

Alliance 

Townshend and Walpole join 

the ministry 

Quarrel between the king and 
the prince of Wales 
1719-20. The South Sea Bubble .. 

1721. Attacks on the ministry 

Death of Stanhope 575 

Corruption among ministers 

and courtiers 576 

1722. Walpole chief minister . . 576 
Parliament dissolved . . . . 576 
Death of Marlborough (and 

the duchess, 1744) .. .. 576 



574 

574 

574 
574 
575 



A.D. PAGE 

1723. Banishment of Atterbury. 

Return of Bolingbroke . . 576 
1724 Ireland. "Wood's halfpence." 

Swift's Drapier's Letters . . 576 
1725. Scotland. Disturbances about 

the beer tax 577 

Order of the Bath revived . . 577 
Foreign affairs. Treaties of 

Vienna and Hanover .. .. 577 
Spain and the emperor against 

England, France, and Russia 577 

1727. Hostilities with Spain .. .. 577 

Peace of Paris 578 

Death of George 1 578 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
The Convocation of the English Church 



CHAPTER XXX. 
George II., 6. 1683; r. 1727-1760. 



1727. His character and family .. 580 
Walpole supported by queen 
Caroline 581 

1729. Peace with Spain 582 

1730. Rupture between Townshend 

and Walpole 582 

1737. Quarrel between Frederick, 
prince of Wales, and the 

king 582 

Bolingbroke's " Patriot King " 582 
Death of queen Caroline . . 582 

1739. Quarrel with Spain. Fable 

of " Jenkins's Ears ". . .. 582 
Rise of William Pitt . . . . 583 
Decline of Walpole . . . . 583 

War with Spain 584 

1739-41. Vernon's attack jn Porto 

Bello and Carthagena . . 584 
1740-4. Anson's voyage round the 

world 584 

1741. Third parliament of George 584 

1742. Defeat and resignation of 

Walpole. He is created 

earl of Orford 585 

His death (1745) 585 

Ministry of Pulteney and 
Wilmington. Enquiry into 
Walpole's administration 585 

1740. Death of the emperor Charles 

VI 585 

Queen Maria Theresa . . . . 585 
1740-8. War of the Austrian Suc- 
cession 585 

Frederick II. in Silesia . . . . 585 

1742. England supports Maria 

Theresa 586 

Cession of Silesia to Prussia 586 

1743. Battle of Dettingen .. .. 586 
Ministry of Pelham . . . . 587 

1744. Prince Charles Edward . . . . 587 

War with France 588 

Ministerial changes . . . . 588 

1745. Quadruple Alliance of Eng- 

land, Holland, Austria, and 

S.ixony 588 

Death of Charles VII 588 



1745. Francis I. emperor .. .. 588 

Battle of Fontenoy 588 

Capture of Cape Breton . . 589 
Prince Charles in Scotland . . 589 
Battle of Preston Pans ,. 591 
His march into England . . 592 

Panic in London 592 

Charles retreats from Derby 592 

1746. Battles of Falkirk Moor and 

Culloden. Escape of prince 
Charles. Executions 593, 594 

Pacification of the High- 
lands 595 

Ministry and character of 
Chesterfield 595 

1747. Naval victories of Anson and 

Hawke 595 

1748. Resignation of Chesterfield. 

Ministry of Bedford .. .. 595 
Peace of Aix-la- Chapelt e . . 596 
1752. Chesterfield's reform of the 

calendar 595, 596 

Later lif&of the Young Pre- 
tender (ob. 1788) 596 

Death of his brother, cardinal 
York (1807) 596 

1750. Pelham's reduction of the in- 

terest on the debt .. .. 597 

1751. Death of Frederick, prince of 

Wales 597 

Death of Pelham 597 

Ministry of Newcastle . . . . 597 

1755. Hostilities with France in 

America 597 

Threats of invasion . . . . 598 

1756. Loss of Minorca 598 

1757. Execution of admiral Byng . . 599 
1756-7. Newcastle's resignation and 

recal 

1757. First ministry of Pitt .. 

1756. Treaty of Versailles against 

Prussia 

1756-63. The Seven Years' War. 
England joins Prussia 

1757. Convention of Kloster Seven. 

Loss of Hanover . . . . COO 



599 
600 



600 



600 



CONTENTS. 



XXIX 



A.D. PAGE 

1757. Disgrace of the duke of Cum- 

berland (ob. 1765) .. .. 600 

1758. Pitt's popularity 600 

Convention with Prussia . . 600 

War in India and Africa . . 601 
Conquest of Cape Breton and 

Prince Edward's Island . . 601 
Expeditions against Cher- 
bourg and St. Malo . . . . 601 
Hanover won back . . . . 601 



| A.D. 

1758. Successes of Frederick II. .. 

1759. Naval victories on the French 

coast 

Battle of Minden. Disgrace 

of lord George Sackville . . 
Invasion of Canada 
Capture of Quebec and death 

ofWolfe 

1760. Conquest of Canada 

Death of George II 



PAGI 

601 



602 
602 

603 
603 
603 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

George III., o. 1738; r. 1760-1820. From the King's Accession to the Recognition 
op American Independence and the Peace op Versailles, a.d. 1760-1783. 



1760. Person and spirit of the young 

king. His ministry . . . . 605 
Influence of Bute 605 

1761. The king marries princess 

Charlotte of Mecklenburg 605 
Negociations. Capture of 

Belleisle, Dominica, and 

Pondicherry . . . . . . . 606 

The Family Compact of 

France and Spain . . . . 606 
Pitt's resignation ; honours 

and rewards 606 

1762. War with Spain 607 

Aid to Portugal . . . . . 607 

Newcastle resigns 607 

Ministry of Bute C07 

Military successes. Capture 

of Havannah, Manilla, etc. 607 
J 763. Peace of Paris. End of the 

Seven Years' War . . . . 608 
Rise and progress of the In- 
dian. Empire 608 

1746-55. Contest between Dupleix 

and Clive 609 

1756. Surajah Dowlah. The Black 

Hole at Calcutta 609 

Battle op Plasst. Founda- 
tion of Indian empire . . 609 
Surrender of Pondicherry. 
The Carnatic secured . . 610 

1763. Bute resigns. George Gren- 

ville prime minister . . . . 610 
No. 45 of the North Briton . . 610 
1763-4. Contest of Wilkes with par- 
liament and the law courts 611 
General warrants pro- 
nounced illegal 611 

1765. American Stamp Act .. .. 611 
State of the thirteen North 

American Colonies . . . . 612 
Violent opposition to the 
stamps in America . . . . 612 

Illness of George III 613 

Resignation of Grenville . . 613 
First ministry of lord Rock- 
ingham 613 

1766. Pitt's opposition to the Stamp 

Act. Its repeal 614 

Second ministry of Pitt, 
created earl of Chatham . . 614 

1767. His illness and seclusion .. 615 
Townshend's taxes on Ame- 
rica. His death 615 



1757. 



761. 



1767. Lords North and Hillsborough 

in the ministry 

1768. Second parliament 

Fresh contest with Wilkes . . 

Riots in America 

The taxes repealed, except 
that on tea 

1769. Resignation of Chatham. 

Ministry of lord North 

1770. Chatham opposes the Ameri- 

can measures 

1772. The Royal Marriage Act 

1773. New tea duty in America .. 
Petition from Massachusetts 

rejected 

Franklin and Wedderburn . . 
Resistance in America 
Riots at Boston 

1774. Virginia joins the resistance 
Congress at Philadelphia. 

Declaration of rights 

1775. American War 

Skirmish at Lexington 

Second congress 

Georwe Washington 
Battle of Bunker's Sill 

1776. Lord Howe evacuates Boston 
July 4. Declaration op Indepen- 
dence of the United States 
of North America 

French sym path y . La Fayette 

1777. Opposition of Chatham . 
Trial of Home Tooke 
Capitulation of Saratoga 

1778. Alliance between France and 

America 

Parliament renounces the 
right to tax the colonies . . 
Proposal to recognize Ameri- 
can independence opposed 
by Chatham. His death . . 
French fleet in America. 

Battle of Ushant 
Spain joins against England 
Threats of an invasion 
Exploits of Paul Jones 

1779. Siege of Gibraltar 

1780. Lord George Gordon's "No 

popery" riots 

Naval victory of Rodney 
The Armed Neutrality .. 
War with the Dutch 

1781. Lord Cornwallis capitulates 



615 
615 
615 
616 

616 

616 

616 
617 
617 



617 
618 
618 

618 
618 
619 
619 
619 
619 
620 



621 
621 
622 
622 
622 



624 
624 
624 
625 
625 

626 
627 
627 
628 



XXX 



CONTENTS. 



A.D. PAGE 

at York Town. Virtual 
end of the war in America 629 
1782. Loss of Minorca 629 

Resolution of the commons 
against the war 629 

North resigns. Rockingham's 
second ministry 629 

First appearance of Sheridan 
and the younger Pitt . . 630 

Ireland obtains legislative in- 
dependence 630 

Pitt's first motion for reform 
of parliament 630 

Burke's resolution for reform 
of the pension list . . . . 630 



A.D. PAGE 

1782. Rodney's victory over De 

Grasse 630 

Death of Rockingham . . . . 631 
Ministry of Shelburne and 

Pitt 631 

Sinking of the Royal George 631 
Siege and relief of Gib- 
raltar 632 

Peace of Paris with America. 
Recognition of American 
independence 633 

1783. Peace of Versailles with 

France and Spain . . . . 633 
Treaty with the Dutch . . . . 633 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

George III. — Continued. From the Peace of Versailles to the 
Peace of Amiens, a.d. 1783-1802. 



635 



635 
635 
635 
635 

635 
635 
635 



1765. 
1767. 



1783. Lord Shelburne resigns 
Coalition ministry of North 

and Fox. Fox's India Bill 
Ministers dismissed 
William Pitt prime minister 

1784. Defeated on his India Bill . . 
Has a majority in a new par- 
liament. Act for India . . 

The Board of Control 
1784-6. Financial reforms 
1786. Treaty of commerce with 

France 635 

1785. Pitt's Reform Bill thrown out 636 

1786. The prince of Wales and Mrs. 

Fitzherbert 636 

Review of Indian history .. 636 
Lord Give's return to Calcutta 636 
His administration and return 637 
1769-70. War with Hyder Ali . . 637 
Famine in Bengal 637 

1773. Lord North's Regulating Act 637 
Warren Hastings the first 

governor-general . . . . 637 

1774. Death of Clive 638 

Administration of Hastings 639 

1778. Capture of the French settle- 
ments in India 639 

1778-83. War with Hyder Ali and 

Tippoo Sahib 639 

1782. Exactions of Hastings. The 

Begums of Oude 640 

1783-5. Peace with Tippoo .. .. 640 
Retirement of Hastings . . 640 

1786. Lord Cornwallis governor- 
general 640 

1786-95. Trial of Hastings . . 640, 641 

1788-9. The king's illness and re- 
covery 641 

1789. The French Revolution .. 641 

1790. Burke's " Reflections ". . .. 642 
Riots at Birmingham . . . . 642 

1791. Flight of Louis XVI 643 

1792. First coalition against France 643 
September massacres. Valmy. 

Retreat of Brunswick . . 643 
Execution of Louis XVI. . . 643 
France declares war against 

England and Holland . . 644 



1793. 



1793. 
1794. 



1794- 
1794, 



1798. 



1799. 



Siege of Toulon 644 

Napoleon Bonaparte.. .. 644 
Decree of the Convention 

against Pitt 645 

The duke of York in Flanders 646 

Battle of Fleurus 646 

French conquest of Belgium 

and Holland 647 

■6. Naval successes. Nelson 647 
Lord Howe's victory . . . . 647 
Prosecutions for sedition. 

Trial of Hardy, etc 647 

Defection of Prussia . . . . 647 
The Quiberon expedition . . 648 
Capture of West India islands 

and Cape of Good Hope . . 648 
Alliance of France and Spain 

against England 648 

Bonaparte's campaign in 

Italy 649 

Attempts at invasion . French 

fleet in Bantry Bay . . . . 649 
Bank Restriction Act. Cash 

payments suspended . . . . 649 
Great scheme of invasion by 

France and Spain . . . . 649 
Battle of St. Vincent. Honours 

to Jervis and Nelson . . . . 650 
Mutinies at Spithead and the 

Nore 650, 651 

Battle of Camperdown. In- 
vasion frustrated . . . . 652 
Peace of Campo Formio be- 
tween France and Austria 652 
Bonaparte's expedition to 

Egypt 652 

Battle of the Nile 653 

Honours to Nelson . . . . 653 
Alliance of England, Russia, 

and Turkey against France 653 
Battle of Stockach. Suwarov 

in Italy and Switzerland . . 654 
English and Russian expedi- 
tion to Holland 654 

The Helder taken. Capitula- 
tion of the duke of York . . 654 
Bonaparte in Egypt . . . . 654 
Repulsed from Acre . . . . 654 



CONTENTS. 



XXXI 



A.D, PAGE 

1799. His return and expulsion of 

the chambers (Nov. 9) . . 655 

New constitution of France. 
Bonaparte first consul . . 655 

1798. Irish rebellion 655 

1801. Union of Great Britain 

and Ireland (Jan. 1.) .. 656 

The title of " King of France " 
dropped 656 

First Parliament of the 
United Kingdom .. .. 656 

Pitt on reform and the Catho- 
lic claims 656 

1800. Bonaparte crosses the Alps. 

Battles of Marengo and 

Eohenlinden 657 

1801. Peace of Luneville 657 

British capture of Malta . . 657 

1800. The emperor Paul's hostility 



A.D. PAGE 

to England. Armed neu- 
trality of the north . . . . 657 

1801.. Resignation of Pitt 657 

Ministry of Addington . . . . 657 

The northern league . . . . 658 

Battle of Copenhagen . . . . 658 

Death of Paul 658 

Treaty of St. Petersburg . . 658 
Preparations for invasion. 

Attacks on Boulogne . . 659 

English expedition to Egypt 659 

Battle of Alexandria .. . . 660 
Capitulation of the French in 

Egypt 660 

1802. March 27. Peace of Amiens 660 

Bonaparte consul for life . . 661 
His court, administration, 

and code of laws . . . . 661 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

George III. — Continued. From the Peace of Amiens to the Death 
of the King, a.d. 1802-1820. 



1802. Hostile feelings between 

France and England . . . . 663 
Trial of Peltier for a libel on 

Bonaparte 663 

1803. Message to parliament .. 663 
Violence of Bonaparte to lord 

Whitworth 664 

May 18. War declared .. .. ,. 664 

Camp at Boulogne. Volunteers 664 

1804. Addington resigns 664 

Pitt again prime minister . . 664 
Postponement of Catholic 

emancipation 664 

War with Spain 665 

May 18. Napoleon I. empekor 

of the French 665 

Seizure and murder of the 

duke d'Enghien 665 

1805. Impeachment of Melville . . 665 
League of England, Russia, 

Sweden, and Austria . . 666 
Napoleon crowned king of 

Italy 666 

Oct. 20. Capitulation of Ulm . . . . 666 

Dec. 2. Battle of Austerlitz .. .. 666 

Oct. 21. Battle of Trafalgar .. 667 

Death of Nelson 669 

1806. Jan. 23. Death of Pitt. His 

character 669 

Ministry of "All the Talents " 

— Grenville, Fox, etc. . . 669 

Negociations for peace . . . . 670 
Kingdoms given to Napoleon's 

brothers 670 

Ferdinand TV. expelled from 

Naples 670 

The British in Calabria .. .. 670 

Battle of Maida 670 

Double dealing of Prussia . . 670 

Battle of Jena 670 

The French in Berlin. The 

Berlin decree 670 

Sept. 13. Death and character of Fox 670 



1807. Dismissal of the ministry. 

The slave-trade abolished. . 671 
Ministry of Portland .. .. 671 
War between Turkey and 

Russia 672 

July 7. Peace of Tilsit. Alliance of 

France and Russia . . . . 672 
Expedition to Copenhagen. 

The Danish fleet seized . . 673 
Treaty of France and Spain 

against Portugal 673 

Junot enters Lisbon. Flight 

of royal family to Brazil . . 673 
Milan Decree against British 

commerce 673 

1808. French invasion of Spain, 

and deposition of Charles 

IV 674 

Joseph Bonaparte made king 

of Spain 674 

The Seville Junta proclaims 

Ferdinand VII 674 

1808. English aid to Spain . . . . 674 
The Peninsular War .. .. 674 
Sir Arthur Welle sley 's victory 

at Vimiera 675 

Convention of Cintra. The 

French evacuate Portugal . . 675 
Advance and retreat of sir 

John Moore 675 

1809. Battle of Corunna. Death of 

Moore 676 

Abuses in the army. The 

duke of York resigns . . 676 
Wellesley in Portugal . . . . 677 
_ Passage of the Douro .. .. 677 
Battle of Talavera. Wellesley 

made lord Wellington . . 677 
He retreats to Portugal. 

French armies in Spain . . 677 
New war of Napoleon with 

Austria. Battles of Eckmuhl, 

Aspem, and Wagram 677, 678 



XXX11 



CONTENTS. 



1809. Peace of Schonbrunn 
Captivity of Pius VII 

1810. Marriage of Napoleon to Maria 

Louisa of Austria 
Expedition to Walcheren 
Expedition to Calabria 
Ionian isles acquired 
Duel between Canning and 
Castlereagh. Ministry of 
Spencer Perceval 



PAGE 
678 
678 

678 

678 
678 
678 



A.D. PAGE 

1810. Sir P. Burdett sent to the 

Tower 679 

Siege of Cadiz. Massena's 

advance into Portugal . . 679 

Battle of Busaco 680 

Lines of Torres Vedras .. . . 680 
Bernadotte made crown prince 

of Sweden 680 

Final mental malady of the 

king 681 



The Regency of George, Prince of Wales. 



J812. 



1811. Retreat of Massena 

Battles of Barrnsa, Fuentes de 

Oftoro, and Albuera . . 681, 
First siege of Badajoz 

Perceval shot 

Lord Liverpool prime minister 

Wellington takes Ciudad 

Rodrigo and Badajoz .. 

July 22. Battle of Salamanca 

Madrid occupied 

The Orders in Council . . 

War with America. . 

Treaty of Russia and Sweden 

against France. Napoleon's 

expedition against Russia 

1813. Wellington advances into 

Spain. Battle of Vittoria 
Battles of the Pyrenees 
Capture of San Sebastian 
Wellington enters France. 

Battle of Nivelle 

Rise of the continent against 

Napoleon 

Battles of Lutzen and Bautzen 
Napoleon's obstinacy .. 
Austria joins the coalition . . 
Oct. 16-18. Great defeat of Napoleon 

at Leipsic 

The allier. cross the Rhine . . 

1814. Wellington defeats Soult at 

Orthez and Toulouse 
End of the Peninsular War . 
Napoleon's defensive cam- 
paign in France 

Mar. 31. The allies enter Paris .. 
April 4. Napoleon abdicates at 

Fontainebleau 

His banishment to Elba 
May 3. Louis XVIII. restored 

May 30. Peace of Paris 

Visit of the allied sovereigns 
to England 



682 

682 
682 
682 

683 
683 
683 
684 



685 
686 



686 
686 



687 
687 



687 
687 



1814. Honours and rewards to the 
duke of Wellington 

1813. American War. Action of the 

Sliannon and Chesapeake . . 

1814. Washington taken. Repulse 

at New Orleans (1815) 
Dec. 24. Treaty of Ghent .. .. 

1815. Congress at Vienna 
Escape of Napoleon 

Mar. 19. Flight of Louis XVIII. . . 
Napoleon enters Paris 
Campaign in Belgium 
Quatre Bras and Ligny 

June 18. Battle of Waterloo .. 
Napoleon's second abdication 

The allies in Paris 

Louis XVIII. restored 
Napoleon surrenders on board 

the Bellerophon 

He is banished to St. Helena. 
His death (May 5, 1821) . . 
Second peace of Paris .. 

The Holy Alliance 

Settlement of Europe by the 

congress at Vienna .. 
Distress and discontent 
The corn-law 

1816. Bombardment of Algiers. 

Suppression of piracy 

1817. Habeas Corpus suspended .. 
Trials for libel and sedition . . 
Trials of William Hone 
Death of princess Charlotte . . 

1818. Congress of Aix-la-^hapelle 
Death of queen Charlotte . . 

1819. Repeal of the Bank Restric- 

tion Act. Cash payments 
resumed (May 1, 1821) .. 

" Peterloo massacre " . . 

Lord Sidmouth's Six Acts .. 

1820. Death of the duke of Kent .. 
Death and character of George 

III 



689 
689 
689 
690 
690 
690 
690 
690 
692 
692 
692 



693 
693 
693 

693 
693 
693 

694 
694 
694 
694 
694 
694 
695 



695 
695 
695 
695 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 
George IV. and William IV. a.d. 1820-1837. 

GEOKGE IV., 6. 1762 ; r. 1820-1830. 



1820. Cato-street conspiracy . . . . 696 
Trial of queen Caroline . . . . 696 

1821. Her death 697 

1822. Ministerial changes. Peel 

andTRmning. Suicide of 
lord Londonderry (Castle- 
reagh) .. .. 697 



1823. Commercial and financial re- 
forms 

1825. Financial panic: bank failures 
Establishment of joint stock 

banks 

The Catholic claims 

Daniel O'Connell 



CONTENTS. 



XXX111 



A.D. 
1825. 

1827. 



1829. 
T1832 



Vow of the duke of York . . 698 

His death 698 

Lord Liverpool's illness. 

Canning prime minister . . 698 
cession of Wellington, Peel, 

and Eldon 698 

Death of Canning. Lord 

Goderich prime minister . . 699 

Battle of Navarino .. . . 669 

Independence of Greece . . 699 
Otho king of Greece (deposed 

1862) 699 

George I. king of the Hellenes 699 
England cedes the Ionian 

islands to Greece . . . . 699 



A.D. PAGE 

1828. Wellington prime minister . . C99 
Repeal of the Test and Cor- 
poration Acts 699 

Resignation of the " Canning" 
party 700 

Election for Clare and return 
of O'Connell 7oo 

1829. Catholic emancipation .. . . 700 

1830. Death and character of George 

IV . 

Popular improvement 

1825. The first passenger rail- 
way 

1830. The Liverpool and Manchester 

line opened 701 



701 
701 



701 



William IV., 6. 1765; r. 1830-1837. 



1830. The second French Revolution 701 
Charles X. deposed; Louis 

Philippe king 701 

Liberal complexion of the new 

parliament 702 

The duke of Wellington de- 
clares against reform . . 702 

Defeat and resignation of the 

ministry 702 

Ministry of earl Grey . . . . 702 

1831. Reform Bill defeated . . . . 702 

New parliament 703 

Second Reform Bill thrown 

out by the lords 703 

The Asiatic cholera . . . . 703 

1832. The Reform Bill passed . . 703 
Its principal provisions . . 704 

1833. First reformed parliament .. 705 
The " Conservatives " led by 

sir Robert Peel 704 

Abolition of negro slavery . . 705 
Irish Church Temporalities 

Act 705 



1833. New charters to the Bank of 

England and the East India 
Company. The trade with 
China thrown open 

1834. Division in the ministry. Lord 

Grey resigns 

Lord Melbourne premier 

New poor-law 

Conservative reaction 

Ministers dismissed 

First ministry of sir Robert 

Peel 

1835. Lord Melbourne's second 

ministry 

Close alliance with O'Connell 
Act for Municipal Reform . . 

1836. Acts tor Dissenters' marriages 

and Registration of Births, 

Marriages, and Deaths . . 

Ecclesiastical Commission and 

Tithe Commutation Acts . . 

1837. Death of William IV 



705 
705 
705 
706 
706 



705 
706 
706 



706 
706 



CHAPTER XXXV. 



Queen Victoria, 6. 

1837. Separation of Hanover and 
England 

1837. Canadian rebellion 
1840. Union of the Canadas . . 
T1867. The Dominion of Canada 

under a viceroy 
1837-8. Rise of the Chartists 

1839. Riots at Newport 708 

1838. The Anti-Corn-Law League. 

Richard Cobden 708 

1840. Marriage of the queen to 

prince Albert 708 

1839. Committee of council for 

education 

1840. Uniform Penny Post 

1841. Fall of the ministry .. .. 
Second parliament 
Ministry of sir R. Peel 

1842. Graduated duty on corn 
Income tax revived 
O'Connell's agitation for re- 
peal of the Onion 

1843-4. His arrest, imprisonment, 
and death (1847) . . . . 

2* 



707 
708 
708 

708 

708 



709 
709 
709 
709 
709 
709 
709 

709 

709 



1819. a.d. 1837-1878. 

1845. Endowment of Maynooth. 

Queen's Colleges in Ireland 709 
Bad harvest and potato 

disease. Corn-laws doomed 710 
Resignation and return to 

office of sir R. Peel . . . . 710 

1846. Repeal of the corn-laws .. 710 
The new protectionist party. 

Lord Stanley (earl of Derby) 

and Mr. Disraeli 710 

Defeat of sir R. Peel. Ministry 
of lord John Russell „ .. 711 

1847. Distress in England .. ., 711 
Famine in Ireland 711 

1848. Rebellion of the "Young 

Ireland " party 711 

Effects of emigration and the 

Encumbered Estates Act .. 711 
Third French Revolution. 
Louis Philippe expelled .. 711 
April 10. Abortive Chartist demon- 
stration in London .. .. 711 

1849. Repeal of the Navigation 

Acts 711 



XXXIV 



CONTENTS. 



A.I>. PAGE 

1850. Death and character of sir 

Robert Peel 711 

1850-1. Catholic bishoprics founded 712 

Ecclesiastical Titles Act . . 712 

1851. Exhibition in Hyde Park .. 712 
Dec. 2. Coup d'etat of Louis Na- 
poleon Bonaparte in France 712 

Dismissal of lord Palmer- 
ston 712 

1852. Defeat of lord J. Russell. 

Lord Derby's first ministry 712 

Death of Wellington . . . . 712 
Dec. 2. Napoleon III. emperor of the 

French 713 

Fall of lord Derby's ministry 713 
Coalition ministry of lord 

Aberdeen 713 

1853. Mr. Gladstone's first budget 713 
War between Russia and 

Turkey. Alliance between 
England and France . . . . 713 

1854. War with Russia 714 

Invasion of the Crimea. 

Battle of the Alma .. . . 714 

Siege of Sevastopol 714 

Battle of Balaklava .. .. 714 

Battle of Inkermann ., . . 715 

1855. Fall of the government .. 715 
Ministry of lord Palmerston. 

Secession of " Peelites " .. 715 
Mar. 2. Death of the emperor 

Nicholas 715 

Naval operations 715 

Austrian occupation of the 
principalities. The allies 

joined by Sardinia .. .. 716 
Sept. 10. Fall of Sevastopol. War 

in Asia 716 

1856. Peace of Paris 717 

1857. Japan. New war with China 717 
Coalition against Palmerston 717 

Fifth parliament 717 

Indian Mutiny 717 

Review of Indian history .. 717 

1792. Alliance of Tippoo Sahib with 

the French 717 

1798. Lord Mornington (marquess 

Wellesley) governor-gene- 
ral 717 

1799. Capture of Sering-apatam. 

Death of Tippoo 717 

1803. Mahratta war. Battles of 

Assaye and Argaum .. .. 717 
War with Scindiah. Capture 

flf Delhi and Agra .'. . . 718 
Annihilation ' of French in- 
fluence in India ' .. .. 718 

1805. Governments of lords Corn- 

wallis and Minto .. .. 718 

1813. LordMoira (marquess Hast- 
ings) governor-general . . 718 
War with the Mahrattas and 
Pindarees 718 

1822. Lord William Bentinck 

governor-general .. .. 718 

1826. First war with Burmah. 

Capture of Bhurtpore .. 718 

1836. Lord Auckland governor- 
general 718 



A.D. 

1838- 



1842. 
1843. 
1844. 
1845- 
1848- 



1856. 
1857. 



1860. 
1861. 



1861. 
1862. 
1861- 

1864 

1865 



PAGE 

40. First Afghan War. Shah 

Soojah set up at Cabul . . 718 
Afghan insurrection. British 

army destroyed 718 

Lord Ellenborough governor- 
general 718 

Recapture and evacuation of 

Cabul 718 

Battle of Meeanee, and con- 
quest of Scinde 719 

Sir Henry (afterwards lord) 

Hardinge governor-general 719 
6. War with the Sikhs. 

Aliwal and Sobraon .. .. 719 
9. Second Sikh War, and con- 
quest of the Punjab .. .. 719 
The British Empire over 

all India 719 

Annexation of Oude .. .. 719 
Mutiny of the sepoys. Loss 

and recapture of Delhi 719,720 
Final suppression of the re- 
bellion by lord Clyde . . 720 
Orsini's conspiracy against 

Napoleon III 720 

Threats against England . . 720 

The Volunteer s 720 

Fall of lord Palmerston . . 721 
Second ministry of lord 

Derby 720 

The government of India 

placed under the Crown . . 721 
Admission of the Jews to 

parliament 721 

New oath for members of 

parliament 721 

Defeat of the government on 

reform 721 

Sixth parliament 721 

Lord Palmerston's second 

ministry 721 

War of France, Sardinia, and 

Austria, in Italy 721 

Enterprise of Garibaldi. 

liberation of the two Sicilies 722 
The kingdom of Italy .. .. 722 
Great prosperity. Financial 

measures of Mr. Gladstone 722 
Mr. Cobden's commercial 

treaty with France . . . . 722 
End of the Chinese wars . . 723 
Death of the Prince Consort 723 
Second Exhibition of Industry 723 
5. American civil war . . . . 723 
Cotton famine in Lancashire 723 
■5. The Danish war about 

Schleswig-Holstein .. .. 724 
Death of lord Palmerston . . 724 
Review of his administration 724 
Earl Russell'ssecond ministry 725 
Seventh parliament . . . . 725 

Reform Bill defeated 725 

Lord Derby's third adminis- 
tration 7 2 5 

War of Prussia and Italy 

against Austria T25, 

Battle of Sadowa 726 

Supremacy of Prussia . . . . 72§ 
Venetia united to ltalv . . 726 



CONTENTS. 



XXXV 



A.D. PAGE 

1867. Second reform of parliament 726 
1867-8. Expedition to Abyssinia .. 726 
1866-7. Fenian agitation in Ireland 726 

1868. Abolition of public executions 726 
Mr. Disraeli's first adminis- 
tration ' 726 

Ministry of Mr. Gladstone . . 727 
Eighth parliament . . .. 727 

1869. Disestablishment of the Irish 

church 727 

Imprisonment for debt abo- 
lished 727 

Abolition of religious tests in 
the universities 727 

1870. Irish Land Act .727 

National Education Act . . 727 
War between France and 

Germany. Capture and 

deposition of Napoleon III. 727 

1871. Siege of Paris 728 

Peace of Versailles . . . . 728 

William I. proclaimed German 
emperor 728 

1873. Death of the ex-emperor Na- 
poleon 728 

1873-8. Subsequent history of the 

French republic 728 

1 870. New treaties for the indepen- 

dence of Belgium . . . . 729 

1871. Purchase of army commissions 

abolished 729 

Russia gets rid of the neu- 
trality of the Black Sea . . 729 
Illness of the prince of Wales 729 

1872. The Alabama claims . . .. 729 
Act for ballot at parliamentary 

elections 729 

1873. Mr. Gladstone's Irish Univer- 

sity Bill defeated . . . . 730 
Act for a Supreme Court of 

Judicature 730 

1873-4. The Ashantee War .. . . 730 

1874. Conservative reaction. Sudden 

dissolution of parliament . . 730 
Mr. Disraeli's second adminis- 
tration 730 

Ninth parliament 731 

Annexation of the Fiji Islands 731 

1875. New sinking fund 731 

Prince of Wales in India . . 731 

1876. Lord Lytton viceroy of India 732 
The queen proclaimed 

Empkkss of India . . 732 
Purchase of shares in the Suez 

Canal 732 

Mr. Disraeli made earl of 

Beaconsfield 732 

Affairs of Turkey 732 

1876. War with Servia and Mon- 
tenegro 732 



A.D. PAGE 

Atrocities in Bulgaria . . . . 732 
Designs of Russia. Conference 

at Constantinople . . . . 732 

1877. War of Russia, Roumania, and 

Servia against Turkey . . 733 
Approach of the Russians to 

Constantinople 734 

1878. Parliament summoned .. .. 734 
Divisions in the cabinet . . 734 
The British fleet in the Sea of 

Marmora 734 

Treaty of San Stefano . . . . 734 

English preparations . . . . 735 

Lord Salisbury's circular . . 735 

Congress and Treaty of Berlin 735 
Defensive alliance between 

Great Britain and Turkey 737 

British occupation of Cyprus 737 

The second Afghan War . . 737 

Depression of trade . . . . 738 

Death of princess Alice . . 738 



Review of the period since 
the Revolution 738 

Advance and security of poli- 
tical rights 738 

Growth of England as a 
European power 738 

Colonial and Indian empire . . 738 

Increase of trade, wealth, and 
population 739 

Potteries. Cotton manufac- 
tures 739 

1775. James Watt's steam-engines 739 

Spinning machines of Har- 
greaves and Crompton . . 739 
1755-9. Canals. The duke of 

Bridgewater 739 

Roads and coaches. Mac- 
Adam 739 

1801. First act for a public railway 739 

Mail coaches. Old and new 

postal systems 740 

crease in steam- vessels since 
1815 740 

Other recent inventions . . 740 

Foreign commerce. Results 
of free trade 740 

Increase of population. The 
decennial census . . . . 740 

Increase and reduction of the 
National Debt 741 

Moral condition. Religion 
and missions 742 

Mitigation of the criminal 
law. Education .. .. 743 

Literature and art ?44 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. Poor Laws .. 745 

B. Corn Laws .. .. .. .. 746 

(J. Navigation Laws •• 747 



D. Authorities for the Period comprised In 

- Book VI 747 

E. State of the Representation 747 



XXXVI CONTENTS. 

TABLES. 

PAGE 

Sovereigns of England since the Conquest 749 

The principal European Sovereigns from the period of the Conquest . . 750-753 

The Archbishops of Canterbury from the time of the Reformation .. .. 752-753 

GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 

AA. Descent of Victoria I. from Egbert 754 

A. The House of Cerdic . . 755 

B. The Anglo-Danish kings of England 756 

C. Family of Earl Godwin 756 

T). The Norman line 757 

E. The House of Plantagenet — 

„ Parti. From Henry II. to Edward 1 758 

F. „ Part II. Descendants of Edward I. and his brother Edmund Crouchback 759 

G. The House of Lancaster. Descendants of John of Gaunt. Also the 

descendants of Thomas of Woodstock 760 

H. The House of York. Descendants of Lionel of Antwerp and Edmund Langley 761 
I. The kings of France, from Philip III. to Charles VII. (In illustration of the 

wars between England and France) 762 

K. The House of Tudor 763 

L. The House of Stuart 764 

M. The House of Brunswick 765 

Also (in the body of the work)— 
The descendants of John II. of France. (In illustration of the French wars 

of Henry V.) 197 

The descendants of Philip III. of Spain. (To illustrate the question of the 

Spanish succession) 538 

Supplementary Notes 766 

Index 781 



LIST OF SEPAEATE MAPS. 

1. Roman Britain To face 16 

2. Saxon England ,, 48 

3. English Possessions in France in the reign of Henry II. \ 

4. English Possessions in France at the treaty of Bretigny, ' ,, 112 

1360 '. \ 

5. England in the Wars of the Roses ,, 208 

6. England in the Great Rebellion ,, 400 

7. English Possessions in North America , 612 

8. A Chart of the World, showing the British Possessions 

and the dates of acquisition „„ . . „. , 736 



fo( 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 




Stonehenge. 



BOOK I. 

THE BEITONS, EOMANS, and ANGLO-SAXONS. 

B.C. 55— a.d. 1066. 



CHAPTEE I. 



THE BEITONS AND EOMANS. 



§ 1. Earliest notices of Britain. § 2. The earliest inhabitants of Britain 
were Celts of the Cymric stock. § 3. Religion of the Britons. § 4. Knights 
and bards. § 5. Manners and customs of the Britons. § 6. British 
tribes. § 7. Csesar's two invasions of Britain. § 8. History till the 
invasion of Claudius. § 9. Caractacus. § 10. Conquest of Mona ; 
Boadicea. § 11. Agricola. § 12. The Roman walls between the Sol way 
and the Tyne, and between the Clyde and the Forth. § 13. Saxon 
pirates ; Carausius. § 14. Picts and Scots. Departure of the Romans. 
§ 15. Appear to Aetius. Groans of the Britons. The Saxons called in. 
§ 16. Condition of Britain under the Romans. § 17. Christianity in 
Britain. 



THE BRITONS AND ROMANS. 



Chap. i. 



§ 1. The south-western coasts of Britain were probably known to 
the Phoenician merchants several centuries before the Christian era. 
The Phoenician colonists of Tartessus and Gades in Spain, and 
especially of Carthage, were attracted to the shores of Britain by 
its abundant supply of tin, a metal of great importance in antiquity 
from the extensive use of bronze for the manufacture of weapons of 
war and implements of peace. It would seem that this metal was 
originally obtained from India, since the Grecian name for tin 
is of Indian origin, and must have been brought into Greece, 
together with the article itself.* Accordingly, when the voyagers 
obtained tin in Cornwall and Devon, whose high and indented shores 
might easily be mistaken for islands, these parts were called the 
Cassiterides or the Tin-islands, a name by which they were known 
to Herodotus f in the fifth century before the Christian era. Later 
writers mention the Britannic Islands as Albion and IerneJ in- 
cluding in the former England and Scotland, in the latter Ireland. 
The origin of the word Britain is disputed,§ but that of Albion 
is perhaps derived from a Celtic word signifying " white," a name 
probably given to the island by the Gauls, who could not fail to be 
struck with the chalky cliffs of the opposite coast. 

In addition to the Phoenician merchants, the Greek colonists of 
Massalia (Marseilles) and Narbo (Narbonne) carried on a trade at 
a very early period with the southern parts of Britain, by making 
overland journeys to the northern coast of Gaul. The principal 
British exports seem to have been tin, lead, skins, slaves, and hunt- 
ing-dogs employed by the Celts in war. When the Britons 
became more civilized, corn and cattle, gold, silver, and iron, and 
an inferior kind of pearl, were added to the list. An interesting 
account of the British tin-trade is given by Diodorus Siculus, a 
contemporary of Julius Caesar. || Diodorus relates that the in- 
habitants near the promontory of Belerium (Land's End), after the 
tin was formed into cubical blocks, conveyed it in waggons to an 
island named Ictis (supposed to be St. Michael's Mount), since at 
low tides the space between that island and Britain became dry. 
At Ictis the tin was purchased by the merchants and carried over 
to Gaul. 

§ 2. The fabulous tale of the colonization of the island by Brut 
the Trojan, the great grandson of iEneas, deserves no other attention 
beyond the influence it has exercised on English literature. It 



* The Greek name for tin is kassiteros 
(Ka<r<r<T6pof), which evidently comes from 
the Sanscrit kastira. 

f Hi. 115. 

% The native name of Ireland seems to 
have been Eri, or Erin, as to this day. It 



is also called Iris, Ivemia, and Hibernia. 

} It is probably from a Celtic word, 
brith or brit, " painted," because the in- 
habitants stained their bodies with a blue 
colour extracted from woad. 

II v. 22. 



Chap. i. 



THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS 



has no claim to be admitted even as a traditional element in the 
history of Britain. There can be no doubt that the inhabitants 
of Britain, when it was first known, were Celts, who peopled the 
island from the neighbouring continent. The Celts were divided 
into two great branches, the Gael and the Cymry, the former of 
whom now inhabit Ireland and the highlands of Scotland, and the 
latter the principality of Wales. It has been thought by some 
that traces of an earlier Gaelic population might be found in parts 
of England, Wales, and the Scottish lowlands; but the more 
cautious of modern enquirers are inclined to believe that the great 
mass of the Britons, like the Gauls of the continent, were Cymry,* 
and that the Welsh are descended from the ancient inhabitants. 
In proof of this it may be sufficient to mention that most of the 
Celtic words which still exist in the English language are clearly 
to be referred to the Cymric and not to the Gaelic dialect. 

The Gallic origin of the ancient Britons is expressly affirmed by 
Csesar, who says f that the maritime parts of the island were in- 
habited by Belgic Gauls, who had crossed over from the mainland 
for the sake of plunder. The language, the manners, the govern- 
ment, the religion of both were the same ; and many tribes in 
Britain and Belgic Gaul had similar names. But the inhabitants of 
the interior, he adds, were indigenous, according to tradition ; from 
which we can only infer that the earlier immigrations of the Celts 
took place long before the memory of man; and that the less 
civilized tribes had been driven inland before the Belgic invaders. 
Tacitus, who derived his information from his father-in-law 
Agricola, supposed J that the red hair and large limbs of the 
Caledonians indicated a Germanic origin ; and that the dark com- 
plexion of the Silures, their curly hair, and their position opposite 
to Spain, furnished grounds for believing that they were descended 
from Iberian settlers from that country. But these are evidently 
mere conjectures, to which Tacitus himself seems to have attached 
little importance, for he adds that upon a careful estimate of 
probabilities we must believe that it was the Gauls who took 
possession of the neighbouring coast.§ 

§ 3. The connection of the Britons with the Celts of Gaul is further 
shown by their common religion. Caesar, indeed, was of opinion 
that Druidism had its origin in Britain, and was transplanted thence 
into Gaul ; and it is certain that in his time Britain was the chief 



* This is the plural of the Welsh Cym.ro; 
and the country of Wales is caUed Cymru 

federation), Latinized into Cambria. 

t Bell. Gall. v. 12. Belgic Gaul was the 
region between the Rhine, the Seine, and 
the Marne. Its people, the Belgce, were 



a superior race to the Galli between the 
Seine, the Marne, and the Loire. 

J Agricol. c. 11. 

} The question of an Iberian, or Basque, 
settlement in the south-west is still open 
to discussion. 



4 THE BRITONS AND ROMANS. Chap. i. 

seat of the religion and the principal school where it was taught. 
But this circumstance only shows that the common faith of the 
Celt had been preserved in its greatest purity by the remotest 
and most ancient tribes, who had been driven by the tide of emi- 
gration into this island. 

The religion of the Britons was a most important part of their 
government, and the Druids, who were their priests, possessed great 
authority among them. Besides ministering at the altar and 
directing all religious duties, they presided over the education of 
the youth ; they enjoyed immunity from war and taxes ; they 
possessed both civil and criminal jurisdiction; they decided all 
controversies between states as well as among private persons, and 
whoever refused to submit to their decrees was subjected to the 
severest penalties. The sentence of excommunication was pro- 
nounced against the offender ; he was forbidden access to the 
sacrifices or public worship ; he was debarred all intercourse with 
his fellow-citizens; he was refused the protection of the law; and 
death itself became an acceptable relief from the misery and infamy 
to which he was exposed. Thus the bonds of government, which 
were naturally loose among so rude and turbulent a people, were 
strengthened by the terrors of religion. 

No species of superstition was ever more terrible than that of the 
Druids. Besides the severe penalties which it was in the power of 
the priests to inflict in this world, they are said to have inculcated 
the eternal transmigration of souls. They practised their rites in 
dark groves or other secret recesses. To throw a greater mystery 
over their religion, they communicated their doctrines to the 
initiated only, and strictly forbade them to be committed to 
writing. In the ordinary concerns of life, however, when writing 
was necessary, they employed Greek characters or a sort of 
hieroglyphics formed from the figures of plants. Of the nature 
of their rites, except their veneration for the oak and the mistletoe, 
little is known. When a mistletoe was discovered growing upon an 
oak, a priest severed it with a golden knife ; on which occasion 
a festival was held under the tree, and two milk-white bulls were 
offered in sacrifice. The Druids worshipped a plurality of gods, to 
whom Csesar, after the Boman fashion, applies the names of the 
deities of his own country. The attributes of the god chiefly 
worshipped among them appear to have resembled those of Mercury.* 

* The stupendous ruins of Stonehenge, to what age we should refer these and other 

situated in Salisbury Plain, and of Ave- rude stone monuments of the pre-historic 

bury, in Wiltshire, were formerly sup- Britons, such as the cromlechs, which 

posed to be the remains of Druidical were once called Druidical altars, but are 

temples, but they are not mentioned by now proved to have been tombs. In the 

any ancient writer. It is quite uncertain compound word Stone-henge, the latter 



Chap. i. 



THE DRUIDS. 



They inculcated reverence for law and fortitude under suffering. 
They taught their disciples to observe the stars and to investigate 
the secret powers of nature. A term of twenty years was commonly 
devoted to the acquisition of the knowledge which they imparted. 
They chose their own high-priest, but the election was not 
unfrequently decided by arms. 

In some countries, human sacrifices formed one of the most 
sanguinary features of Druidical worship. The victims were 
generally criminals, or prisoners of war, but, in default of these, 
innocent persons were sometimes immolated ; and in the larger 
sacrifices immense figures made of plaited osiers were filled with 
human beings and then set on fire. The spoils of war were often 
devoted by the Druids to their divinities ; and they punished with 
horrible tortures all those who dared to secrete any portion of the 
consecrated offering. These treasures, kept in woods and forests, 
were secured by no other guard than the terrors of religion ; and 
this conquest over human cupidity may be regarded as more 
extraordinary than any acts of courage and self-devotion to which 
men were prompted by their exhortations. No idolatrous worship 
ever obtained such an ascendancy over mankind as that of the 
ancient Gauls and Britons ; and the Eomans, finding it impossible 
after their conquest to reconcile these nations to the laws and 
institutions of their masters, so long as Druidism maintained its 
authority, were at last obliged to abolish it by military force ; a 
violence which had never in any other instance been practised by 
these tolerating conquerors. 

§ 4. The British bards were a sacred order next to the Druids. 
They sung the genealogies of their princes, and composed lyric as 
well as epic and didactic poetry, accompanying their songs with an 
instrument called the chrotta or crowder. Next to the Druids, the 
chief authority was possessed by their chieftains, or heads of their 
clans — the equites, as Cassar calls them.* 

§ 5. Already, before the arrival of Csesar, the south-eastern parts of 
Britain had made the first and most requisite step towards a civil 
settlement ; and the Belgic Britons, by tillage and agriculture, 
had greatly increased. Other inhabitants of the island still main- 
tained themselves by pasture: they were clothed with skins of 
beasts : they dwelt in round huts constructed of wood or reeds, 
reared in the forests and marshes with which the country 
abounded. They easily shifted their habitations, actuated either by 



half henge, probably signifies the impost, 
which is suspended on two uprights, and 
consequently the word might be used 
in any case in which one stone was sus- 



pended on two or more others. — Guest 
in Proceedings of Philological Society, 
vol. vi. p. 33. 

* De Bell. Gall, vi 13-17. 



6 THE BRITONS AND ROMANS. Chap. i. 

the hopes of plunder or the fear of an enemy. Even the convenience 
of feeding their cattle was a sufficient motive for removing ; and as 
they were ignorant of all the refinements of life, their wants and 
their possessions were equally scanty and limited. 

The Britons tattooed their bodies, staining them blue and green 
with woad, as a sort of " war-paint ; " a custom long retained by 
the Picts". They wore checkered mantles like the Gaul or Scottish 
Highlander; their waists were circled with a girdle, and metal 
chains adorned the breast. The hair and moustache were suffered 
to grow, and a ring was worn on the middle finger, after the 
fashion of the Gauls. Their arms were a small shield, javelins, 
and a pointless sword. They fought from chariots (esseda, covini) 
having scythes affixed to the axles. The warrior drove the chariot, 
and was attended by a servant who carried his weapons. The 
dexterity of the driver excited the admiration of the Eomans. He 
would urge his horses at full speed down the steepest hills or along 
the edge of a precipice, and check and turn them in full career. 
Sometimes he would run along the pole, or seat himself on the 
yoke, and instantly, if necessary, regain the chariot. Frequently 
after breaking the enemy's ranks he would leap down and fight on 
foot; meanwhile the chariot was withdrawn from the fray, and 
posted in such a manner as to afford a secure retreat in case of 
need. Thus the Britons were enabled to combine the rapid evolu- 
tions of cavalry with the steady firmness of infantry. Caasai 
describes the British towns as mere clusters of huts, defended by 
their position in the centre of almost impenetrable forests. They 
were secured by a deep ditch, and a fence or wall of felled trees.* 

§ 6. The Britons were divided into many small nations or tribes. 
As their chief property consisted in their arms and their cattle, it 
was impossible, after they had acquired a relish for liberty, for their 
princes or chieftains to establish despotic authority over them. 
Their governments, though monarchical, were free, like those of 
other Celtic nations ; and the common people seem to have enjoyed 
more freedom than among the nations of Gaul from whom they 
were descended. Each state was divided into factions : it was 
agitated with jealousy or animosity against its neighbour: and 
while the arts of peace were yet unknown, war was the main 
occupation, and -formed the chief object of ambition, among the 
people.f 



* But Caesar's observation -was limited, 
and British earthworks, enclosing per- 
manent habitations, are found in open 
situations, and especially on hill-tops. 

f The British tribes with whom the 
Romans became acquainted by Caesar's 



invasion were mainly the following : — 

1. The Cantii, under four princes, in- 
habited Kent. They derived their name 
from the Celtic Caint, or open country. 

2. The Trindbantes were seated to the 
north of the Thames, and between that 



B.C. 55-54. CLESAR'S INVASIONS. 7 

§ 7. At the close of the fourth campaign in his Gallic wars, 
Cesar invaded Britain with two legions in the end of August, 
B.C. 55. Aware of his intention, the natives were sensible of the 
unequal contest, and endeavoured in vain to appease him by sub- 
mission. After some resistance, he landed, with two legions (about 
8000 men), either at or near Deal,* obtained some advantage over 
the Britons, obliged them to promise hostages for their future 
obedience, but was constrained by the necessity of his affairs and 
the approach of winter, to withdraw his forces into Gaul. Believed 
from the terror of his arms, the Britons neglected the performance 
of their stipulations ; and Cassar resolved next summer (b.c. 54) to 
chastise them for their perfidy. He landed unopposed, apparently at 
the same spot, with five legions, numbering above 20,000 men ; and 
though he found a more regular resistance from the Britons, who 
were now united under Cassivelaunus,f one of their petty princes, 
he discomfited them in every action. Advancing into the country, 
he passed the Thames in the face of the enemy at a ford, probably 
Cowey Stakes, just above Walton, in spite of the piles which the 
Britons had driven into the bed of the river.J The valiant defence 
of Cassivellaun was frustrated by the submission of the Trinobantes 
and other tribes. Cassar took and burned the forest fortress at 
Verulamium, the modern St. Albans ; restored his own ally, 
Mandubratius, to the sovereignty of the Trinobantes ; and having 
compelled the inhabitants to fresh submission, he returned with 
his army into Gaul. 

§ 8. The civil wars which ensued prepared the way for the 
establishment of imperialism in Bome, and saved the Britons from 
the impending yoke. Augustus was content with levying duties 
on British commerce in the ports of Gaul, and with embassies 
sent from the island. Apprehensive lest the same unlimited extent 
of dominion, which had subverted the republic, might also over- 
whelm the empire, he recommended his successors never to enlarge 
the territories of the Romans. Tiberius, jealous of the fame which 
might be acquired by his generals, made the advice of Augustus a 
pretext for inactivity. Almost a century elapsed before another 
Roman force appeared in Britain ; but the natives during this 



river and the Stour, in the present 
counties of Middlesex and Essex. 

3. The Cenimagni, perhaps the same as 
the Iceni of Tacitus, dwelt in Norfolk, 
Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire. 

4. The Segontiaci inhabited parts of 
Hants and Berks. 

5. The Ancalites and Bibroci inhabited 
parts of Berks and Wilts. 

6. The Cassii appear to have been the 



tribe of which Cassivelaunus was the 
chief, and the same as the Catuvellauni in 
Herts, with their capital at Verulamium. 

* See Notes and Illustrations (A). 

f Later Welsh writers call him 
C'asivallon. 

% The historian Bede mentions the re- 
mains of these piles as existing in his own 
time, in the eighth century. 



s 



THE BRITONS AND ROMANS. 



Chap, l 




Gold Coin of Cunobelin or Cunobelinus. 
Obverse : (c]amv (Camulodunum) ; ear of corn. 
Reverse : uvno (Cunobelinus) ; horse to right. 



period kept up an intercourse with Koine. By this means, as 
well as from their commerce with Gaul, where the Roman power 
had been completely established, they derived some tincture of 
Eoman civilization ; and the coins of Cunobelin, the Cymbeline of 

Shakespeare, who ruled at 
Camulodunum {Colches- 
ter), as well as those of 
Tasciovanus, probably his 
father, display the influ- 
ence of Roman art,* and 
a knowledge of the Latin 
alphabet. 

The mad sallies of Cali- 
gula, in which he menaced 
Britain with invasion, served only to expose himself and the empire 
to ridicule. At length a British exile named Bericus instigated the 
emperor Claudius to undertake the reduction of the island, and 
Aulus Plautius was despatched thither (a.d. 43) at the head 
of four legions, augmented with Gallic auxiliaries. He marched 
through the southern counties to the Thames, which he crossed, 
probably at Wallingford, gaining a great battle over the sons of 
Cunobelin, and pursued the Britons to the marshes about London.f 
Claudius himself, finding matters sufficiently prepared for his re- 
ception, took a journey into Britain and received the submission of 
several British states, the Cantii, Atrebates, Regni, and Trinobantes, 
who were induced by their possessions and more cultivated manner 
of life to purchase peace at the expense of liberty. Claudius took the 
city of Camulodunum {Colchester'), where a colony of veterans was 
subsequently established ; and the south-eastern parts of Britain 
were formed into a Roman province.^ In this invasion Vespasian, 
the future emperor, distinguished himself, and at the head of the 
Second Legion fought thirty battles, stormed twenty towns, and 
subdued the Isle of Wight. 

§ 9. The other Britons, under the command of Caractacus, a son 
of Cunobelin, still maintained an obstinate resistance, and the 



* There are many other coins, inscribed 
with names of British princes, furnishing 
materials for a conjectural account of the 
political state of various tribes. Others, 
the rudeness of which shows native work- 
manship, confirm Caesar's statement that 
the Britons used money before his invasion. 
(Bell. Gall. v. 12, where nummo aure i is the 
genuine reading.) Their types, borrowed 
from Greek coins, seem to prove that the 
art was derived from the Greek colonies 



in Southern Gaul.— See Evans's Ancient 
British Coins. 

f There is some reason to suppose that 
London (Londinium, "the hill of the 
marsh") had its origin from the camp 
which Claudius pitched on the high 
ground of the present city, which then 
rose above the marshes formed by the 
unembanked Thames. 

J Of course the emperor claimed all 
Britain as belonging to this province. 



A.D. 43-61. . ROMAN CONQUEST. 9 

Romans now made little progress till Ostorius Scapula was sent 
over (a.d. 50). Under Scapula a line of Eoman camps was drawn 
across the island, from the Severn to the marshes of the Nen. The 
Iceni * were reduced after a desperate and brilliant struggle ; the 
league of the Brigantes f was surprised and dispersed by the rapid 
march of the Eoman general, and the Roman eagles dominated over 
the greater part of Britain. But the Silures and Oidovices+ still held 
out, and it was not till after nine years of warfare that the camp 
of Caractacus was stormed, and his residence was captured by the 
Romans, and with it his wife and family. § Caractacus himself 
sought shelter at the court of Cartismandua, queen of the Brigantes, 
whom he had formerly befriended, but by whom he was treacher- 
ously surrendered to the conquerors (a.d. 50). He was conveyed 
to Rome, where his magnanimous behaviour procured him better 
treatment than the Romans usually bestowed on captive princes. 
But even after the capture of their leader the Silures still held out, 
and offered so determined a resistance that Ostorius is said to have 
died of vexation. 

§ 10. The Romans did little towards the further subjugation of 
the island till the appointment of Suetonius Paulinus, in the 
reign of Nero, a.d. 58. After three years of successful warfare, 
he resolved on reducing the island of Mona, or Anglesey, the chief 
seat of the Druids, which afforded a shelter to the disaffected Britons. 
The infantry crossed the strait in shallow vessels, taking the 
cavalry in tow where the water was too deep to afford a footing for 
the horses. The Britons endeavoured to obstruct their landing by 
force of arms and the terrors of religion. Women intermingled with 
the soldiers ran up and down with flaming torches in their hands, 
and, tossing their dishevelled hair, struck no less terror into the 
astonished Romans by their howlings and their cries, than did the 
solemn array of the Druids, with uplifted arms, uttering prayers 
and imprecations on the invaders. But Suetonius, exhorting his 
troops to disregard the menaces of a superstition they despised, im- 
pelled them to the attack, drove the Britons off the field, burned 
the Druids in the fires they had prepared for their enemies, 
destroyed the consecrated groves and altars ; and having thus 
triumphed over the religion of the Britons, he thought his future 
progress would be easy in reducing the people to subjection. But 
the Britons, taking advantage of his absence, rose in arms ; and, 
headed by Boadicea, queen of the Iceni, whose daughters had been 

* Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire, j § Perhaps Caer Coradoc, situated on a 
f Between the Humber and the Tyne. | hill in Shropshire near the confluence of 
X The Silures inhabited South Wales ; the Clun and Teme. 
the Ordovices North Wales. J 



10 



THE BRITONS AND ROMANS. 



Chap, l 



defiled and herself scourged with rods by the Eoman tribunes, 
sacked and burnt Camulodunum, the colony of their insulting 
conquerors. Suetonius hastened to the protection of London, 
already a nourishing commercial town ; but found on his arrival 
that it would be requisite for the general safety to abandon the 
city to the merciless fury of the enemy. London was reduced to 
ashes; such of the inhabitants as remained in it were cruelly 
massacred ; the Eomans and all other strangers were put to the 
sword without distinction. The same fate befel Verulamium. No 
less than 70,000 persons suffered death, with cruel tortures, in the 
sack of the three cities ; and the Britons, by rendering the war thus 
bloody, seemed determined to cut off all hopes of peace or com- 
position with the enemy. This cruelty was revenged by Suetonius 
in a great and decisive battle (a.d. 61), where 80,000 of the Britons 
are said to have perished. Boadicea herself, rather than fall into 
the hands of the enraged victor, put an end to her life by poison. 
Suetonius was recalled soon after. 

§ 11. After a brief interval Cerialis received the command from 
Vespasian (a.d. 70), and by his bravery propagated the terror of the 
Eoman arms. Julius Frontinus succeeded Cerialis both in authority 
and reputation ; but the man who finally established the dominion 
of the Eomans in this island was Julius Agricola, who governed 
it seven years (a.d. 78-85), in the reigns of Vespasian, Titus, and 
Domitian. 

This able general formed a regular plan for subjugating Britain, 
and rendering its acquisition useful to the conquerors. After sub- 
duing the Ordovices, and again reducing Mona, which had revolted, 
he carried his victorious arms northwards. In the third year of his 
government he marched far into Caledonia, the region now called 
Scotland ; and in the following year he erected a line of fortresses 
between the firths of the Clyde and the Forth. He extended his 
conquests along the western shores of Britain, and even meditated 
an expedition into Ireland. In the sixth and seventh years of his 
administration he made two incursions into Caledonia, in the latter of 
which he gained a great and decisive victory over the inhabitants 
under their leader (Mgacus, at the foot of the highland hills.* 
During the last year of his government his fleet took possession of 
the Orkneys, and confirmed the opinion that Britain was an island. 

But whilst occupied with these military enterprises he neglected 
not the refinements of peace. He introduced laws and civilization 



* The place of the battle is unknown. 
The Mom Grampius (or, as the best MSS. 
have it, Groupius) of Tacitus has no 
name answering to it in native Scotch 



geography ; but, at the revival of learning, 
the name was transferred from the pages 
of Tacitus to the range now called the 
Grampians. 



a.d. 61-286. 



AGRICOLA — CARAUSIUS. 



11 



among the Britons, taught them the arts and conveniences of life, 
reconciled them to the Roman language and manners, instructed them 
in letters and science, and employed every expedient to render the 
chains which he had forged for them both easy and agreeable. 
Taught by experience how unequal their own force was to resist 
the Romans, the inhabitants gradually acquiesced in the dominion 
of their masters, and were incorporated into that mighty empire. 

§ 12. This was the last durable conquest made by the Romans ; 
and Britain, once subdued, gave no further disquietude to the victor. 
The Caledonians alone, defended by barren mountains, sometimes 
infested the more cultivated parts of the northern frontiers. To 
repel their attacks, Hadrian, who visited this island (a.d. 120), built 
a stone wall and an earthen rampart between the river Tyne and 
the Solway Firth, called the Roman or Picts' Wall, of which con- 
siderable remains still exist.* Lollius Urbicus (a.d. 139), under 
Antoninus Pius, erected another rampart of earth between the firth 
of Forth and Alcluith (Dunbar ton) on the Clyde, called the Wall 
of Antoninus, and now known by the name of Orceme's Dyke. But 
these fortifications did not prove adequate to check the incursions 
of the Caledonians and MasatEe/f who at length became so formid- 
able, that the proprietor, Virius Lupus, was not only obliged to buy 
off their attacks, but even to solicit the presence of the aged emperor 
Severus himself. Severus came accordingly, attended by his two 
sons, Caracalla and Geta (a.d. 208); and, although he was so 
afflicted with the gout that it was necessary to carry him in a 
litter, he proceeded through an almost impassable country to the 
extremity of the island, with the loss of 50,000 men. Having made 
a treaty at the frith of Cromarty with the natives, by which they 
agreed to cede a considerable portion of their territory, he returned 
to York, where he shortly afterwards expired, a.d. 211. Imme- 
diately after his death, his son Caracalla, eager to grasp the empire, 
entered into a truce with the northern tribes, and hastened back to 
Rome. 

§ 13. Except, however, on its northern frontier, Britain under the 
Roman dominion enjoyed profound tranquillity, till in the third 
century of our era it began to be disturbed by new enemies. These 
were the Frank and Saxon pirates, whose descents upon the eastern 
and southern coasts at last became so troublesome, that the western 
emperor, Maximian, fitted out a fleet at Boulogne for its defence 
(a.d. 286 X). But his commander, Carausius, fortifying the great 



* See Notes and Illustrations (B). 

f All the Britons north of the Roman 
frontier were called by the collective 
name of Caledonians, The Maeatae seem 



to have been the people between the walls 
of Hadrian and Antoninus. 

X A century later we find this coast, 
from the Wash to Sussex, defended by a 



12 



THE BRITONS AND ROMANS. 



Chap. i. 



power with which he was thus invested by an alliance with the 
Saxons themselves, asserted his own supremacy in Britain, and 
thus compelled Maximian to acknowledge him as his associate in 
the empire. In 294 Carausius was assassinated by his own officer 
Allectus, who in turn usurped the imperial title and retained it till 
296, when he was defeated by the army which Constantius Chlorus 
led against him. Constantius Chlorus died at York, in 306, where 
bis son, Constantine the Great, assumed the title of Csesar. 

§ 14. In the early times of the Roman dominion in Britain, the 
northern parts of the island were inhabited by the Caledonians and 
Ma3ata3, but in the beginning of the fourth century these names 
were supplanted by the Picts and Scots, wild and savage tribes, 
whose destructive inroads were long a terror to the civilized inhabi- 
tants of Britain. The name of Picts (Picti, i.e. painted) appears 
to have been only a new Latin term for those ancient Caledonian 
tribes who preserved their independence under the Romans, and 
maintained possession of the northern parts of the island till the 
later invasion of the Irish Scots.* All ancient writers agree in 
representing Ireland as the proper home of the Scots ; and for 
several centuries that island bore the name of Scotia. The Scots 
who invaded Roman Britain appear to have made their inroads by 
sea on the north-western shores, having perhaps established them- 
selves on parts of the Caledonian coast and the adjacent islands. 

In the year 367, under the reign of Valentinian I., the Scots and 
Picts, from the west and north, and the Frank and Saxon pirates, 
landing on the south-eastern shores, overran the Roman province, 
and penetrated as far as London. They were repulsed the next 
year by Theodosius, father of the emperor of the same name. Theo- 
dosius recovered the district between the walls of Hadrian and An- 
toninus, which he named Valentia, in honour of his master. Under 
bis son, Theodosius I., Maximus, having gained great reputation in 
fighting against the Picts and Scots, was saluted emperor by his 
soldiers, established a Western Roman empire at Treves, and was 
even acknowledged by Theodosius. He was taken prisoner at 
Aquileia and put to death, a.d. 388.f 

But this enterprise helped to weaken Britain, while she began 
to be more and more infested by the Picts, Scots, and Saxons. 
Stilicho, the general of Honorius, afforded temporary succour in 396 ; 
but soon afterwards, Caul being already overrun by the Alani, 



line of castles, garrisoned by a legion 
under a commander called " Count of the 
Saxon Shore " or " Border," that is, the 
coast exposed to the Saxon descents. — 
See Notes and Illustrations CO. 



* See Notes and Illustrations (D). 

f The legend that under Maximus a 
colony of British warriors established 
itself in Armorica (Brittany) is a mere 
fable. 



A.D. 410. THE ROMANS RETIRE. 13 

Suevi, and Vandals, he withdrew one legion from Britain,* and the 
two that remained appear to have been led out of the island by 
one of those rebellious officers, who successively assumed the title of 
emperor. The year in which Eome was sacked by the Gloths, 
under Alaric, marks also her final loss of Britain (a.d. 410). 

§ 15. The incursions of the northern barbarians were now 
renewed,! an( i m 443 the unhappy Britons made a last appeal 
to Eome. Aetius the patrician sustained at that time, by his 
valour and magnanimity, the tottering ruins of the empire, and 
revived for a moment among the degenerate Eomans the spirit, as 
well as the discipline, of their ancestors. The British ambassadors 
carried to him the letter of their countrymen, which was inscribed, 
The Groans of the Britons. The tenor of the epistle was suitable 
to its superscription. "The barbarians," say they, "on the one 
hand chase us into the sea; the sea on the other throws us back 
upon the barbarians ; and we have only the hard choice left us of 
perishing by the sword or by the waves." But Aetius, pressed by 
the arms of Attila, the most terrible enemy that ever assailed the 
empire, had no leisure to attend to the complaints of allies whom 
generosity alone could induce him to assist. After forty years of 
confusion, under the name of independence, the despairing Britons, 
guided, it is said, by the counsels of Vortigern, a powerful prince in 
the south of Britain, and by the example of the Armoricans, 
resolved on calling in the aid of the piratical Saxons, and thus 
repelling the Picts and Scots by means of tribes as barbarous as 
those by whom they were molested (a.d. 449 or 450). 

§ 16. Under the Eoman dominion % Britain had attained to 
great prosperity. Agriculture was carried to such a pitch, that the 
island not only fed itself, but large quantities of grain were also 
exported to the northern provinces of the empire. Its builders 
and artisans were in request upon the continent. The country 
was traversed by four excellent roads, constructed by the Romans, 
probably on the lines of older British roadways. These were 
Watling Street, leading from the Kentish coast at Eutupiae to 
•London, and thence into Wales, and, by another branch, to the Wall, 
and beyond it into Caledonia ; Ikenild or Eyknild Street, proceeding 



* The XXth Legion doubtless, which 
does not appear in the Notitia. 

■f The story of the " Alleluia victory," 
so called because a party of Picts, Scots, 
and Saxons fled without a blow when St. 
Germain, bishop of Auxerre, and his 
priests raised the cry of " Alleluia" (a.d. 
429), seems to be a legendary addition to 
the simple fact that St. Germain visited 

3 



the island to repress the Pelagian heresy. 
He came again for the same purpose in 
446, and he may on his return have been 
the bearer of the supplication to Aetius, 
for we know that he died at Ravenna 
(the place where Valentinian III. held hia 
court) in 448. 
J See Notes and Illustrations (E> 



14 



THE BRITONS AND ROMANS. 



Chap, i. 



from the Wall at the mouth of the Tyne, through York, Derhy, and 
Birmingham, to St. David's ; Irmin or Hermin Street, running from 
St. David's to Southampton; and the Fossway, between Cornwall 
and Lincoln ; besides a network of minor roads. Roman civilization 
in Britain was more complete than is commonly supposed, though 
its traces are now few, in comparison with those of other provinces. 
Bede, and before him, Gildas, speak of ' the Boman towns, 
lighthouses, roads, and bridges, as existing in their times. Many 
remains of Roman buildings were visible in the twelfth and 
thirteenth centuries, which have since disappeared. London, York, 
Chichester, Chester, and Lincoln retain portions of Roman walls ; 
the amphitheatres of Dorchester, Cirencester, and Silchester are 
still visible. The remote Caerleon on the Usk (Isca Silurum), 
as well as Bath, had their theatres, temples, and palaces. The 
grand remains of walls at Burgh Castle (Norfolk), Richborough, 
Lymne (Parties Lemanis), and Fevensey, attest the strength of the 
Roman castles on the Saxon coast. Even now, in London and other 
places once occupied hy the Romans, if the spade of the workman 
penetrates to an unusual depth below the soil, fragments of pottery, 
tesselated pavements, and other objects, are frequently discovered, 
which testify the presence of its former owners. So when the 
Angles and Saxons established themselves in Britain, they must 
have dwelt among Roman remains, and gazed with wonder on the 
magnificent trophies of Roman art. 

At the same time, it must be remembered that the Roman occu- 
pation of Britain was chiefly military, and that the country was 
never completely Romanized like the provinces of Gaul and Spain. 
The natives living at a distance from the towns continued to speak 
their own language ; the number of Latin words which have found a 
permanent place in the Welsh language is comparatively small ; and 
almost the only traces of the Roman occupation, existing in modern 
English, are confined to the word or termination Chester, caster, &c. 
(from castra, " camp "), which appears in Caistor (near Norwich), 
Manchester, Lancaster, &c. ; to coin (colonia), which is found in 
Colchester and Lincoln; to foss (fossa, "ditch"), in the Fossway 
and Foston; and to the two words street, from stratum or strata, 
and port, from portus, "harbour."* The condition of England 
under the Romans has been well compared by a modern writer to 
that of Ireland as it existed under English rule in the 17th century. 
" The towns were entirely peopled by the conquerors : they alone 



* All these elements mark military 
occupation. Wall, found in the names of 
places near Roman fortifications, comes 
probably from vallum, but it has also an 



English root. Port appears also in 
names, as Port-chester ; and port (for 
porta, gate) is used in some cities, as for 
the gates of Edinburgh. 



a.d. 180-446. INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 



15 



were capable of holding municipal privileges or power: and the 
country was covered with the houses of gentry and landholders, 
who were all descended either from the old conquerors or new 
settlers. The peasantry only were British — that class who were in 
ancient times equally slaves under one race of rulers or another, 
and who were only spurred into insurrection by political agitators 
or by foreign invasions. S'ill, as in Ireland, the peasantry, having 
no attachment to their lords, were easily excited to revolt ; and a 
successful inroad of the Caledonians would always be attended by 
a corresponding agitation among the Britons." * 

§ 17. Christianity was introduced into Britain at an early period; 
in all probability, however, not through Eome, but from the East, 
by means of the Mediterranean commerce carried on through Gaul. 
It is known that the latter country had numerous Christian congre- 
gations in the second century. Tradition ascril >es the adoption of 
Christianity in Britain to a prince Lucius, or Lever Maur(the Great 
Light), who flourished some time in the latter half of the second 
century. Under Diocletian, Britain reckons the martyrdom of St. 
Alban at Yerulam, and of Aaron and Julius, two citizens of Caerleon 
on the Usk. This "city of legions" (Civitas Legionurri) and the 
commercial and military capitals of London and York (Eboracum) 
are named as the three archie] >iscopal sees of Britain. At the first 
council of Aries, in 314, three British bishops appeared, namely, 
Eborius of York, Eestitutus of London, and Adelfius, probably of 
Caeileon. In the observance of Easter Day the British differed 
from the Romish and followed the Eastern church. The monastery 
of Bangor, near Chester, was founded at an early period : its name 
(ban gor, or " the great choir ") was a generic one for a monastery, 
and thus we find more than one Bangor in Britain. Some of the 
British ecclesiastics were famous for their learning and acuteness. 
Pelagius, the opponent of St. Augustine, and founder of the sect 
which bore his name, is said to have been a Briton whose real name 
was Morgan (i.e. " near the sea "), whilst his disciple Celestius was 
an Irishman. St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus, bishop 
of Troyes, were sent over to Britain by pope Celestine to confute 
the Pelagians in 429 ; and St. Germain paid a second visit in 446 
with Severus, bishop of Treves. 

The connection of Britain with the Western church continued when 
its political union with Bome had been severed. Christianity, extir- 
pated from England by the heathen conquerors, survived in Wales. 
Meanwhile, at the very time when Britain was lost to Rome, Ireland 



* Edinburgh Review, vol. xciv. p. 200. 
But to these causes ncust undoubtedly be 
added that of religion ; for those of the 



Britons who still adhered to their ancient 
faith would make common cause with 
Pagan invaders. 



16 



THE BRITONS AND ROMANS. 



Chap. i. 



appears in our history as receiving the Christian faith through 
the ministry of Palladius and St. Patrick, natives of Britain, but 
sent by the Eoman bishop to the " Scots in Ireland " (a.d. 432).* 
While England was ravaged by the heathen conquerors, Ireland is 
depicted, in colours probably much brighter than the truth, as 
peacefully enjoying the light and learning which earned for her 
the fond name of the " Island of the Saints." f 



* The story of the conversion of the 
southern or lowland Picts, as early as 396, 
by St. Ninian or Nynia is doubtful. 

f The origin of this boasted title has 
been traced, with great probability, to the 
old Greek form of the native name Eri, 
namely, >') lipavnaos, " the sacred island," 
popular tradition pointing to the west 



from time immemorial as the seat of the 
blessed. The native annals show no age 
in which Ireland was not the scene of feuds 
and wars, from the time when one of its 
chiefs fled to Agricola, to that when 
Dermot Macmorrogh invited its conquest 
by Henry II. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. CiESAR'S VOYAGES TO BRITAIN. 

The subject of Caesar's two voyages to 
Britain has given rise to much controversy. 
In relating his first voyage Ceesar merely 
says that he sailed from the country of the 
Morini, without specifying the precise 
spot ; but there can be little doubt that 
he started from the same place as in his 
second expedition, namely, the Portus 
Itius, which is supposed by D'Anville, 
who has been followed by most modern 
writers, to be Wissant, just east of Cape 
Grisnez, about halfway between Boulogne 
and Calais. In his first expedition Caesar 
must have landed on the 27th of August, 
since he tells us that it was full moon on 
the fourth day after his arrival in Britain ; 
and it has been calculated by the astro- 
nomer Dr. Halley that this full moon fell 
on the night of the 30th of August ( Philo- 
sophical Transactions, abridged to the 
end of the year 1700 by John Lowthorpe, 
vol. iii. p. 412). Dr. Halley maintained 
that Csesar landed at Deal, and his opinion 
has been adopted by almost all subse- 
quent writers ; but Mr. Lewin has urged 
strong arguments for supposing that 
Caesar landed at Lymne (near Hythe), the 
Roman Portus Lemanis, afterwards one 
of the castles of the Saxon coast (The 
Invasion of Britain by Julius Casar, 2nd 
edition, 1862). There is less to be said for 
the entirely new hypothesis of Sir George 

B. Airy, the Astronomer-Royal, who sup- 
poses that Cresar sailed from the estuary 



of the Somme and landed at the beach of 
Pevensey, on the coast of Sussex, near the 
spot where William the Conqueror disem- 
barked nearly eleven centuries afterwards. 
The reader will find the arguments of Sir 
George in the Archxologia, vol. xxxiv. 
p. 231, seq. 

At whichever place he landed there 
can be little doubt that the British 
camp stormed by Cresar (on his second 
invasion) was on the high ground about 
the Stour at Wye (probably at Cliallock 
Wood), and that he marched along the 
line of the old British track skirting the 
south edge of the North Downs, which 
was called in the Middle Ages the Pil- 
grim's Way, and, after crossing the 
Thames, up the valley of the Coin, to 
Verulamium (St. Albans). He had 
Mandubratius for his guide. He certainly 
did not march by the line of the later 
Watling Street (the modern Dover road) ; 
and it is only by pure invention, or a gross 
blunder (the source of which may be 
traced), that fabulous historians (such as 
Geoffrey of Monmouth) bring him to Lon- 
don, which he left far on his right. His 
return to the coast was evidently by the 
same route as his advance. 

B. THE ROMAN WALLS. 
1. The Roman fortification which crosses 
England from the Solway Firth to the 
River Tyne, consists of a stone wall and 
an earthen rampart (or rather double, 
and in some places triple, lines of ram- 












© 


ROMAN BRITA 


-^~. ± ^pzfi^™' 


O 


Scale of Statute Miles 


~TTV-^ v^Bodcrla 


^ 


10 20 30 40 50 GO 


> 





^ 



.V A I/E 



/ 



I A 



A 



^P 



O C jE A ITU S 

am em iri c v~ s 




Bremenium 
-$■ /"" XtiguValUuin V 



Catarractonum '. 

todies 

Coccium V 
& 

**■ ffciiliidnniu,. 

Uanennium r6,f J ! i 'i u >"' 

V 

DE' 



Vrico, 




E S 

BBlTAKisriAt 

^O ^E/STA^B- 

- ' S ^"%f)/f ...sKr-^K^ \t Win o^ ^fithon 

o c .E ^i j\t tj * x^^y/^i^ / . 
ve it air i v_s_^ Aj^, s „ s y« oTites 

_S,orbfoauimm ( / $y> Ba m -~-^ N T , V 




LoiiuBsriUM 

Durobrbpm- o ctflHttTUPLS: 

*~~ Sknehengeo] * 4°/ T 'r u " ns ^ "Kntiopolis JDcft 

.orbfoaunuml / ^LIt- ----- N ^ ' ^'-L 



Dubrze 



\&Magnus Regnn 



Portvs 
Z^£—\Ho3—f., Mus 
tortus ^-tAnderida 
Yecti&J. -Adumi? 



s k 



I T 



5 




W. of Greenwich 



New York; Harper & Brofhars 



Chap. i. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



17 



parts, with ditches) running generally 
parallel with one another, at the distance 
of 60 or 70 yards ; but the riistance varies 
greatly with the nature of the ground. 
Dr. Bruce proves, in his work on the 
" Roman Wall," that the stone wall and 
the turf vallum both belong to one and 
the same fortification, and that they were 
erected by the emperor Hadrian at one 
and the same time, the former to check 
the Caledonians, the latter to repress 
any hostile attempts of the southern 
Britons. It is impossible in the limits 
of this note to cite the evidence by which 
Dr. Bruce sustains this view against the 
unfounded opinion that, as the vallum 
of Hadrian was not sufficient to check 
the Caledonians, it was strengthened, or 
rather superseded, by the wall of Severus. 
The inscriptions prove that the whole 
works, including the great camps along 
the lines, and the supporting stations 
to the north and south, were Hadrian's, 
and that the part of Severus was limited 
to considerable repairs. The wall must 
not be conceived of as a mere defence, but 
a military base for operations on both 
sides of it. The castles along it have gates 
to the north, and the many coins found 
there prove that the ground north of the 
wall was maintained down to the time of 
Carausius (286-294). On. the same evi- 
dence, and that of the important list of 
stations on the Wall in the Notitia Im- 
perii, we know that the Wall itself was 
held till the reign of Honorius, and the 
final withdrawal of the legions. 

2. Along the line of the northern ' Wall 
of Antoninus " (Granule's, or more pro- 
perly Grimes, i.e. the " boundary," Dyke) 
many inscriptions have been found, men- 
tioning the work done by cohorts of the 
three legions (Ilnd, \ Ith, and XXth), and 
one which has the name of Lollids Ur- 
bicus as Praetorian Prefect of Antoninus 
Pius. 

It should be observed that Gildas, Bede, 
and Nennius connect the name of Severus 
with the northern wall, while they greatly 
confuse the two. 



C. THE COMES LITTORIS SAXONICI. 

Lappenberg, Kemble, and several others 
maintain that this officer derived his 
name, not from defending the coast which 
was exposed to the invasions of the 
Saxon pirates, but from his command- 



ing the Saxons who were settled along 
the coasts of Britain before the arrival 
of Hengist and Horsa in 450. But there 
seems no objection to the ordinary in- 
terpretation which has been adopted in 
the text. Dr. Guest correctly remarks 
that, as the Welsh marches in Shrop- 
shire and the Scotch marches in North- 
umberland were so called, not because 
they were inhabited by Welshmen or 
Scotchmen, but because they were open 
to the incursions of these two races, 
and were provided with a regular mili- 
tary organization for the purpose of 
repelling their incursions, so, for pre- 
cisely similar reasons, the south-eastern 
coast of Britain was called the Saxon 
Shore, or Frontier. The title first occurs 
in the Notitia Utriusque Imperii (a work 
compiled about the beginning of the fifth 
century), where the Saxon Shore is also 
called the Saxon Frontier (Limes Sax- 
onicus). The Notitia gives a list of the 
forces which held the nine great castles 
from Branodunum (Brancaster), on the 
north coast of Norfolk, to Portus Adurni 
(perhaps Aldrington, at the mouth of the 
Adur) in Sussex. The other seven were 
Garianonum (Burgh Castle, on the Yare), 
Othona (Ithancester, just below the 
Blackwater), Regulbium (Reculver), and 
Rutupia? (Richborough), which defended 
the two mouths of the Stour, then a 
strait cutting off Thanet ; Portus Dubris 
(Dover) ; Portus Lemanis (Lymne) ; 
Anderida (Pevensey). They were garri- 
soned by detachments and auxiliaries of 
the Second Legion, the head-quarters of 
which had been moved from Caerleon on 
the Usk to Richborough, to protect the 
communication with the continent. The 
walls at Burgh, Richborough, and 
Pevensey, may be traced by their splen- 
did ruins. Some of these castles (as at 
Richborough, Dover, and Lymne) date, 
doubtless, from the earliest time of the 
Roman occupation ; but there are grounds 
for ascribing the final organization of the 
system of defence to Theodosius. the 
general of Valentinian 1. 

D. THE SCOTS AND PICTS. 

From the second to the eleventh cen- 
tury the Scots are mentioned as the 
inhabitants of Ireland, and that island 
bore the name of Scotia. This is clearly 
proved by the authorities collected by 



18 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. i. 



Zeuss, Die Deutschfn und die Nachbar- 
stamrne, p. 568. Thus Claudian says — 



' Scotorum cumulos flevit glacialis Ierne." 

lie I V. Cons. Hon. 33. 



The Gaelic spoken by the Scotch High- 
landers is the same language as the Erse 
spoken by the Irish, and there can be no 
doubt that it was brought into Britain 
by the Irish Scots. 

E. GOVERNMENT AND DIVISIONS 
OF BRITAIN UNDER THE RO- 
MANS. 

Britain, like the other distant pro- 
vinces of the empire, was under the 
immediate superintendence of the em- 
peror, and not of the senate. It was 
formed into a Roman province by the 
emperor Claudius after the campaign of 
a.d. 43, and was governed at first by a 
Legatus of consular rank : its financial 
affairs were administered by a procu- 
rator. It was subsequently divided by 
Septimius Severus into two parts, Bri- 
tannia Superior and Inferior, each go- 
verned by a Praises. 

The later organization of Britain is 
explained in the Notitia Imperii. When 
Diocletian divided the empire into four 
Prefectures, Britain formed the third 
great diocese in the prefecture of the 
Gauls, of which the Prsefectus Prsetorio 
resided, first at Treves, and afterwards 
at Aries. Britain was governed by a 
Vicarius, who resided at Eboracum 
(York), and was subdivided into four 
provinces, Britannia Prima, Britannia 
Secunda, Flavia Csesariensis, and Maxima 
Caasariensis : to which a fifth, Valentia, 
was added by Theodosius in a.d. 368. The 
exact extent of these provinces is very 
uncertain, and the detailed situation of 
them in most maps rests mainly upon 
the so-called work of Richard of Ciren- 
cester, a monk of the 14th century, a 
shameless forgery by Charles Bertram in 
the 18th century. 

Roman Military Commanders. The 
military forces were originally under the 
command of the Legatus, but after the 
separation of the civil and military ad- 
ministration of the provinces by Diocle- 
tian, they were placed under three chief 
military officers, who bore the titles of 
Comes Britanniarum, Comes Littoris 



Saxonici per Britanniam, and Dux Bri- 
tanniarum. The title of Comes, or Com- 
panion, was the highest, and the Comes 
Britanniarum had the chief command 
of the military forces in Britain. The 
Comes Littoris Saxonici has been already 
spoken of. The Dux Britanniarum had 
charge of the wall of Hadrian and the 
command of the troops in the northern 
part of the province. 

At the time of the Notitia the Roman 
army in Britain consisted of about 20,000 
men. The four legions sent over by 
Claudius were these: — II. Augusta; IX. 
Hispana or Victrix ; XIV. Gemina; 
XX. Valeria Victrix; and the first and 
last remained in Britain during the four 
centuries of the Roman rule. The IXth 
was twice cut to pieces, in the revolt of 
Boadicea and under Agricola in Caledonia. 
The XlVth was twice withdrawn, by 
Nero and finally by Vespasian. The 
Vlth (Victrix), when brought over from 
Germany (probably with Hadrian), made 
up the permanent force of three legions, 
with their auxiliaries, including bar- 
barians from all parts of the empire. 
(This last fact is important in considering 
the influence of the Roman occupation on 
the population of Britain.) The Vlth 
legion always had its head-quarters at 
York for the defence of the Northern 
Frontier. It bore the chief part in build- 
ing the Wall, aided by detachments from 
the Hnd and XXth. The XXth was, after 
several removes, permanently fixed at 
Deva (Chester), the Civitas Legionum of 
North Wales (or Caerleon on the Dee), 
keeping watch on the mountaineers, and 
garrisoning the castles on the Cumbrian 
coast within the Wall. It had disappeared 
at the time of the Notitia. The Hnd, with 
which Vespasian overran the south and 
west, was fixed among the mountains of 
South Wales, at Isca Silurum, the southern 
Civitas Legionum (Caerleon on the Usk), 
whence it was finally transferred to 
Rutupiaj (Richborough), to guard the pas- 
sage to the continent and the castles of the 
Saxon Shore. There was a third Civitas 
Legionum in Mid-Britain (Lehester, 
from the A.S. Lege-ceaster, as Chester 
also was called) ; but it does not seem 
to have been the permanent head- 
quarters of any legion. The auxiliary 
troops, as we learn from their inscrip- 
tions, were a very colluvies gentium — 
Spaniards, Gauls, Batavians, Dalmatians, 



Chap. i. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



19 



Pannonians, Dacians ; besides Asiatics, 
who brought the worship of the Sun-god 
into Britain ; and there was even a body 
of Parthian cavalry on the Severn at 
Uriconium ( Wroxeter). Britons served 
abroad, but of native troops serving in 
the island, as the Catuvellauni and Dum- 
nonii, among the builders of the Wall, 
the notices are few. 

F. AUTHORITIES. 

Some of the classical authorities re- 
specting the early history of Britain 
have been alluded to in the preceding 
pages, and must of the passages bearing 
on the subject in the Greek and Latin 
writers, as well as in the ancient English 
authors, will be found collected in the 
Monumenta Ilistorica Britannica, vol. i. 
1848. The earliest English writer, Bede 
(a.d. 730), in his Ecclesiastical History and 
Chronicle, chiefly follows, for the Roman 
period, Jerome's version of the Chronicle 
of Eusebius, and other Latin chroniclers, 
the late and inaccurate Latin historians, 
Eutropius and the Universal History 
of Orosids, which comes down to a.d. 
417. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle * follows 
Bede, and so do the later chroniclers, 
Florence of Worcester, Henry of Hun- 
tingdon, etc.; but those who wrote after 
the Norman Conquest are infected by 
the fabulous legends derived from 
Geoffrey of Monmouth. The Welsh 
Chronicles have few incidents of any 
value, but there are two early British 
writers professedly belonging to the 
age following the Roman dominion : 
(1.) Gildas the Wise, of whose life we 
have various accounts, appears in any 
case to have been a British ecclesiastic 
of high birth, born (as he himself tells us) 
in the year of the great battle of Mount 
Badon (516), and his death is placed in 
a.d. 570. His Liber Querulus de Excidio 
Britannia, which has come down to us 
in a very imperfect state, seems to have 
been written in Armorica (Brittany), 
where he had taken refuge from the 
advancing English conquerors, about a.d. 
550. It is a history of Britain from the 
* See Note D at end of chapter iv. 



Roman invasion to his own time, fol- 
lowed by a most objurgatory letter to the 
British princes of Wales, written in a 
very inflated style. The work is printed 
in the Monumenta Historica Britannica. 
It has also been edited by the Rev. Joseph 
Stevenson, for the English Historical 
Society, 1838. (2.) The Historia Bri- 
tonum, from the Creation to 687, ascribed 
to Nennius, is less trustworthy. It is 
often ascribed to Gildas, from whose work 
much of it is taken. It appears to be 
the production of an anonymous author, 
copied and interpolated by a scribe, per- 
haps named Nennius, in a.d. 858. The 
author professes to have collected his 
materials from the tra litions of his elders, 
the monuments of the ancient Britons, 
the Latin chroniclers (Isidores, Jerome, 
Prosper, &c), and from the histories of 
the Scots and Saxons. It contains inte- 
resting traditions found here for the first 
time, but mixed with at least the germ 
of the fables collected by Geoffrey of 
Monmouth. It is edited in the Monumenta 
Historica Britannica, and by Mr. Steven- 
son. The most important modern works 
on Roman Britain are : — Camden's Bri- 
tannia ; Horsley's Britannia Romana ; 
Stukely's Stonehenge ; Whittaker's His- 
tory of Manchester ; Lappenberg's History 
of England, translated by Thorpe ; The 
Early and Middle Ages of England, by 
Professor Pearson ; Algernon Herbert's 
Britannia under the Romans ; Bruce's 
Roman Wall ; Booking's Notes on the 
Notitia Dignitatum, vol. ii. p. 496 ; Guest, 
On the Early English Settlements in 
South Britain, published in the Pro- 
ceedings of the Archaeological Institute, 
meeting at Salisbury, 1849 ; also, On the 
Four Roman Ways, On the Landing of 
Julius Cxsar, and On the Campaign of 
Aulus Plautius, in the Archaeological 
Journal, vols, xiv., xxi., xxiii. ; besides 
many papers by different authors in 
various antiquarian publications; Roach 
Smith's Cillectanea and Antiquities of 
Lymne, Richborough, and Reculver ; 
Wright's The Celt, the Roman, and the 
Saxon ; Gibbon's Decline and Fall ; and 
Dean Merivale's History of tlie Romans 
under the Empire, 




Map of the Isle of Thanet at the time of the landing of the Saxons. 



CHAPTEE II. 

THE ANGLO-SAXONS TILL THE REIGN OF EGBERT, A.D. 450-827. 

1. The Saxons, Angles, and Jutes. § 2. Manners and religion of the 
Anglo-Saxons. § 3. Their ships and arms. § 4. First settlement of 
the German invaders — in Kent. British traditions. § 5. Saxon 
account. § 6. Second settlement of the German invaders — in Sussex. 
§ 7. Third settlement of the German invaders — in Wessex. § 8. Fourth 
settlement of the German invaders — in Essex and Middlesex. § 9. Fifth 
settlement of the German invaders — in Norfolk and Suffolk. § 10. Sixth 
settlement of the German invaders — in Northumbria. •§ 11. The 
kingdom of Mercia. § 12. The Heptarchy. British States. § 13. The 
Bretwaldas, Ella f Sussex, Ceawlin of Wessex. § 14. jEthelberht of 
Kent, third Br e twalda. Introduction of Christianity. § 15. Death 
of iEthelberht. Redwald of East Anglia, fourth Bretwalda. Adventures 
of Edwin of Northumbria. § 16. Edwin, fifth Bretwalda. His con- 
version to Christianity. § 17. History of Northumbria. Oswald, 
sixth Bretwalda. § 18. Oswy of Northumbria, seventh Bretwalda. 
Decline of the kingdom of Northumbria. § 19. History of Wessex. 
Ina and Egbert. § 20. Hist6ry of Mercia. ^Ethelbald and Offa. 
§ 21. Conquests of Egbert, who becomes sole king of England. 



a.d. 450. 



TEUTONIC SETTLEMENTS. 



21 



§ 1. The people who ultimately succeeded in establishing them- 
selves in this country were a branch of the Germanic race, and, 
under the general name of Saxons, inhabited the north-western 
coast of Germany, from the Cimbric Chersonesus, or present 
Denmark, to the mouths of the Ehine. The Germanic tribes have 
always been divided into two great branches, to which modern 
writers have given the name of High German (the people in the 
interior or higher parts of Germany) and Low German (the 
people in the lower parts of the country near the coast). The 
invaders belonged to the Low Germanic branch, and their language 
was closely allied to that of the modern Dutch. The Low Germanic 
tribes (called by Tacitus by various names, among whom the 
Chauci* were dominant) were known to the Romans by the general 
name of Saxons. At the period of which we are speaking, we find 
them divided into three principal tribes, the Saxons proper, the 
Angles, and the Jutes. 

I. The Saxons.t — The Saxons are first mentioned in the second 
century by Ptolemy, who places them upon the narrow neck of the 
Cimbric Chersonesus, and in three islands opposite the mouth of 
the Elbe. Thence their power extended westward as far as the 
mouths of the Ehine. Among the tribes absorbed by them were 
the Frisians, who probably formed the majority of the Saxon 
invaders of England, though they are only mentioned under the 
general name of Saxons.J The country south of the Thames, with 
the exception of Kent and the Isle of Wight, was occupied by the 
Saxons proper or Frisians, who founded the kingdoms of the South 
Saxons (SvfS-seaxe, whence Sussex), of the West Saxons (West- 
seaxe, Wes-sex), and of the East Saxons (East-seaxe, Essex), the 
last including the Middle Saxons (whence Middle-sex). 

II. The Angles (Angle or Engle) seem to have been a more 
numerous and powerful race, as they peopled a larger district ot 
Britain, and at length gave their name to the whole land.§ The 
language which, with slight dialectic variations, was common to all 
the German invaders, was called English (Englisc), even before 
the island was called England (Engla-land). The Angles settled 



* These Chauci, and the Frisii, who 
appear as closely connected with them in 
Tacitus, seem to have the best claim to 
have been the ancestors of the English 
people. Their character and manners are 
described by Tacitus (Germ. 34, 35). 

f Their name is usually derived from 
the large knife or short sword, seax or sex, 
Which they carried. 

J See Notes and Illustrations (A). 

<J The Saxon kingdom of Wessex after- 
3* 



wards obtained the political supremacy, 
and hence the name of Anglo-Saxon was 
given to the whole nation, whose kings 
assumed the title of Rex Anglo-Saxonum, 
i.e. of the Angles and Saxons. In some 
old documents England is called Saxonia, 
but this name is usually confined to the 
Saxon settlements. The original abode of 
the Saxons in Germany was called Old 
Saxony by the English. 



22 ANGLO-SAXONS TILL THE REIGN OF EGBERT. Chap. ii. 

in East Anylia, or the eastern counties north of Essex ; in North- 
umbria, or all the region east of the central ridge,* from the 
Humber to the Forth; and penetrated into Mercia, that is, the 
border-land of the purer Anglian and Saxon settlements embracing 
the midland counties. The Angles are first mentioned by Tacitus t 
as claiming to be the noblest and most ancient of the tribes on the 
Baltic. The origin of their name is involved in obscurity ; but 
may probably be traced in the much more powerful tribe of the 
Angrivarii (i.e. Anyre or Angle-ware, "the Angle people"), whom 
Tacitus places on the Weser and the Elbe, in the rear of the Frisians 
and Saxons. These answer well to the Angili, whom Ptolemy 
describes as the greatest tribe of the interior of Germany. The early 
English writers supposed the Angles to have come from the Cimbric 
Chersonesus, where they inhabited a district called Angel, between 
the Saxons and the Jutes. There is still a district which bears 
this name between the river Schley and the Flensburg Fiord in 
Sleswig ; but this region was much too small to have supplied 
the migration to Britain, and its people are rather a remnant than 
the source of the great Anglian race. 

III. The Jutes. — These invaders were not so numerous even as 
the Saxons, and occupied only Kent, the Isle of Wight, and part of 
Hampshire. They came from the peninsula of Jutland, which is 
now inhabited by the Danes ; but it is probable that the possessions 
of the Germans, who at present people the southern part of the 
peninsula, extended further north in ancient times, and there are 
reasons for believing that the Jutes were Goths, who, like the 
Saxons and Angles, were also a Low Germanic race. The Jutes seem 
to have been more closely connected with the Angles than with the 
Saxons ; and the first Jutish settlers in Kent are also called Angles 
in the earliest records. Bede speaks collectively of the people to whom 
the Britons sent for aid as " the race of the Angles or Saxons." % 

§ 2. The German races who invaded Britain were Pagan barba- 
rians. Their religion, which was common to them with the Scan- 
dinavians, seems to have been a compound between the worship of 
the celestial bodies and that of deified heroes. This fact will 
appear from the names they applied to the days of the week, which 
custom has still retained among us. Thus Sunnandceg and Monan- 
da-g, Sunday and Monday, were named after the two great lumi- 
naries. The name of Tuesday is derived from Tiw, probably the 
same as the Tuisco of Tacitus, the national deity of the Teutons. 

* This ridge, running north and south I f Germania, c. 40. 
from the Cheviots to the Peak Forest in J Anglorum sive Saxonum gens, Bede, 
Derbyshire, is called the Dorsum Britan- H. E. i. 15. 
nice, or Pennine Chain. 



A.D. 450. MANNERS AND RELIGION OF ANGLO-SAXONS. 23 

Wodnesdmg, or Wednesday, was sacred to Woden or Odin, the god 
of war, common to all the Teutonic and Scandinavian races. That 
he must have heen a deified hero and king appears from the 
circumstance that those leaders, whose kindred formed the royal 
houses among the Anglo-Saxons, for the most part derived their 
descent from Woden. Thunresdceg ("thunder 's-day "), or Thurs- 
day, was named after the god Thor, the thunderer, equivalent to the 
Greek and Roman Jove, who wielded a hammer instead of a thunder- 
holt. Freya-doeg, or Friday, was sacred to the goddess Freya, the 
northern Venus and consort of Woden. Lastly, Saturday derived its 
name from Scetere, who, from the attributes with which he is repre- 
sented, viz. a fish and a bucket, appears to have been a water-god. 

Besides these, the Anglo-Saxons had many other deities. They 
believed in the immortality of the soul and the existence of a super- 
natural world ; but their worship, though fanciful and superstitious, 
was not tainted with so much cruelty as disfigured that of the 
Druids. Their sensual notions of a future state were calculated, like 
those of the Mahometans, to inspire them with a contempt for death. 
They believed that if they obtained the favour of Woden by their 
valour (for they made less account of other virtues) they should be 
admitted after this life into his hall, and, reposing on couches, 
should satiate themselves with ale or mead from the skulls of their 
enemies whom they had slain in battle. Incited by this idea of 
paradise, which gratified at once the passion of revenge and that of 
intemperance, the ruling inclinations of barbarians, they despised 
the dangers of war, and increased their native ferocity against the 
vanquished by their religious prejudices. 

§ 3. The ships, or "keels" (ceolas), of the Saxons appear at an 
ancient period to have been rudely constructed of a few planks sur- 
mounted with wattled osiers and covered with skins ; and in these 
frail vessels they fearlessly trusted themselves without a compass to 
the winds and waves of the stormy ocean which washed their shores ; 
but in the fifth century their ships may have been enlarged in size 
and improved in solidity of construction. The arms of the Anglo- 
Saxons were targets worn on the left arm, spears, bows and arrows, 
swords, battle-axes, and heavy clubs furnished with spikes of iron. 
Sidonius, the bishop of Clermont, has described the terror inspired 
by these barbarians. " We have not," he says, " a more cruel and 
more dangerous enemy than the Saxons. They overcome all who 
have the courage to oppose them. They surprise all who are so 
imprudent as not to be prepared for their attack. When they 
pursue, they infallibly overtake : when they are pursued, their 
escape is certain. They despise danger : they are inured to ship- 
wreck : they are eager to purchase booty with the peril of their 



24 ANGLO-SAXONS TILL THE REIGN OF EGBERT. Chap, n, 

iives. Tempests, so dreadful to others, are to them subjects of joy. 
The storm is their protection when they are pressed by the enemy, 
and a cover for their operations when they meditate an attack. 
Before they quit their own shores, they devote to the altars of 
their gods the tenth part of the principal captives ; and when they 
are on the point of returning, the lots are cast with an affectation 
of equity, and the impious vow is fulfilled." * Such were the 
barbarians who were now approaching the British shores. 

§ 4. First settlement of the German invaders, a.d. 450. — The 
first arrival of the Saxon tribes in England is commonly placed 
either in the year 449 or 450. f Of the manner of their coming 
and their first proceedings in the island we find two sets of tradi- 
tions, those of the British and those of the English writers, which 
vary in many important particulars. According to the former, 
the two Jutish leaders, Hengest and Horsa, being banished from 
their native country, and wandering about with their followers 
in three vessels in quest of new habitations, were invited by the 
British king, Vortigern, to assist him against, the Scots and Picts. 
For the services which he had rendered, Hengest and his followers 
were rewarded with the Isle of Thanet, separated at that time by a 
broad estuary from the rest of Kent.J Hengest now sent over to his 
native country for reinforcements, and also caused his daughter 
Kowena, who was celebrated for her beauty, to be conveyed to the 
land of his adoption. At a great feast given by the Saxons, Vortigern 
beheld Bowena, received from her hands the wassail cup, and, 
captivated by her charms, renounced Christianity for her sake, and 
ceded to Hengest the remainder of Kent in return for her band. 
His indignant subjects now deposed Yortigern, and placed his son 
Vortimer on the throne, who defeated Hengest in three great battles, 
and compelled him to retire for some years from Britain. Bowena 
having contrived to poison Vortimer, Vortigern again ascended the 
throne, and recalled his father-in-law Hengest ; but as the Britons 
refused to reinstate him in his possessions, a conference of 300 of 
the chiefs of each nation was appointed to be held at Stonehenge 
in order to settle the points in dispute. In the midst of the dis- 
cussion Hengest suddenly exclaimed to his followers, " Nimath 
eowre seaxas " (take your knives), and 299 Britons fell dead upon 
the spot. Vortigern alone was spared, for whose ransom three 
provinces, afterwards known as Essex, Sussex, and Middlesex, 



* Sidon. viii. 6, quoted by Lingard, i. 
p. 73. 

t The invasion is placed by Bede and 
the Anglo-Saxon Clironicle in the first 
year of the reign of the emperor Marcian, 



they wrongly call it a.d. 449. The date 
must not be taken as a. fact in chronology, 
but as a calculation of the early writers 
(chiefly Bede) from certain data, not all 
of which are consistent. 



which corresponds to a.d. 450. though ! ± See Notes and Illustrations £Bi 



A.D. 450-4C5. SETTLEMENTS OF GERMAN INVADERS. 25 

were demanded. Over these Hengest reigned, and was succeeded 
by his son Octa, called in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle JEsc. 

In this narrative British and Eoman traditions are confounded 
with the old Saxon Saga of the manner in which the Saxons 
gained possession of Thuringia. The principal assertion of the 
narrative, that Hengest received the three provinces mentioned 
as the ransom of Vortigern, is of all the least true, as they did 
not fall under the Saxon dominion till a much later period. 
These stories seem to have been invented by Welsh authors in 
order to palliate the ineffectual i-esistance made at first by their 
countrymen, and to account for the rapid progress and licentious 
devastations of the Saxons. 

§ 5. The accounts of the conquerors themselves, as recorded by 
Bede, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle* and others, are more to be 
relied upon.f According to these authorities, which differ in minor 
details, Vortigern invited the Angles to his assistance in 449. 
They landed at Hypwints-fleot, " fought against the Picts, and had 
victory whithersoever they came." Sending to their country for 
reinforcements, a larger army landed in the country, consisting of 
Old Saxons, Angles, and Jutes. After an easy triumph, the victorious 
Jutes invited their countrymen beyond the sea to come and take 
possession of a fertile island, which the sloth and cowardice of the 
inhabitants had rendered them unable to defend. Several battles 
were fought. At the battle of iEglesford, the lowest ford on the 
Medway (the present Aylesford), Horsa was slain (a.d. 455)4 
Two years after, another great battle was fought between the Saxons 
and Britons at Grecganford (Crayford) in Kent, when the Saxons, 
led by Hengest and his son, surnamed iEsc (or the Ash), gained a 
signal victory. The Britons were completely driven out of Kent, 
and Hengest and his son assumed kingly power. In 465 Hengest 
and iEsc gained a great victory over twelve British chieftains near 



* See Notes and Illustrations to chap- 
ter iv. (C). 

f Lappenberg, Sir Francis Palgrave, 
and Kemble regard the whole account of 
the Anglo-Saxon conquest as of no his- 
torical value, and maintain that we have 
no real history of the Anglo-Saxons till 
their conversion to Christianity, 150 years 
later. Hengest and Horsa, it is said, are 
mythical personages, Hengest (JBengst) 
and Horsa being the Teutonic names for 
stallion and horse. There are, however, 
good reasons for believing thai the com- 
monly received account of the conquest 
is based upon historical facts. See Dr. 
Guest in the Proceedings of the Archceo- 



logical Institute for 1849. It is to be 
observed that there must have been old 
English records, which are followed in- 
dependently by Bede and the Clironicle. 
Bede expressly says that he used such 
authorities ; and the Chronicle, which 
generally follows Bede, gives events 
(especially details of the conquest) not 
found in the earlier writer. 

t According to Bede, the monument of 
Horsa was still to be seen in his time in 
the eastern part of Kent ; and two miles 
north of Aylesford, at a place called Hor- 
sted, a collection of flint-stones is pointed 
out as the tomb of Horsa, 



26 ANGLO-SAXONS TILL THE REIGN OF EGBERT. Chap, it 

Wip;edsfleot(Ebbes-fleet?): eight years later they "fought against 
the Welsh (i.e. the Britons) and took spoils innumerable, and the 
Welsh fled from the Angles like fire " (a.d. 473).* According to 
British accounts, the Britons rallied under Ambrosius Aureli- 
anus f and Voitimer, the son of Vortigern, who won three great 
battles, and drove the invaders back to Thanet. Hengest died in 
the 40th year after his arrival in Britain, and was succeeded by 
iEsc, who reigned 24 years, and won more territory from the 
Britons. He was the founder of the dynasty of the iEscings, or 
Ashings,^ sons of the Ashtree, the name given to the kings of 
Kent. 

§ 6. Second Battlement of the German invaders, a.d. 477. — In 
the year 477, four years after the decisive victory of Hengest, Ella 
fiElla, or iElle), with his three sons, Oymen, Wlencing, and Cissa, 
landed with a body of Saxons from three ships at the place afterwards 
called Cymenes-ora (Shoreham), upon the eastern side of Chichester 
harbour in Sussex ; but the Britons were not expelled, till after 
many battles, by their warlike invaders. The most graphic record 
in the whole story of the conquest is that of the capture of the 
old Koman town of Anderida, or Andredes-ceaster (Pevensey), by 
Ella and Cissa, "who slevv all that dwelt therein, nor was a single 
Briton left there " (491). Ella assumed the title of king of the 
South-Saxons or Sussex, and extended his dominion over the 
modern county of Sussex and a great part of Surrey. Ella is said 
to have died between 514 and 519. He was succeeded by his son 
Cissa, in whose line the kingdom of Sussex remained for a long 
period, though we know not even the name of any of his successors. 
The capital of this kingdom was Chichester (Cissa-ceaster, the 
fortress or city of Cissa), the British and Boman Begnum. To 
these German invaders is due the division of Sussex into rapes, 
which again are divided into hundreds. 

§ 7. Third settlement of the German invaders, a.d. 495. — The 
third body of German invaders were, like the last, also Saxons. 
They landed in 495, under the command of Cerdic and his son 
Cynric, at a place called Cerdices-ora, which was probably at the 
head of the Hamble creek, on the eastern side of Southampton 
Water. None of the invaders met with such vigorous resistance, or 
exerted so much valour and perseverance in pushing their conquests. 
Cerdic did not make much progress till six years later, after calling 
in further aid from the continent. In 514 Cerdic was reinforced by 



* The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is the au- 
thority for all these battles. 

-j- He is represented as the leader of 
the Romanized Britons, in opposition to 



Vortigern. 

J The termination -ing is the sign of 
the AngloSaxon patronymic. 



a. d. 473-526- SETTLEMENTS OF GERMAN INVADERS. 



27 



the arrival his nephews, Stuf and "Wihtgar, who are also represented 
as Jutish leaders. Cerdic's power now became more formidable; many- 
districts were conquered, and among them the Isle of Wight, which 
Cerdic bestowed on his nephews (530). It was not, however, till his 
great victory over the Britons at Cerdices-ford (or Charford, in 
Hampshire), in 519, that Cerdic assumed the royal title and erected 
the kingdom of the West-Saxons or Wessex. Cerdic's further 
progress towards the west was checked by a great defeat which he 
received in the following year at Mount Bad on * from Arthur, prince 
of the Damnonii, whose heroic valour now sustained the declining 
fate of his country This is that Arthur so much celebrated in the 
songs of British bards, and whose military achievements have been 
blended with so many fables as even to have given occasion for 
entertaining a doubt of his real existence. But, though poets dis- 
figure the lineaments of history by their fictions, and use strange 
liberties with truth where they are the sole historians, as among the 
Britons, they have commonly some real foundation for their wildest 
exaggerations. 

Cerdic died in 534, leaving his dominions to his son Cynric, who 
ruled till his death in 560, and considerably extended his kingdom, 
the capital of which was Wintan-ceaster, or Winchester, the Boman 
Venta Belgarum. Cynric was succeeded by his son Ceawlin, who 
took from the Britons the great Boman cities of Gloucester, Ciren- 
cester, and Bath (577), and extended his conquests up the valley of 
the Severn, as well as to the north of the Thames.f 

§ 8. Fourth settlement of the German invaders, a.d. 526. — These 
invaders were also Saxons. They founded the kingdom of the East- 
Saxons or Essex, to which the Middle-Saxons or Middlesex also 
belonged. Escvin was the first king of Essex ; but his son Sledda, 
who married a daughter of iEihelberht of Kent, appears as a subject 
of his father-in-law; and Essex, though styled a kingdom, seems 
always to have been subject to the neighbouring kings. 

§ 9. Fifth settlement of the German invaders. — The four pre- 
ceding invasions had been made by the Jutes and Saxons ; but the 
next two settlements consisted of Angles. Towards the middle or 
end of the sixth century, for the exact date is unknown, some 
Angles, apparently divided into two tribes, the North-Folk and 



* Mount Badon is usually identified 
with Bath ; but Dr. Guest adduces strong 
reasons for believing it to be Badbury, 
nearBlandford, in Dorsetshire. ( Ut supra, 
p. 63.) The year of the battle of Mount 
Badon was also that of the birth of Gildas, 
who exults over the " slaughter of the 
villains" {de furciferis). He represents 



it as separating a time of conflict and 
disaster from one of comparative repose, 
during which, however, the Britons grew 
more and more corrupt. 

f See Dr. Guest's "English Conquest of 
the Severn Valley," in the Archaeological 
Journal for 1862, vol. xix. pp. 193, foil. 



28 ANGLO-SAXONS TILL THE REIGN OF EGBERT. Chap. ii. 

the South-Folk, founded the kingdom of East Anglia, comprising 
the modern counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, and parts of Cambridge- 
shire and Huntingdonshire. Hardly anything is known of the his- 
tory of East Anglia. Uffa is said to have been the first king, and 
his descendants were styled Ufnngas, just as the race of Kentish 
kings were called iEscingas. 

§ 10. Sixth settlement of the German invaders, about a.d. 547. — 
The country to the north of the Humber had been early separated 
into two British states, namely, Deifyr (Deora-rice), extending from 
the Humber to the Tyne, and Beraeich(Beorna-rice), lying between 
the Tyne and the Forth. These names, afterwards Latinized into 
Deira and Bemicia, were retained till a late period. The two 
countries were separated by a vast forest occupying the district 
between the Tyne and the Tees, or the modern county of Durham. 
According to a tradition preserved by Nennius, Hengest sent for his 
son Ochta, and for Ebissa the son of Horsa, who came over in forty 
ships, and settled in the north of Britain, up to the confines of the 
Picts. It cannot be doubted that the Angles had occupied parts 
of Northumbria at an early period ; though it was not till the con- 
quests of Ida, who fought his way southward from the Lothians, that 
the Angles obtained the supremacy (547). Ida became king of 
Bernicia, and transmitted his power to his son ; and a separate Anglian 
kingdom was founded in Deira by Ella. These two kingdoms remained 
for some years in a state of hostility with one another; but they 
were united in the person of iEthelfrith or iEdelfrid, grandson of Ida, 
who had married a daughter of Ella, and who expelled her infant 
brother Edwin. It was not, however, till the restoration of Edwin, 
in 617, that the united kingdoms seem to have assumed the name 
of Northumbria, which was for some time the most powerful of 
the Anglo-Saxon states. 

§ 11. The country to the west of East Anglia and Deira was 
known by the name of the March or boundary, and was invaded 
by Anglian chieftains, who were for some time subject to the kings of 
Northumbria. It was erected into an independent state by Penda, 
about 626, under the name of the March or Mercia, which was sub- 
sequently extended to the Severn, and comprised the whole of the 
centre of England. It was divided by the Trent into North and 
South Mercia. 

§ 12. Thus, after a century and a half, was gradually established 
in Britain what has been called the Heptarchy, or seven Anglo- 
Saxon kingdoms, namely Kent, Sussex, Wessex, Essex, East Anglia, 
Mercia, and Northumbria. The term is not strictly correct, for 
there were never exactly seven independent kingdoms co-existent ; 
and, if the smaller and dependent ones are reckoned, the number 



a.d. 547-626. 



THE HEPTARCHY. 



29 



must be considerably increased. Tbe Britons, or ancient Celtic in- 
habitants, driven into the western parts of the island, formed several 
small states. In the extreme south-west lay Damnonia, called 
also West Wales, the kingdom of Arthur, occupying at first the 




Map of Britain, showing the Settlements of the Anglo-Saxons. 

present counties of Cornwall and Devonshire, but limited at a later 
period, after the separation of Cemau, or Cornwall, to Dyvnaint, 
or Devonshire. In Somersetshire, Wiltshire, and Dorsetshire, con- 
quered by the West Saxons> at an early period, a large native 
population still maintained its ground. This was likewise the case 



30 ANGLO-SAXONS TILL THE REIGN OF EGBERT. CnAi>. n. 

in Devonshire long after its occupation by the Saxons ; whence 
the inhabitants of that district obtained the name of the " Welsh 
kind." Cambria, or Wales, was divided into several small kingdoms 
or principalities. The name of Welsh ( Wealas) was the German term 
for foreigners, or those who speak another language, and Walsch is still 
applied by the Germans to the Italians. The history of the Celts 
who dwelt in Cumbria, to the north of Wales, is involved in obscurity. 
Cumbria, or Cumberland, properly so called, included, besides the 
present county, Westmoreland and Lancashire, and extended into 
Northumbria, probably as far as the modern Leeds. Caerleol, or 
Carlisle, was its chief city. North of Cumbria, between the two 
Roman walls, and to the west of the kingdom of Bernicia, were 
situated two other British kingdoms : Beged, in the southern portion 
of the district, nearly identical perhaps with Annandale, in Dum- 
friesshire ; and Strathclyde, embracing the counties of Dumbarton, 
Benfrew, and Dumfries, and probably also those of Beebles, Selkirk, 
and Lanark. These kingdoms were sometimes united under one 
chief, or Pendracron, called also Tyern, or tymnnus, who, like other 
British princes, regarded himself as the successor, and even as the 
descendant, of Constantine or Maximus. The Welsh called all the 
Angles and Saxons by the name of Saxons, as they call the English 
to this day. 

Besides the Britons who found shelter in these western and 
mountainous regions from the fury of the Saxon and Anglian 
invaders, great numbers of them, under the conduct of their priests 
and chieftains, abandoned their native shores altogether, and settled 
in Armorica, on the western coast of France, which from them 
derived its subsequent name of Bretagne, or Biittany. 

The completeness of the conquest made by the Anglo-Saxons 
is inferred from the fact that their language forms to this day 
the staple of our own ; but with regard to their treatment of 
the conquered land, and their relations towards the natives, we 
are almost entirely in the dark. It is usually stated that the 
Saxons either exterminated the original population, or drove them 
into the western parts of the island ; but there are good reasons 
for believing that this was not uniformly the case ; and we may 
conclude from the Welsh traditions, and from the number of Celtic 
words still existing in the English language, that a considerable 
number of the Celtic inhabitants remained upon the soil as the slaves 
or subjects of their conquerors.* 

§ 13. As it would be useless to follow the obscure and often 
doubtful details of the several Anglo-Saxon states, we shall content 
ourselves with selecting the more remnrkable events that occurred 
* This subject is more fully discussed in the Notes and Illustrations (C). 



A.D. 5G8-592. INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 31 

down to the time when all the kingdoms were united under the 
authority of Egbert. The title of Brehvalda, or Brytenwealda, 
that is, supreme commander or emperor of Britain, which was given 
or assumed by him, is assigned in the Chronicle to seven earlier 
kings, whose supremacy among the Anglo-Saxon sovereigns affords 
some bond of connection to their histories.* 

The first why held this sort of supremacy, according to Bede,f was 
Ella, king of the South Saxons. Ceawlin, king of the West Saxons, 
or Wessex, the grandson of Cerdic, was the second. The iEscing, 
iEthelberhtJ of Kent, disputed the supremacy with him, but was 
overthrown in a great battle at Wibbandun (Wimbledon), which 
won Surrey for Wessex (568). Ceawlin united many districts to 
his kingdom ; but, from some unknown cause, the termination 
of his reign was singularly unprosperous. His own subjects, and 
even his own relations, with the Britons and Scots, united against 
him. He was defeated in a great battle at Wodesbeorg (probably 
Wanborough, near Swindon, in Wilts), in the year 592, and died 
in exile two years afterwards. 

§ 14. After the expulsion of Ceawlin, iEthelberht of Kent obtained 
the supremacy, to which he had for so many years aspired. The 
most memorable event of his reign was the introduction of Chris- 
tianity among the Anglo-Saxons, for the reception of which the 
mind of iEthelberht had been prepared through his marriage with 
the Christian princess Bertha, daughter of Charibert, the Frank king 
of Paris. But the immediate cause of its introduction was an 
incident which occurred at Borne. It happened that Gregory, who 
afterwards, under the title of the Great, occupied the papal chair, 
had observed in the market-place of Rome some Anglian youths ex- 
posed for sale, whom the Boman merchants, in their trading voyages 
to Britain, had bought of their mercenary parents. Struck with the 
beauty of their fair complexions and blooming countenances, Gre- 
gory asked to what country they belonged. Being told that they 
were Angles, he replied that they ought more properly to be denomi- 
nated angels : for it was a pity, he said, that the prince of darkness 
should enjoy so fair a prey, and that so beautiful an exterior should 
cover a mind destitute of internal grace and righteousness. Inquiring 



* The existence of the Bretwaldas, at 
least in the earlier times, is disputed by- 
Mr. Hallam and Mr. Kemble. The title 
itself occurs, for the first and only time, 
in the Clironicle, in connection with the 
supremacy of Egbert, " the eighth king 
that was Bretwalda," and then the other 
seven are named. The list is taken from 
the passage in Bede, where he names 
iEthelberht as the third among the kings 



of the English race who held some sort of 
supremacy over all the provinces south of 
the Humber ; the limitation applying 
of course only to the first four, not to the 
three Northumbrians. 

f " Imperium hujusmodi," Bede, H. E. 
ii. 5. 

J Usually called Ethelbert, the corrupt 
form of the name. 



32 ANGLO-SAXONS TILL THE REIGN OF EGBERT. Chap. it. 



further concerning the name of their province, he was informed that 
it was Deira, a district of Northumbria. " Deira," replied he, " that 
is good ! They are called to the mercy of God from his anger (de 
ira). But what is the name of the king of that province ? " He 
was told it was iEUa, or Alia. " Allelujah ! " cried he ; " we must 
endeavour that the praises of God be sung in their country." Moved 
by these auguries, which appeared to him so happy, Gregory deter- 
mined to undertake himself a mission into Britain, and, having 
obtained the Pope's approbation, prepared for the journey ; but his 
popularity at home was so great, that the Romans, unwilling to 
expose him to such dangers, opposed his design ; and he was obliged 
for the present to lay aside all further thoughts of executing his 
pious purpose.* 

After his accession to the pontificate, Gregory, anxious for the 
conversion of Britain, sent Augustine, a Roman monk, with forty 
associates, to preach the gospel in this island. Terrified with the 
danger of propagating the faith among so fierce a people, of whose 
language they were ignorant the missionaries stopped some time 
in Gaul, and sent back Augustine to lay the hazards and difficulties 
of the undertaking before the pope, and crave his permission to 
return. But Gregory exhorted them to persevere ; and Augustine, 
on his arrival in Kent in the year 597, found the danger much 
less than he had apprehended. iEthelherht, already well disposed 
towards the Christian faith, assigned him a habitation in the Isle 
of Thanet, and soon after admitted him to a conference. Encouraged 
by his favourable reception, and seeing now a prospect of success, 
Augustine proceeds! with redoubled zeal to preach the gospel to the 
people of Kent. Numbers were converted and baptized, and the 
king himself was persuaded to submit to the same rite. Augustine 
was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury, was endowed by Gregory 
with authority over all the British churches, and in token of 
his new dignity received the pall from Rome (601). Christianity 
was soon afterwards introduced into the kingdom of Essex whose 
sovereign, Sasberht or Sebert, was iEthelbevht's nephew ; and through 
the influence of iEtheiberht, Mellitus, who had been the apostle of 
Christianity in Essex, was appointed to the bishopric of London, 
where a church dedicated to St. Paul was erected, as some say, 
on the site of a former temple of Diana. Sebert also erected on 
Thorney Island, which was formed by the branches of a small river 
falling into the Thames, a church dedicated to St. Peter, where West- 



* This celebrated story is told by Bede 
(ii. 1), and is copied from him, with 
slight variations, by other medieval 
writers. The names indicate that the 



legend is nothing more than a monkish 
and poetical version of the introduction 
of Christianity into the North Anglian 
settlements of the island. 



a.d. 597-626. THE BRETWALDAS — EDWIN. 33 

minster Abbey now stands. In Kent the see of Rochester was 
founded by Augustine, and bestowed upon Justus. 

§ 15. The marriage of iEthelberht with Bertha, and, much more 
his adoption of Christianity, brought his subjects into connection with 
the Franks, Italians, and other nations of the continent, and tended 
to reclaim them from that gross ignorance and barbarity in which 
all the Saxon and Anglian tribes had been hitherto involved. 
iEthelberht also, with the advice of his counsellors, enacted a 
bodj' of laws, the first written laws promulgated by any of the 
German conquerors. He governed the kingdom of Kent 51 years, 
and, dying in 616, left the succession to his son Eadbald, who 
possessed neither the abilities nor the authority of his father. The 
supremacy among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms south of the Humber 
passed to the fourth Bretwalda, Eedwald, king of the East Angles 
(586-624). The protection afforded by Redwald to young Edwin, 
the rightful heir of the kingdom of Deira, brought him into collision 
with iEthelfrith, king of Northumbria. It has been already men- 
tioned that iEthelfrith had united Deira to Bernicia, by seizing 
upon it at the death of Ella, whose daughter he had married, and 
expelling her infant brother Edwin. Redwald marched into North- 
umbria, and fought a battle with iEthelfrith, who was defeated 
and killed, on the banks of the Idle in Nottinghamshire (617). 
His sons, Eanfrid, Oswald, and Oswy, yet infants, were carried 
into the land of the Picts, and Edwin was restored to the crown. 

§ 16. Edwin subsequently became the fifth Bretwalda, and all 

the Anglo-Saxon states, with the exception of Kent, acknowledged 

his supremacy. He distinguished himself by his influence over the 

other kingdoms, and by the strict execution of justice in his own. 

He reclaimed his subjects from the licentious life to which they 

had been accustomed ; and it was a common saying that during his 

reign a woman with her infant might go on foot from sea to sea 

without fear of violence or robbery. A remarkable instance has 

been transmitted to us of the affection borne him by his servants. 

His enemy, Cwicbelm, king of Wessex, finding himself unable to 

maintain open war against so powerful a prince, determined to use 

treachery against him, and employed one Eomer for that purpose. 

The assassin, having obtained admittance on pretence of delivering 

a message from Cwichelm, drew his dagger and rushed upon the 

king. His thegn Lilla, seeing his master's danger, and having no 

other means of defence, interposed his own person between the king 

and Eomer's dagger, which was pushed with such violence, that 

it wounded Edwin through the body of his faithful attendant 

(626).* 

* Bcde, ii. 9. 



S4j ANGLO-SAXONS TILL THE EEIGN OF EGBERT. Chap. ii. 

This event, as well as the birth of a daughter the same night, 
is said to have hastened Edwin's conversion to Christianity. After 
the death of his first consort, a Mercian princess, Edwin had mar- 
ried JEthelburga, the daughter of iEthelberht, king of Kent. This 
lady, emulating the glory of her mother Bertha, who had been 
instrumental in converting her husband and his people to Chris- 
tianity, carried Paulinus, a learned bishop, along with her; and, 
besides stipulating for toleration in the exercise of her own religion, 
which was readily granted her, she used every effort to persuade the 
king to .embrace it. Her exertions, seconded by those of Paulinus, 
were successful. Edwin was baptized on Easter Day, a.d. 627, at 
York, in a wooden church hastily erected for the occasion, and 
dedicated to St. Peter. Subsequently York was raised into an 
archbishopric ; Paulinus was appointed the first northern metro- 
politan, and a handsome church of stone was built for his cathedral. 
From York, as a centre, Christianity was propagated, though not 
without some vicissitudes, throughout the neighbouring Anglian 
countries. 

§ 17. Evil days for Northumbria were now approaching. Edwin 
was slain in battle by Penda, the powerful king of Mercia (633). 
Northumbria was divided into two separate kingdoms, and the 
people, with their monarchs, relapsed into Paganism. In 634 
Oswald, the son of iEthellrith, again united the kingdoms of North- 
umbria, and restored the Christian religion, in which he and his 
brothers had been brought up during their exile among the Picts. 
For, while South Britain was overrun by heathen conquerors, 
Christianity had been firmly planted among the Scots and Picts by 
the missionaries led from Ireland by St. Columba, who had his 
chief seat in the sacred island of Hii (Iona).* Oswald was also 
acknowledged as the sixth Bretwalda, aud reigned, according to 
the expression of Bede, over the four nations of Britain — the Angles, 
the Britons, the Picts, and the Scots. His reign, however, was 
short. He became involved in a war with Penda, a.d. 642, and, 
like Edwin, was defeated and slain. His corpse was treated with 
great brutality ; but he was canonized by the church as a saint and 
martyr ; his scattered limbs were collected as relics, and were held 
to be endowed with miraculous powers. Penda penetrated as far 
as Bamborough, the residence of the Northumbrian princes on the 
coast of Northumberland ; but, after a fruitless siege, he was obliged 
to retire and evacuate the kingdom 

§ 18. On the death of Oswald his brother Oswy succeeded to his 
kingdom and to the dignity of Bretwalda. He defeated and slew 
the formidable Penda in a great battle near Leeds, in 655. The 

* St. Columba died in the same year in which Augustine came to England (^597). 



A.D. 626-795. ECGFRTTH — INA. 35 

reign of Oswy was rendered memorable by a most destructive 
pestilence called the yellow plague, which, commencing in 664, 
ravaged the whole island for twenty years, with the exception of the 
northern Highlands. Oswy died in 670, and with him the dignity 
of Bretwalda expired, till it was revived by Egbert. 

His warlike successor, Ecgfrith, maintained and increased his 
power over Mercia ; but his ambition to subdue the land of the Picts 
led to the destruction of his army and his own death on the moor 
of Nechtansmere (685). The blow was fatal to the supremacy of 
Northumbria; but her decline was gilded by the dawning glories 
of English literature. The last half of the seventh and the first 
half of the eighth century saw the foundation of the monasteries 
of Whitby, Jarrow, and Wearmouth, and the great school of learn- 
ing at York ; and produced the poems of C^idmon and the history 
of Bede.* But this very culture tempted the Northumbrian kings 
to lay down the sword for the cloister; and during most of the 
eighth century the annals of Northumbria present little more 
than a series of seditions, usurpations, and murders. Agriculture 
was neglected ; the land was desolated by famine and pestilence. 
To fill up the measure of its calamities, the Northmen landed 
in Lindisfarn in 793 and in the following year at Eegferths-Minster 
(probably Wearmouth), plundering and destroying the chinches 
and monasteries in those places. After the death of iEthelred 
(a.d. 795) universal anarchy prevailed in Northumbria; and the 
people, having by so many fatal revolutions lost all attachment to 
their government and princes, were well prepared for subjection to 
a foreign yoke. This was finally imposed u^on them by Ecgbriht 
or Egbert, king of Wessex ; to the history of which kingdom, 
as finally swallowing up all the rest, we must now hasten. 

§ 19. The history of the kings of Wessex presents nothing remark- 
able till we arrive at the reign of Ine or Ina, who ascended the 
throne in 688. Ina was remarkable for his justice, policy, and 
prudence. He treated the Britons of Somersetshire and the adjoining 
districts (the Wealas, or Welsh-kind), whom he had subdued, with a 
humanity hitherto unknown to the Saxon conquerors. He allowed the 
proprietors to retain possession of their lands, encouraged marriages 
and alliances between them and his ancient subjects, and granted them 
the privilege of being governed by the same laws. These laws he 
augmented and ascertained ; and, though he was disturbed by some 
insurrections at home, his long reign of 37 years may be regarded as 
one of the most glorious and most prosperous in the annals of the 
Anglo-Saxons. In the decline of his age he made a pilgrimage to 
Borne, where he died in 728. 

* See Notes and Illustrations to chapter iv. 



36 ANGLO-SAXONS TILL THE REIGN OF EGBERT. Chap. n. 

Egbert was the fourth in descent from Ingild, Ina's brother ; and 
being a young man of the most promising hopes, gave great jealousy 
to the reigning king, Beorhtric (or Brihtric), both because he seemed 
by his birth better entitled to the crown, and had acquired in 
an eminent degree the affections of the people. Egbert, sensible 
of his danger from the suspicions of Brihtric, secretly withdrew 
into Gaul, where he was well received by Charles the Great, 
or Charlemagne, king of the Franks. By residing in the court and 
serving in the armies of that prince, the most able and most 
generous that had appeared in Europe during several ages, Egbert 
acquired those accomplishments which afterwards enabled him to 
make such a shining figure on the throne. 

It was not long before Egbert had an opportunity of displaying 
his natural and acquired abilities. Brihtric was accidentally killed 
by partaking of a cup of poison which his wife Eadburga, daughter 
of Offa, king of Mercia, had mixed for a young nobleman who had 
acquired her husband's friendship, and had on that account become 
the object of her jealousy. Egbert was now recalled from Gaul by 
the nobility of Wessex, and ascended the throne of his ancestors, 
a.d. 800. His future career may have been shaped by the example 
of Charles the Great, who, in the year of Egbert's recall, was 
crowned at Borne by pope Leo III., as Augustus or Emperor of 
the West (Christmas Day, 800). Egbert turned his arms against 
the Britons iu Cornwall and Wales, but was recalled from these 
conquests by an invasion of his dominions by Beornwulf, king of 
Mercia. To explain that circumstance, and close the history of the 
other Anglo-Saxon states, we must here take a retrospective glance 
at the events that had happened in Mercia. 

§ 20. After the death of Penda, the history of Mercia presents 
little of importance till we arrive at the long reign of iEthelbald 
(716-755). This sovereign appears to have possessed as much 
power as any of the Bretwaldas, though he is not called by that 
title. He distinguished himself by many successful conflicts with 
the Britons, against whom he united under his standard East 
Anglia, Kent, Essex, and for a while also Wessex. At one period 
he asserted his supremacy over all England south of the Humber, 
and in a charter of the year 736 signs himself " King of Britain." 
He was defeated at Burford in 752 by the West Saxons, and perished 
three years after. iEthelbald, after a short period of usurpation 
by Beornred, was succeeded by Offa, the most celebrated of all the 
Mercian princes. This monarch, after he had gained several 
victories over the other Anglo-Saxon princes, turned his arms 
against the Britons of Cambria, whom he repeatedly defeated (776). 
He settled the level country to the east of the mountains, between 



A.D. 716-828. OFFA — EGBERT. 37 

the Wye and the Severn, with Anglians ; for whose protection he 
constructed the mound or rampart between the mouth of the Dee 
and that of the Wye, known as Offa's Dyke, traces of which may 
still be discerned. The king of Mercia had now become so con- 
siderable, that Charles the Great entered into an alliance and friend- 
ship with him. As Charles was a great lover of learning and 
learned men, Offa, at his desire, sent to him Alcuin, a Northumbrian 
monk much celebrated for his scholarship. Alcuin received great 
honours from Charles, and even became his preceptor in the 
sciences. Charles, in return, made Offa many costly presents. 

But the glory and successes of Offa were stained by the 
treacherous murder of iEthelberht, king of the East Angles, 
whilst sojourning at his court as a suitor for his daughter, and by 
his violent seizure of vEthelberht's kingdom in 792. Overcome by 
remorse, Offa endeavoured to atone for his crime by liberality to 
the church. He founded the monastery of St. Albans. He en- 
gaged to pay the sovereign pontiff a yearly donation for the sup- 
port of an English college at Rome, and imposed the tax of a penny 
on each house possessed of thirty pence a year.* This imposition, 
levied afterwards on all England, was commonly denominated 
Pettr's-pence : and though conferred at first as a gift for the main- 
tenance of a college, it was afterwards claimed as a tribute by the 
Roman pontiff. 

Offa died in 796. The reigns of his successors deserve little 
attention. Mercia, instead of continuing to be the leading state 
among the Anglo- Saxons, fell rapidly into decay, through its internal 
dissensions, and was thus easily reduced by the arms of Egbert, 
to whose history we must now return. 

§ 21. Egbert had already possessed the throne of Wessex for 
nearly a quarter of a century, when his dominions, as before noticed, 
were invaded by Beornwulf, king of Mercia. Egbert defeated the 
invaders at Ellendun (823), and subdued with facility the tributary 
kingdoms of Kent and Sussex; while the East Angles, out of 
hatred to the Mercian government, immediately rose in arms, and 
put themselves under the protection of Egbert. To engage the 
Mercians more easily to submission, Egbert allowed Wiglaf, their 
countryman, to retain the title of king, while he himself exercised 
the real sovereignty (828). The anarchy which prevailed in 
Northumbria, as already related, tempted him to carry his vic- 
torious arms still further ; and the inhabitants, unable to resist his 



* Less trustworthy authorities consider 

Offa's liberality as only a confirmation 

of that of Ina, king of the West-Saxons, 

who is also said to have founded a school 

4 



at Rome, and to have laid for its support 
a tax of one penny under the name of 
Bom-feoh, or Rome-scot, on every house 
in his kingdom. 



38 ANGLO-SAXONS TILL THE REIGN OF EGBERT. Chap. n. 

power, and desirous of possessing some established form of govern- 
ment, were forward, on his first appearance, to send deputies, who 
submitted to his authority, and swore allegiance to him as their 
sovereign, at Dore, in Derbyshire. Egbert, however, still conceded 
to Northumbria, as he had done to Mercia and East Anglia, the 
power of electing their own kings, who paid him tribute and were 
dependent on him. These three subordinate kingdoms remained 
under their own sovereigns, as vassals of Egbert, till they were 
swallowed up by the Danish invasion. 

Thus all the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were united under the 
supremacy of one king, nearly 400 years after the first arrival of the 
Anglo-Saxons in Britain. This event took place in the year 827. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTEATIONS. 



A. THE FRISIANS TOOK PART IN 
THE SAXON INVASION OF BRI- 
TAIN. 

This appears from the following facts : 
— 1. Procopius says (Bell. Goth. iv. 20) 
that Britain was inhabited in his time (the 
6th century) by three races, the Angles, 
Frisians, and Britons. The omission of 
the Saxons, and the substitution of the 
Frisians, can be accounted for only on the 
supposition that Frisians and Saxons were 
convertible terms. 2. The traditions of 
the Frisians and Flemings claim Hengest 
as their ancestor, and relate that he was 
banished from their country. 3. In old 
German poetry it is expressly stated that 
the Frisians were formerly called Saxons. 
4. Many English words and some gram- 
matical forms are more closely allied to 
those of the old Friesic than to those of 
any other German dialect. For instance, 
the English sign of the infinitive mood, 
to, is found in the old Friesic, and not in 
any other German dialect. On this sub- 
ject see Davies " On the Races of Lanca- 
shire," in the Transactions of the Philo- 
logical Society for 1855. 

B. THE ISLE OF THANET. 

The Isle of Thanet was in Anglo-Saxon 
times, and long afterwards, separated 
from the rest of Kent by a broad strait, 



called by Bede the Wantsumu. The 
Stour, instead of being a narrow stream, 
as at present, was then a broad river, 
opening into a wide estuary between 
Sandwich and Ramsgate, in the direction 
of Pegwell Bay. Ships coming from 
France and Germany sailed up this 
estuary, and through the river, out at the 
other side by Reculver. Ebbes Fleet is 
the name given to a farmhouse on a strip 
of high ground rising out of Minster 
Marsh (Stanley, Memorials of Canterbury, 
p. 13). Thanet is the German name of 
the island. The Welsh name was Ruim, 
which probably signified a foreland, and 
is still preserved in the compound Rams- 
gate. In East Kent the gaps in the line 
of cliff which lead down to the shore are 
called gates ; hence Ramsgate is the gate 
or pass leading into Ruim (Guest, in Pro- 
ceedings of the Archaeological Institute 
for 1849, p. 32). 



C. CELTIC WORDS IN THE ENG- 
LISH LANGUAGE. 

Mr. Davies, in the valuable paper al- 
ready referred to, remarks : " The stoutest 
assertor of a pure Anglo-Saxon or Nor- 
man descent is convicted by the language 
of his daily life of belonging to a race that 
partakes largely of Celtic blood. If he 
calls for his coat (W. cota. Germ. rockX 



Chap. n. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



39 



or tells of the basket of fish he has caught 
(W. basgawd, Germ. Jcorb), or the cart he 
employs on his land (W. cart, from car, 
a drag or sledge, Germ, wagen), or of the 
pranks of his youth or the prancing of 
his horse (W. prank, a trick ; prancio, to 
frolic) , or declares that he was happy when 
a gownsman at Oxford (W. hap, fortune, 
chance; Germ, gliick; W. gwn), or that 
his servant is pert (W. pert, spruce, 
dapper, insolent) ; or, descending to the 
language of the vulgar, he affirms that 
such assertions are balderdash, and the 
claim a sham (W. baldorddus, idle, 
prating ; siom, from shorn, a deceit, a 
sham), he is unconsciously maintaining 
the truth he would deny. 

A long list of Celtic words in the Eng- 
lish language will he found in Mr. Davies's 
essay, and also in another valuable paper 
by the late Mr. Garnett, likewise pub- 
lished in the Transactions of the Philo- 
logical Society (vol. i. p. 111). It ap- 
pears that a considerable proportion of the 
English words relating to the ordinary 
arts of life, such as agriculture, carpentry, 
and in general indoor and outdoor service, 
come from the Celtic. The following, 



which might be multiplied almost indefi- 
nitely, may serve as samples : — 



English. 


Welsh. 


basket 


basgawd. 


bran 


bran (a skin of wheat). 


crock, crockery 


crochan (a pot). 


drill 


rhill (a row). 


flannel 


gwlanen (from gwlan, wool). 


gown 


gwn (a robe). 


hem 


hem (a border). 


lath 


llath (a rod). 


mattock 


matog. 


pail 


paeol. 


peck 


peg. . 


pitcher 


piser (a jug). 


ridge 


rhic, rhig. 


solder 


sawduriaw (to join, cement). 


tackle 


tacl (instrument, tool). 



Mr. Davies also calls attention to the 
fact that in the Lancashire dialect (and 
the same holds good of other dialects) 
many low, burlesque, or obscene words can 
be traced to a Celtic source, and this cir- 
cumstance, together with the fact that no 
words connected with law, or government, 
or the luxuries of life, belong to this class, 
is distinct evidence that the Celtic race 
was held in a state of dependence or 
inferiority. 




Silver Penny of iEthelberht, king of Kent. 

Obverse : edilberht . . . ; bust right. Reverse : rex ; wolf and twins. (This 

coin, if genuine, is an evident imitation of those of Rome.) 




Golden Ring of yEthelwulf in the British Museum. It is decorated with a blueish- 
black enamel, firmly incorporated into the metal by fusion. 

CHAPTER III. 

THE ANGLO-SAXONS FBOM THE UNION OF ENGLAND UNDER EGBERT 
TILL THE REIGN OF CANUTE THE DANE, A.D. 827-1016. 

§ 1. State of the kingdom. §2. Invasion of the Danes. Death of Egbert. 
§ 3. Reign of iEthelwulf. His journey to Rome. § 4. Revolt of JSthel- 
bald. § 5. Reigns of jEthelbald, jEthelbertit, iEthelred. Continued inva- 
sions of the Danes. § 6. Accession of Alfred. Successes of the Danes. 
Flight of Alfred. § 7 Alfred defeats the Danes. Their settlement in 
East Anglia. The Danelagh. § 8. Wise regulations of Alfred. New 
Danish war. Death of Alfred. § 9. His character. His love of learn- 
ing. § 10. His policy and legislation. §11. Reign of Edward the 
Elder. § 12. Reign of /Ethelstan. His conquests, power, and foreign 
connections. § 13. Reign of Edmund I. His assassination. § 14. 
Reign of Edred. St. Dunstan ; his character and power. § 15. Reign 
of Edwy. His quarrel with St. Dunstan. § 16. Reign of Edgar. His 
good fortune. § 17. Reign of Edward. His assassination. § 18. Reign 
of JF.thelred II. Invasion of the Danes. Danegeld. § 19. Massacre of 
the Danes. § 20. Conquest of England by Sweyn. Flight of ^Ethelred. 
§ 21. Death of Sweyn and return of /Ethelred. Invasion of Canute. 
Death of jEthelred. § 22. Division of England between Canute and 
Edmund Ironside. Murder of the latter. 

§ 1. Egbert, a.d. 827-836. — Although England was not firmly 
cemented into one state under Egbert, as is usually represented, yet 
the power of this monarch and the union of so many provinces 
opened the prospect of future tranquillity. It now appeared more 
than probable that the Anglo-Saxons would henceforth become 
formidable to their neighbours, and not be exposed to their inroads 
and devastations. Indeed, in the year 830, Egbert led his victori- 
ous army into North Wales, penetrated into Denbighshire, laid waste 
the country as far as Snowdon, and reduced the Isle of Anglesey to 
subjection. Of all the territory that had been comprised in Roman 
Britain, Strathclyde and Cumbria alone were free from vassalage to 
the crown of Egbert. But these expectations were soon overcast 



A.D. 827-836. 



EGBERT. 



41 



by the appearance of the Northmen (832), who during the next two 
centuries kept the Anglo-Saxons in perpetual disquietude, committed 
the most barbarous ravages, permanently established themselves 
in many parts of the country, and founded a new race of kings. 

§ 2. These pirates and freebooters inhabited the Scandinavian 
kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden ; and the hordes which 
plundered England were drawn from all parts of both the Scandi- 
navian peninsulas. It was, however, chiefly the Danes who 
directed their attacks against the coasts of England ; the Nor- 
wegians made their descents for the most part upon Scotland, the 
Hebrides, and Ireland ; while the Swedes turned their arms against 
the eastern shores of the Baltic. These Scandinavians were in race 
and language closely connected with the Anglo-Saxons. The 
language of all the Scandinavian nations differs only slightly from 
the dialects of the Germanic tribes. Both races originally wor- 
shipped the same gods, and were distinguished by the same love 
of enterprise and freedom. But while the Anglo-Saxons had long 
since abjured their ancient faith, and had acquired the virtues and 
vices of civilization, their Scandinavian kinsmen still remained in 
their savage independence, still worshipped Odin as their national 
god, and still regarded the plunder of foreign lands as their chief 
occupation and delight. In the ninth century they inspired the 
same terror as the Anglo-Saxons had done in the fifth. Led by 
the younger sons of royal houses, the Vikings * swarmed in all the 
harbours and rivers of the surrounding countries. Their course was 
marked by fire and bloodshed. Buildings sacred and profane were 
burnt to the ground ; multitudes of people were murdered or dragged 
away into slavery. The terrified inhabitants fled at the approach 
of the enemy, and beheld in them the judgment of God foretold by 
the prophets. Their national flag was the figure of a black raven, 
woven on a blood-red ground, from whose movements the Northmen 
augured victory or defeat. When it fluttered its wings, they believed 
that Odin gave them a sign of victory; but if the wings hung 
down, they imagined that the god would not prosper their arms. 
Their swords were longer and heavier than those of the Anglo- 
Saxons, and their battle-axes are described as formidable weapons. 

These terrible Northmen appeared nearly simultaneously on the 
coasts of England, France, and Russia. They wrested from the 
French monarch one of his fairest provinces, which was called Nor- 
mandy after them ; and they founded in Russia a dynasty which 
reigned over that country above 700 years.f Their first appearance 



* Viking is in Danish a naval warrior, 
a pirate. 
f For their settlement in Normandy 



see chapter v. The Norse dynasty in 
Russia was founded at Novgorod by Ruric 
in 862. 



42 



ANGLO-SAXONS AND DANES. 



Chap. hi. 



in England is placed by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle under 
the year 787 ; but it was not till the latter part of Egbert's reign 
that they commenced their regular and systematic ravages of the 
country. At first they made merely brief and rapid descents upon 
the coasts, returning to their northern homes with the plunder they 
had gained ; but they soon began to take up their abode in England 
for the winter, and renewed their devastations in the spring. While 
England was trembling at this new evil, Egbert, who alone was able 
to provide effectually against it, unfortunately died (a.d. 836), and 
left the government to his son iEthelwulf. 

§ 3. .ZEthelwulf, 836-858. — This prince had neither the abilities 
nor the vigour of his father, and was better qualified for governing 
a convent than a kingdom. He began his reign with a partition 
of his dominions, and delivered to his eldest son, iEthelstan, the 
newly conquered provinces of Essex, Kent, and Sussex. No inconve- 
nience seems to have arisen from this partition, as the continual 
terror of the Danish invasions prevented all domestic dissension. 
These incursions now became almost annual, and, from their sudden 
and unexpected nature, kept the English in continual alarm. The 
unsettled state of his kingdom did not hinder iEthelwulf from 
making a pilgrimage to Rome, and taking with him his fourth and 
favourite son, Alfred, then only six years of age (853). He passed 
a twelvemonth there in exercises of devotion, and in acts of liberality 
to the church. Besides giving presents to the more distinguished 
ecclesiastics, he made a perpetual grant of 300 mancuses * a year to 
that see ; one-third to support the lamps of St. Peter's, another for 
those of St. Paul's, a third to the pope himself. It has been main- 
tained by some writers that iEthelwulf first established tithes in 
England,! but this is founded on a misinterpretation of the ancient 
charters. Tithes were of earlier origin ; but iEthelwulf apppears 
to have established the first poor-law, by imposing on every ten hides 
of land the obligation of maintaining one indigent person. 

§ 4. On his return from Rome (856) iEthelwulf married Judith, 
daughter of the French J king Charles the Bald, though she was 
then only twelve years of age ; but on his landing in England he 
met with an opposition he little expected. His eldest son, iEthel- 
stan, being dead, iEthelbald, his second son, who had assumed the 
government, formed, in concert with many of the nobles, a project 



* The mancus was a silver coin of 
about the weight of a half-crown. 

f What iEthelwulf appears to have 
done was to subject the royal demesnes 
to payment of tithes, from which they 
were exempt before. 

J The name of France may now first be 



properly used. The kingdom of France 
may be dated from the establishment of 
Charles the Bald as king of the West 
Franks, in the partition between him and 
his brothers, Lothair and Lewis, of the 
dominions of their grandfather, Charles 
the Great (843). 



a.d. 836-871. .ETHELWULF — ^ETHELBALD — ALFRED. 43 

for excluding his father from the throne. The people were divided 
between the two princes, and a bloody civil war, joined to all 
the other calamities under which the English laboured, appeared 
inevitable, when iEthelwulf consented to a compromise. Retaining 
the eastern portion of Wessex and Kent, the least considerable, as well 
as the most exposed to invasion, he conceded the rest to iEthelbald. 

§ 5. ./ETHELBALD, iETHELBERHT,and iETHELRED, A.D. 858-871. — 

iEthelwulf died in 858, and was buried at Winchester ; dividing 
his kingdom &# will between his two sons, iEthelbald and iEthelberht- 
iEthelbald, to the scandal of the age, married his stepmother 
Judith ; but dying soon after, his brother iEthelberht united Kent, 
Surrey, and Sussex to the kingdom of Wessex (860). At his death, 
iEthelred, fourth son of iEthelwulf, ascended the throne (866). 
Under these monarchs the Danes continued their ravages with 
renewed vigour, and penetrated into the very heart of the country. 
Not contenting themselves with mere incursions, they conquered a 
large part of England. In 867 they took York ; the next year 
they assaulted Nottingham ; in 870 they defeated and took prisoner 
Edmund, the king of East Anglia, to whom they proposed that 
he should renounce the Christian faith and rule under their supre- 
macy. As this proposal was rejected with scorn and horror, the 
Danes bound the king naked to a tree, scourged and wounded him 
with arrows, and finally beheaded him. The constancy with which 
Edmund met his death caused him to be canonized as a saint and 
a martyr ; and the place where his body was buried took the name of 
St. Edmundsbury, i.e. "St. Edmund's town" (Bury St. Edmund's), 
where a splendid monastery was erected in his honour. Thus ended 
the old line of the Uffingas, and East Anglia became a Danish 
possession, Led by Halfdan and another king into Wessex, the 
Danes fought no less than nine battles in one year. iEthelred 
died at Easter, 871, and was succeeded by his brother Alfred. 

§ 6. Alfred, a.d. 871-901. This monarch, who was born at 
Wantage in Berkshire, in 849, had already given proofs of those 
great virtues and shining talents, by which he saved his country 
from utter subversion and ruin. His genius was first fired by 
the recital of Saxon poems, which he soon learned to read, and 
he then- proceeded to acquire the knowledge of the Latin tongue- 
In his twentieth year he took the field along with his brother 
against the pagan invaders, and it was owing to his intrepidity and 
courage that his countrymen gained a signal victory over the Danes 
at Ashdown in Berkshire (871). On the death of iEthelred soon 
afterwards, he was called to the throne in preference to his brother's 
children, as well by the will of his father as by the wishes of tho 
whole nation and the urgency of public affairs. 



44 



ANGLO-SAXONS AND DANES. 



Chap. hi. 



After an indecisive battle at Wilton, the Danes withdrew from 
Wessex for a time. But in 874 they gained full possession of Mercia, 
on the flight of Burhred, Alfred's brother-in-law. Thus ended the 
independent kingdom of Mercia ; and the Danes were now masters 
of the three great Anglian kingdoms, leaving to Alfred only Wessex, 
Kent, and Essex. The year 875 is distinguished as the date of 
the first naval victory known to have been won by an English 
king, when " Alfred went out to sea with a fleet, and fought 
against the crews of seven ships (in Swanage bay), and one of them 
he took and put the rest to flight." But fresh swarms of Northmen 
continually poured into the kingdom, and in 876 Wessex was 
again invaded by a great fleet and army under Guthorm, or 
Guthrum (in Danish Oormhinrige, " the mighty serpent "). Over- 
powered by superior numbers, Alfred was at length obliged to 
relinquish the ensigns of dignity, dismiss his servants, and seek 
shelter in the meanest disguises from the pursuit and fury of his 
enemies (878). " On a time," if we may trust the story, " being 
forced to hide himself with a cow-herd in Somersetshire, as he 
sat by the fire preparing his bow and shafts, the cow-herd's wife 
baking bread on the coals, threw the king's bow and shafts aside 
and said : ' Thou fellow, why dost thou not turn the bread which 
thou seest burn ; thou art glad to eat it ere it be half baked.' This 
woman thought not it had been king Alfred, who had made so 
many battles against the Danes." 

§ 7. At length, collecting a few followers, Alfred retired into the 
centre of a bog formed by the stagnating waters of the Tone and the 
Barrett, in Somersetshire. Here, finding two acres of firm ground, 
he secured himself by a fortification, and still more by unknown and 
inaccessible roads which led to it, and by the forests and morasses 
with which it was environed. He called this place JEihdinga- 
eigg, or the Isle of Brinces; and it now bears the name of 
Athelney.* From this retreat he made frequent and unexpected 
sallies upon the Danes, who often felt the vigour of his arm, but 
knew not from what quarter the blow came. Thus encouraged, his 
followers were prepared for more important victories. Seven weeks 
after Easter, Alfred sallied from Athelney, and was joined by the 
men of Somersetshire, Wiltshire, and Hampshire at " Egbert's stone " 
(now Brixton), on the borders of Selwood Forest. The English, who 
had hoped to put an end to their calamities by servile submission, 
had found the insolence and rapacity of the conqueror more in- 



* A beautiful gold-enamelled jewel, 
found at this spot, and now in the Ash- 
molean Museum at Oxford, has the in- 
scription "JElfred mec heht gewurcan" 



{Alfred had me wrought). According 
to the testimony of his biographer, 
Asser, Alfred encouraged goldsmiths. 



a.d. 874-878. ALFRED. 



45 



tolerable than all past fatigues and dangers. Alfred led them to 
Ethandun (Edington, near Westbury), where the Danes were 
encamped ; and taking advantage of his previous knowledge of the 
place, he directed his attack against the most unguarded quarter of 
the enemy. The Danes, surprised to see an army of English, whom 
they considered as totally subdued, and still more astonished to hear 
that Alfred was at their head, made but a faint resistance, notwith- 
standing the superiority of their number, and were soon put to 
flight with great slaughter. The remainder of the routed army, with 
their prince, was besieged by Alfred in a fortified camp to which 
they fled ; but, beiug reduced to extremity by want and hunger, 
they had recourse to the clemency of the victor, and offered to 
submit. Alfred spared their lives, and even formed a scheme for 
converting them from mortal enemies into faithful subjects and 
confederates. As the kingdom of East Anglia was desolated by 
the frequent inroads of the Danes, he now proposed to repeople it 
by settling in it Guthrum and his followers, who might serve him 
as a defence against any future incursions of their countrymen. 
But before he ratified these mild conditions with the Danes, he re- 
quired, as a pledge of their submission, that they should embrace 
Christianity. Guthrum, with thirty of his officers, had no aversion 
to the proposal, and were admitted to baptism. The king answered 
for Guthrum at the font, and gave him the name of Athelstan. 
This treaty was made at Wedmore, near Athelney (a.d. 878). The 
greater part of the Danes settled peaceably in their new quar- 
ters. They had for some years occupied the towns of Derby, 
Leicester, Stamfurd, Lincoln, and Nottingham, thence called the 
Five Boroughs. Alfred ceded to the new converts a considerable 
part of the kingdom of Mercia, retaining however the western portion, 
or country of the Hwiccas, in Gloucestershire. It would, however, 
be an error to suppose that the Danes ever really became his subjects- 
On the contrary, they formed an independent state, retaining their 
own laws and institutions, down to the latest times of the Anglo- 
Saxon monarchy. The general boundary between the Danes and 
Anglo-Saxons was the old Roman road called Watling Street, which 
ran from London across England to Chester and the Irish Channel. 
The province of the Danes lying to the north and east of that 
road was called Danelagh, the Danes' Law or community. Eeceiving 
fresh accessions of numbers from their own "country, the Danes were 
long able to bid defiance to all the efforts of the Anglo-Saxon 
monarchs to reduce them to complete obedience. 

§ 8. After the treaty with Guthrum, Alfred enjoyed tranquillity 
for some years. He employed the interval in restoring order 
to his dominions, shaken by so many violent convulsions; in 



46 ANGLO-SAXONS AND DANES. Chap. in. 

establishing civil and military institutions; in habituating the 
minds of men to industry and justice; and in providing against 
the return of like calamities. After rebuilding the ruined cities, 
particularly London, which had been destroyed by the Danes 
in the reign of iEthelwulf, he established a regular militia for the 
defence of the kingdom. He increased his fleet both in number 
and strength, and trained his subjects to the practice as well of 
sailing as of naval action. He improved the construction of his 
vessels, which were higher, swifter, and steadier than those of the 
Danes, and nearly double the length, some of them having more 
than 60 rowers. A fleet of 120 ships of war was stationed upon 
the coast ; and being provided with warlike engines, as well as with 
expert seamen, both Frisians and English — for Alfred supplied the 
defects of his own subjects by engaging able, foreigners in his service 
— he maintained a superiority over those smaller bands with which 
England had so often been infested. Notwithstanding these pre- 
cautions, as the northern provinces of France, into which Hasting, the 
famous Danish chief, had penetrated, were afflicted with a grievous 
famine, the Danes set sail from Boulogne with a powerful fleet 
under his command, landed upon the coast of Kent, and committed 
most destructive ravages (893). It would be tedious to narrate the 
events of this new war, which occupied the attention of Alfred for 
the next few years. It is sufficient to relate that, after repeated 
defeats in different parts of the island, the small remains of the 
Danes either dispersed themselves among their countrymen in 
Northumbria and East Anglia, or had recourse again to the sea, 
where they exercised piracy under the command of Siegfrid, a 
Northumbrian. After Alfred had succeeded iu restoring full tran- 
quillity to England, he died (October 26th, 901), in the vigour of 
his age and the full strength of his faculties, and was buried at 
Winchester, after a glorious reign of 30 years and a half, in which 
he deservedly attained the appellation of Alfred the Great, and 
the title of Founder of the English Monarchy. 

§ 9. The merits of this prince, both in private and public life, 
may with advantage be contrasted with those of any monarch 
which the annals of any age or nation can present us. His 
civil and his military virtues are almost equally the objects of 
our admiration. Nature, as if desirous that so bright a pro- 
duction of her skill should be set in the fairest light, had bestowed 
on him every bodily accomplishment, vigour of limbs, dijznity of 
shape and air, with a pleasing, engaging, and open countenance. 
When Alfred came to the throne he found the nation sunk into 
the grossest ignorance and barbarism, occasioned by the continued 
disorders in the government, and the ravages of the Danes. 



A.D. 893-901. ALFRED. 47 

Monasteries were destroyed, the monks butchered or dispersed, and 
their libraries burnt ; and thus the only seats of learning in those 
ages were totally subverted. Alfred himself complains that on 
his accession he knew few even of the clergy south of the Thames, 
and not many in the northern parts, who could interpret the Latin 
service. He invited the most celebrated scholars from all parts of 
Europe; he established schools for the instruction of his people; 
and he enjoined by law all freeholders possessing two hides of land, 
or more, to send their children to school for instruction.* But the 
most effectual expedient employed by Alfred for the encouragement 
of learning was his own example, and the assiduity with which, not- 
withstanding the multiplicity and urgency of his affairs, he em- 
ployed himself in the pursuit of knowledge. He usually divided 
his time into three equal portions : -one was devoted to sleep, food, 
and exercise ; another to study and devotion ; a third to the 
despatch of business. To measure the hours more exactly, he 
made use of burning tapers of equal length, which he fixed in 
lanterns, an expedient suited to that rude age, when dialling and 
the mechanism of clocks and watches were totally unknown. By 
such regular distribution of his time, though he often laboured under 
great bodily infirmities, and had fought in person 56 battles by 
sea and land, he was able, during a life of no extraordinary length, 
to acquire more knowledge, and even to compose more books, 
thau falls to the lot of the most studious men, though blessed with 
the greatest leisure and application, and born in more fortunate 
ages. He translated into Anglo-Saxon the histories of Orosius and 
of Bede ; to the former he prefixed a description of Germany and 
the north of Europe, from the narratives of the travellers Wulfstan 
and Ohthere. To these must be added a version of Boethius's 
Consolation of Philosophy, besides several other translations which 
he either made or caused to be made from the Confessions of St. 
Augustine, St. Gregory's Pastoral Instructions, Dialogues, &c. Nor 
was he negligent in encouraging the mechanical arts. He invited 
from all quarters industrious foreigners to repeople the country, 
which had been desolated by the ravages of the Danes. He in- 
troduced and encouraged manufactures, and suffered no inventor or 
improver of any ingenious art to go unrewarded. He prompted men 
of activity to betake themselves to navigation, to push commerce 
into the most remote countries, and to acquire riches by promoting 
industry among their fellow-citizens. He set apart a seventh portion 
of his own revenue for maintaining a number of workmen, whom 
he constantly employed in rebuilding the ruined cities and mon- 

* The foundation of the University of Oxford has sometimes been erroneously 
attributed to Alfred. 



48 ANGLO-SAXONS AND DANES. Chap. hi. 

asteries. Such was the popular estimate of his character ; and 
thus, living and dead, next to Charlemagne, Alfred was long 
regarded as the greatest prince that had appeared in Europe for 
several ages, and as one of the wisest and best that ever adorned the 
annals of any nation. 

§ 10. Alfred's great reputation has caused many of the institutions 
prevalent among the Anglo-Saxons, the origin of which is lost in 
remote antiquity, to be ascribed to his wisdom: such as the division 
of England into shires, hundreds, and tithings, the law of frank- 
pledge, trial by jury, etc. ; some of which were certainly anterior, 
and others subsequent, to his time. Even the code of laws which 
he undoubtedly promulgated was little more than a new collection 
of the laws of iEthelberht, Offa, and Ina ; into which, with the 
assistance of his witan, or wise men, he inserted a few enactments 
only of his own. 

. § 11. By his wife, Ealhswith, daughter of a Mercian ealdorman, 
Alfred left two sons and three daughters. The younger, ^Ethel- 
ward, inherited his father's passion for letters, and lived a private 
life. The elder, Edward, succeeded to his father's power, being the 
first of that name who sat on the English throne. 

Edward I., 901-925. — Immediately on his accession, Edward, 
usually called Edward the Elder, had to contend with iEthel- 
wald, son of king iEthelred, the elder brother of Alfred, who, 
insisting on his preferable title to the throne, armed his partisans 
and took possession of Wimborne. On the approach of Edward, 
however, iEthelwald fled into Northumberland, where the people 
declared in his favour. Having thus connected his interests with 
the Danish tribes, he went beyond sea, and, collecting a body of 
these freebooters, excited the hopes of all those who had been accus- 
tomed to subsist by rapine and violence. He was also joined by the 
East Anglian Danes and the men of the Five Boroughs ; but 
Edward overthrew them in several actions, recovered the booty 
they had taken, and compelled them to retire into their own 
country. iEthelwald was killed in battle (905). 

The rest of Edward's reign was a scene of continued and successful 
action against the Danes, in which he was assisted by the activity 
and prudence of his sister iEtbelfied, widow of iEthelred, ealdorman 
of Mercia. The submission of the Danes in that province, as well 
as of East Anglia, and the acknowledgment of Edward's supre- 
macy by the Welsh, effected the first union of Southern Britain 
under an English king (922). In Edward's last year, the Chronicle 
adds, that not only all the Northumbrians^English, Danes, and 
Northmen — but the Strathclyde Welsh and the Scots, with their 
kings, " chose him for father and for lord." From this time his 




T>Tew York; Harper k Brothers 



a.d. 901-946 EDWARD I. — ^THELSTAN — EDMUND I. 



49 



successors generally style themselves " King of the Angles," or 
King of the Anglo-Saxons, that is, of all the Anglian and Saxon 
states, and not merely King of the West Saxons* Edward died in 
the year 925, and was succeeded by iEthelstan, his natural son, who 
was thirty years old — his legitimate children being of too tender 
years to rule a nation so much exposed to foreign invasion and 
domestic convulsions. He was crowned at Kingston. 

§ 12. iETHELSTAN, 925-940. — This monarch likewise gained 
numerous victories over the Danes, and is justly regarded as one of 
the ablest and most active of the early English kings. He com- 
pleted his father's work by annexing Northumbria, on the death of 
its Danish ruler, whose son fled to Constantine II., king of the 
Scots (927). His signal victory over the united host of the Scots, 
Danes, and Strathclyde Welsh, at the battle of Brunanburh, is 
celebrated in an Anglo-Saxon war-song (937).f vEthelstan made 
many good laws, which were really for the most part new enact- 
ments, and not mere repetitions of older customs or codes. Among 
them was the remarkable one, that a merchant who had made three 
long voyages on his own account should be admitted to the rank 
of a thane or gentleman. This shows that commerce was now 
more honoured and encouraged than it had formerly been, and 
implies at the same time that some of the English cities had risen 
to a considerable pitch of prosperity and importance. At this 
time a more extensive intercourse sprang up with the continent, as 
is shown by the manifold relations of vEthelstan with foreign courts. 
Several foreign princes were intrusted to his guardianship and 
educated at his court, among whom was his own nephew Louis, son 
of his sister Edgiva and Charles the Simple, king of France. 

§ 13. Edmund I., called the Elder, 940-946.— vEthelstan died 
at Gloucester in the year 940, and was succeeded by his half- 
brother, Edmund, who was only 18 years old at his accession, and 
24 at his death ; yet he lived and reigned long enough to win the 
title of Edmund the Magnificent. A second song of triumph 
in the Chronicle celebrates the conquest over the revolted Danes of 
Northumbria and Mercia, and the recovery of the Five Boroughs, 
by "King Edmund, ruler of the Angles, protector of kinsmen, 
the refuge cf warriors " (941). He also conquered Cumberland 
from the Britons (945), and conferred that territory on Malcolm, 



* There is, however, no strict uniformity 
in their designation. vEthelstan styles him- 
self " King of all Britain ; "sometimes of all 
Albion. Edmund, Edred, and Edwy pre- 
fer the titles, King of the Angles and othrr 
circumjacent people. The last uses the 
title of Kin;/ of the Angul-Scexne, North- 



umbrians, etc. Edgar is King of all 
Britain, or all Albion. 

f The song is preserved in the Chron- 
icle. The site of the battle is unknown ; 
but it must have been in Northumbria, 
and near the coast. 



50 



ANGLO-SAXONS AND DANES. 



Chap. hi. 



king of Scotland, on condition that he should do homage, and 
protect the north from all future incursions of the Danes. 
Edmund was assassinated at Pucklechurch, iruthe year 946, by 
Liofa, a notorious outlaw, whom he had" senteBeed to banishment, 
but who had the boldness to enter the hall where the king himself 
was dining, and seat himself at the table among his attendants. 
On his refusing to leave the room, the king seized him by the 
hair; but the ruffian, pushed to extremity, drew his dagger, and 
gave Edmund a wound of which he expired immediately. He was 
buried at Glastonbury, by St. Dunstan, the abbot. ' 

§ 14. Edbed, 946-955. — As Edmund's issue was young and 
incapable of governing the kingdom, his brother Edred was Tftised 
to the throne. He completed the conquest of the Northumbrian 
Danes, who had revolted, and invited Eric, the son of Harold 
Blaatand of Denmark, to be their king. The reign of this prince, 
like those of his predecessors, was disturbed by the rebellions 
and incursions of the Danes. After subduing them, Edred, in- 
structed by experience, took greater precautions against their future 
revolt. He fixed English garrisons in their most considerable towns, 
and placed over them an English governor,* who might watch all 
their motions, and suppress any insurrection on its first appearance. 

Edred, who must have been very young, was guided, as his 
brother had been, by the great minister Dunstan, whom Edmund 
had made abbot of Glastonbury (943). The best evidence of 
Dunstan's ability is furnished by the brilliant success of Edred and 
Edgar, who followed his counsels, and the disasters of Edwy> who 
quarrelled with him. He was born of noble parents, near Glaston- 
bury, and in the school of that monastery he studied with an ardour 
which for a time apparently unsettled his brain. Treated with 
scorn by the courtiers of iEthelred, he was persuaded by his kinsman 
Alphege, bishop of Winchester, to become a monk. The stories 
told of his asceticism seem to be exaggerated and opposed to his 
genial nature, his love of music and society, and his activity in 
work, both with head and hands, in which he was followed by a 
train of pupils. He returned to court on the accession of Edmund ; 
was falsely accused; and, finding his fortune blasted by such 
scandals, he was on the eve of returning to the cloister, when a 
narrow escape which befel the king in hunting struck him with 



* This governor was not called Ealdor- 
man, but by the Danish title of Earl 
(JarV). Under Edgar the earldom was 
divided into three parts ; the southern, 
between the Humber and Tees, the old 
kingdom of Deira, becoming the earldom of 
York. The northern, or Lothian, from the 



Tweed to the Forth, was probably granted 
to the Scotch king Kenneth ; the middle 
part, between Tees and Tweed, formed the 
new earldom of Northumberland, from 
which the part between Tees and Tyne 
was afterwards taken as the patrimony of 
St. Cuthbert and bishopric of Durham, 



A.d. 946-958. EDRED — EDWY. 51 

remorse for his suspicions, and on the same day Edmund made 
Dunstan abbot of Glastonbury. The new abbot turned his attention 
to the reform of themonasteries, and the revival of learning, which 
had again fallen st^& the time of Alfred. He adopted the more 
rigid rules maintained by the Benedictines of Gaul, and introduced 
them into the convents of Glastonbury, Abingdon, and elsewhere. 
These religious houses had fallen into ruins during the incursions 
of the Danes, and their congregations had been dispersed. It was 
Dunstan's object to restore them, and to replace the secular clergy, 
who-had taken possession of the revenues, by the monastic. His 
prog «was somewhat retarded by the death of Edred, who ex- 
pired- -at Frome, in 955, after a reign of nine years. His children 
being infants, his nephew Edwy, son of Edmund, was raised to the 
throne. 

§ 15. Edwy, 955-958. — Edwy, at the time of his accession, was 
not above fifteen or sixteen years of age.* According to the 
story, told some forty years afterwards, he had become entangled in 
an intrigue with a lady, who desired to secure his hand for her 
daughter, called Elgiva. On the day of his coronation, when his 
nobility were banqueting in a great hall, Edwy, forgetful of the 
dignity due to the occasion, had retired to this lady's apartment. 
This slight to the ealdormen, bishops, and great men was regarded 
as a gross insult, and two of their number were deputed to remon- 
strate with the king, and persuade him to reassume his seat at the 
banquet. Dunstan, with the bishop of Lichfield, proceeded to 
the apartment, upbraided Edwy for his absence, and, Avith bitter 
reproaches to the lady, brought back the king into the presence 
of the nobles with no little roughness. Edwy, at the suggestion 
of the lady, found an opportunity of revenge;. and, either on the 
complaint of discontented monks of Glastonbury, or some charge 
affecting the administration of the late king's treasure, which had 
been placed in that abbey, Dunstan was driven out of England, 
and fled to Ghent (956).f 

Headed by Odo the archbishop, a Dane, the Northumbrians and 
the Mercians rose in rebellion, and proclaimed Edgar, the brother of 
Edwy, as their king (958). They were joined by the East Anglians, 
and in short by all England north of the Thames. Edgar recalled 
Dunstan, and, in a council assembled at Bradford, gave him the sees 
of London and Worcester. Dunstan would have excused himself in 
this violation of the canons, but his objections were overruled by 
others, who referred to the examples of St. John and St. Paul. Even in 

* Both iEthelweard (the only contem- [ well of Edwy, and lament his early death, 
porary historian who was not a priest or f The whole story is traditional, and is 
monk) and Henry of Huntingdon speak | told in different ways. 



52 



ANGLO-SAXONS AND DANES. 



Chap. hi. 



the southern provinces the monastic party now gained the ascendancy. 
Edwy, finding it vain to resist, was obliged to consent to a divorce 
from Elgiva, which was pronounced by Odo, archbishop of 
Canterbury (958). The fate of the unhappy Elgiva is un- 
known; for the tales of inhuman cruelties inflicted on her by 
the primate's order, as well as of the murder of Edwy, are found 
only in late and doubtful authorities. It is only known for certain, 
that Edwy's divorce was followed by the death both of the arch- 
bishop and the king in 958 or 959. He was succeeded by his 
brother Edgar. 

§ 16. Edgar, 959-975. — Edgar, surnamed the Peaceable, already 
king of the Mercians and Northumbrians (957), now succeeded 
to Wessex, with the consent of the whole kingdom.* One of 
his first acts was to promote Dunstan to the archbishopric of 
Canterbury. Of the first five years of his reign we have no 
memorials, except of his co-operation in the ecclesiastical reforms 
then in progress. To restore the monks, he displaced and degraded 
the secular clergy; he favoured the scheme for dispossessing the 
secular canons of all the great churches ; and he bestowed pre- 
ferment on none but their partisans. Above forty Benedictine 
convents are said to have been founded or repaired by Edgar. 
These merits have procured for him the highest panegyrics from 
the monkish historians. Freed from all disturbance on the side of 
the Danes, Edgar was enabled to employ his vast armaments against 
the neighbouring sovereigns ; and the king of Scotland, the princes 
of Wales, of the Isle of Man, and of the Orkneys, were reduced to 
submission.! After his coronation at Bath (972), he led his forces 
to Chester, where he was attended by six or eight vassal kings, 
who rowed his barge up the Dee to the abbey of St John the 
Baptist, Edgar holding the helm. 

The virtues of Edgar have been exaggerated by the monastic 
annalists. Even the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which again breaks 
forth into song in his praise, confesses that he loved foreign vices, 
and brought heathen manners and pernicious people into the land. 
Of the severity with which he enforced order we have an example 
in the devastation of Thanet (969)4 But the general excellence of 
his rule is attested by his extant laws, and by the consolidation of 
the various people under his authority. " One thing I would have 
common," he declared in the assembled Witan, " to all my subjects, 



* Florence of Worcester." 

f In his charters, Edgar assumes the 
titles of " King of the Angles and all the 
nations round about, " Ruler and Lord 
flf the whole Isle of Albion," " Basileus 
and Impo-ator of all Britain." The Greek 



Bao-iXew (king) was the title of the 
Emperor of the East, as Imperator was 
of the Western Emperor. 

J The people had plundered some 
Norse traders, who were under the king's 
protection. 



ad. 959-979. EDGAR — EDWARD II. — ^THELRED II. 53 

to English, Danes, and Britons in every part of my dominions ; that 
both rich and poor possess without molestation what they have 
rightly acquired, and that no thief find refuge for securing his 
stolen property." His reign forms an epoch in English history, 
and in the growth of monastic influence. 

It is popularly stated that the extirpation of wolves in England 
was effected in this reign by converting the money payment imposed 
upon the Welsh princes into an annual tribute of 300 wolves' 
heads ; but these animals were found in the island at a much later 
period. 

§ 17, Edgar died in the year 975, in the thirty-third year of his 
age, leaving two sons : Edward, aged thirteen, whom he had had 
by his first wife, iEthelfleda ; and iEthelred, then only five, by 
Elfrida. There can be no doubt that the former had the best claim 
to the succession ; and though Elfrida attempted to raise her son to 
the throne, Edward was crowned at Kingston by the vigorous 
determination of Dunstan. 

Edward II., called the Martyr, 975-979. — The kingdom was 
now again divided into two parties, and the short reign of Edward 
presents nothing memorable except the struggles between Dunstan 
and the Benedictines on the one hand, and the secular clergy on the 
other, who in some parts of Mercia had succeeded in expelling the 
monks. To settle this controversy several synods were held, and 
Dunstan is said to have wrought miracles. 

The death of young Edward was memorable and tragical.* He 
was hunting one day in Dorsetshire, and being led by the chase 
near Corfe Castle, where his stepmother Elfrida resided, he took 
the opportunity of paying her a visit, unattended by any of his 
retinue, and thus presented her with the opportunity she had 
long desired. Mounting his horse to depart, he called for a cup 
of wine, and while he was holding it to his lips, a servant of 
Elfrida approached and stabbed him behind. The prince, finding 
himself wounded, put spurs to his horse, but growing faint from 
loss of blood, he fell from the saddle, his foot stuck in the stirrup, 
and he was dragged along until he expired. Tracked by the 
blood, his body was found and privately interred at Wareham. 
The youth and innocence of this prince, with his tragical death, 
obtained for him the appellation of " Martyr." 

§ 18. ^thelred II., 979-1016.— jEthelred II., the son of Elfrida, 
called by historians " the Unready," f now ascended the throne, 

* This is the story of William of | f This epithet means "counselless" 
Malmesbury. The early authorities agree | or "bad counsellor," a play upon the 
as to the place, but not as to the persons name of jEthelred" noble in counsel," who 
who instigated the murder. • ruined his country through unrced, " want 



54 ANGLO-SAXONS AND DANES. Chap. ni. 

at the" early age of ten. Dunstan, who placed the crown on his head 
at Kingston, lived nine years longer, and died May 19, 988. A 
period, however, was approaching, when the heat of ecclesiastical 
disputes had to give place to the more important question respecting 
the very existence of the nation. Shortly after iEthelred's accession, 
the Danes and Northmen renewed their incursions, and iEthelred's 
long reign presents little else than a series of struggles with those 
piratical and pagan invaders. He adopted the fatal expedient of 
buying off their attacks, thus foolishly inviting their renewal.* 
In the year 993, having by their previous incursions become well 
acquainted with the defenceless condition of England, the Danes 
made a powerful descent under the command of Sweyn, king of 
Denmark, and of Anlaf or Olaf, afterwards king of Norway ; and, 
sailing up the Humber, they spread devastation on every side. The 
following year they ventured to attack the centre of the kingdom ; 
entered the Thames with 94 vessels, laid siege to London, and 
threatened it with total destruction. But the citizens, firmly united 
among themselves, made a bolder defence than the nobility and 
gentry; and the besiegers, after suffering the greatest hardships, 
were disappointed in their attempt. The Danes proceeded to 
plunder other quarters, until they were bought off with 16,000 
pounds of silver. But in a few years they returned again, and in 
997, and the five following years, committed dreadful devastations 
in various parts, till bought off again by another payment of 24,000 
pounds. This tribute gave rise to an odious and oppressive impost, 
which, under the name of Danegeld, or Dane-money, continued 
to be levied on the laity long after the occasion for its imposition 
had ceased. Observing the close connection maintained among 
all the Danes, however divided in government or situation, iEthelred, 
being now a widower, made his addresses to Emma, sister to 
Bichard II., duke of Normandy, in the hope that such an alliance 
might serve to check the incursions of the Northmen. He suc- 
ceeded in his suit : the princess came over to England and was 
married to iEthelred in 1002. She received the English name of 
JElfgifu or Elgiva. From this marriage may be dated the Norman 
influence in England. The French language began to be spoken 
at the court, and the French followers of Emma were placed in 
high offices, both in church and state. 

§ 19. Shortly after this marriage, iEthelred formed a design of 



of counsel" or " evil counsel," a term which 
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle expressly 
applies to his foolish policy towards the 
Danes (s. a. 1011: "All these calamities 
befell us through unrede.") There can 
be little doubt of the origin of this epithet • 



but it is never applied to this king- by the 
earliest and best authorities. 

* He was not the first of the Anglo- 
Saxon kings who had recourse to this ex- 
pedient. 



A.D. 979-1016. jETHELRED II. 55 

murdering the Danes throughout his dominions. But though 
ancient historians speak of this massacre as universal, such a repre- 
sentation of the matter is absolutely impossible, as the Danes 
formed a large part of the population of Northumbria and East 
Anglia, and were very numerous in Mercia. The animosity between 
the inhabitants of English and Danish race had, from repeated, 
injuries, risen to a great height; especially through the conduct 
of those Danish troops which the English monarchs had long been 
accustomed to keep in pay for their excellence as soldiers. These 
mercenaries, who were quartered about the country, committed 
many acts of violence. They had attained to such a height of 
luxury, according to later English writers, that they combed their 
hair once a day, bathed themselves once a week, and frequently 
changed their clothes ! Secret orders were given to commence the 
massacre on the festival of St. Brice (November 13th, 1002). The 
rage of the populace, excited by so many injuries, sanctioned by 
authority, and stimulated by example, spared neither sex nor age, 
and was not satiated without the tortures as well as death of the 
unhappy victims. Even Gunhilda, sister to the king of Denmark, 
who had married earl Paling, and had embraced Christianity, was 
seized and condemned to death, after she had seen her husband and 
her children butchered before her face. In the agonies of despair, 
this unhappy princess foretold that her murder would soon be 
avenged by the total ruin of the English nation. 

§ 20. Never was prophecy more strictly fulfilled, and never did 
barbarous policy prove more fatal to its authors. Sweyn and his 
Danes appeared the next year off the western coast, and took full 
Tevenge for the slaughter of their countrymen. Twice was iEthelred 
reduced to the infamy of purchasing a precarious peace. At length, 
towards the close of 1013, Sweyn being virtually sovereign of Eng- 
land, and, the English nobility everywhere swearing allegiance to 
him, iEthelred, equally afraid of the violence of the enemy and of 
the treachery of his own subjects, fled into Normandy, whither he 
had already sent queen Emma and her two sons Alfred and 
Edward. 

§ 21. The king had not been above six weeks in Normandy when 
he heard of the death of Sweyn, who expired at Gainsborough 
before he had been crowned, or had found time to establish himself 
in his newly acquired dominions. He is not reckoned among tha 
kings of England, but is called by the chroniclers " Sweyn the 
Tyrant " (i.e. Usurper). The English prelates and nobility, or the 
Witan, as they were called, taking advantage of this event, sent 
over a deputation to Normandy inviting iEtkelred to return. He 
complied, and was joyfully received by the people, in the spring of 



56 ANGLO-SAXONS AND DANES. Chap. hi. 

1014, with a promise of greater fidelity on their part and of juster 
government on his. On his death-bed at Gainsborough, Sweyn, 
with the approbation of the assembled Danes, named his son 
Canute,* who had accompanied him in the expedition, as his 
successor. But on the approach of iEthelred, who displayed on 
this occasion unwonted celerity, Canute embarked with his forces 
for Denmark. A ray of hope seemed now to dawn on England, 
but it was only transient. iEthelred soon relapsed into his usual 
incapacity and indolence ; and the kingdom became a scene of 
internal feud, treachery, and assassination. In 1015 Canute re- 
turned with a large fleet and overran Wessex. Edmund, the king's 
eldest son, made fruitless attempts to oppose his progress ; but, 
unsupported by his father and the nation, he was obliged to disband 
the greater part of his army and retire with the remainder to 
London, where ^Ethelred had shut himself up. Hither also Canute 
directed his course, in the hope of seizing iEthelred's person ; but 
the king expired before his arrival, after an unhappy and inglorious 
reign of 37 years. 

§ 22. Edmund Ironside, April 23rd to Nov. 30th, 1016.— By the 
small party who had remained faithful to the royal cause, Edmund, 
whose hardy valour procured him the name of Ironside, was now 
elected king. Meanwhile Canute had arrived at London, where, as 
the bridge impeded his operations, he caused a canal to be dug on 
the south bank of the river, through which he conveyed his ships. 
He also surrounded the city on the land side with a deep trench, 
hoping by these means to cut off the supplies. But these measures 
failing, as well as a general assault, Canute proceeded to the 
western districts, where Edmund was engaging the Danes with 
considerable success. But, after the total defeat of his army at 
Assington in Suffolk, the Danish and English nobility obliged the 
two kings to come to a compromise, and divide the kingdom 
between them. Canute obtained Mercia, East Anglia, and North- 
umbria, which he had entirely subdued ; the southern parts were 
assigned to Edmund. This prince died about a month afterwards, on 
the 30th of November, murdered, as was said, by the machinations 
of Edrc, the ealdorman of Mercia, who thus made way for the 
succession of Canute the Dane to the crown of all England. 

* Knut is the proper orthography of I should be pronounced with the accent on 
the name. Canute is a corruption, and | the last syllable. 




Seal of Edward the Confessor. (British Museum.) 
sigillvm eadwardi angloevm basilei : King seated with sceptre and sword. 



CHAPTER IV. 

DANES AND ANGLO-SAXONS FROM THE REIGN OF CANUTE TO THE 
NORMAN CONQUEST, A.D. 1016-106(3. 

§ 1. Accession of Canute. First acts of his reign. Marries Emma of Nor- 
mandy. § 2. Rise of earl Godwin. § 3. Canute's devotion. His re- 
proof of his courtiers. § 4. He reduces the king of Scotland. His 
death. § 5. Division of the kingdom. Reign of Harold Harefoot. 
§ 6. Reign of Hardicanute. § 7. Accession of Edward the Confessor. 
§ 8. Influence of the Normans. Revolt and banishment of earl God- 
win. § 9. William, duke of Normandy, visits England. Return of 
earl Godwin : his death. Rise of Harold. § 10. Siward restores 
Malcolm, king of Scotland. § 11. Edward invites his nephew from 
Hungary. § 12. Harold's visit to Normandy. § 13. Harold reduces 
Wales ; condemns his brother Tosti. Aspires to the succession. Death 
of Edward. § 14. His character. § 15. Accession of Harold. William 
assembles a fleet and army. Invasion of Tosti and of Harold Hardrada. 
Battle of Stamford Bridge. § 16. Norman invasion. Battle of 
Hastings. Death of Harold. 

I. The Danish Kings, a.d. 1016-1042. 
§ 1. Canute, 1016-1035. — Edmund Ironside left a brother, Edwy, 
and two half-brothers, Alfred and Edward, the sons of iEthelred by 
his second wife, Emma of Normandy ; as well as two infant sons of 
his own, Edmund and Edward. But immediately after his death, 



58 



THE DANISH DYNASTY. 



Chap. iv. 



Canute assembled the nobles and clergy at London, and, partly by 
promises and partly by intimidation, was elected king, thus adding 
the dominions of Edmund to his own. This was the first time 
that a king of Wessex had been elected outside the line of Cerdic. 
To add a colour of legitimate right, the assembly is said to have 
declared falsely that Edmund had never designed his kingdom to 
pass to his brothers, and had appointed Canute to be guardian to 
his children. Edwy, the brother of Edmund, was outlawed and soon 
afterwards murdered (1017). Canute sent Edmund's children to 
his half-brother Olaf, king of Sweden, with a secret request to 
put them to death ; but Olaf, too generous to comply, had them 
conveyed to Stephen, king of Hungary, to be educated at his 
court. 

As Alfred and Edward were protected by their uncle Kichard, 
duke of Normandy, Canute, to acquire the friendship of the duke, 
paid his addresses to queen Emma, promising to leave the children 
whom he should have by that marri.ige in possession of the crown 
of England. Canute was now about 22, and Emma several years 
older.* Richard complied with his demand, and sent over his sister 
Emma to England, where she was soon after married to Canute, 
notwithstanding that he had been the mortal enemy of her former 
husband (1017). 

To reward his Danish followers, Canute found himself compelled 
to load the people with heavy exactions. At one time he demanded 
the sum of 72,000 pounds, besides 10,500 more which he levied on 
London alone. But resolving, like a wise prince, that the English 
should be reconciled to the Danish yoke by the justice and impar- 
tiality of his administration, he sent back to Denmark as many of his 
followers as could safely be spared. He made no distinction between 
Danes and English in the execution of justice: and he took care, 
by strict enforcement of the laws, to protect the lives and properties 
of all. In his reign England was divided into four great earl- 
doms — Northumberland, East Anglia (including Essex), Mercia, 
and "Wessex (including all England south of the Thames), 
1017. Over the first two Canute set Danes, Eric (his sister's hus- 
band) and Thurkill. In the same year the English earl of Mercia, 
Edric, suffered the death he had long deserved for his repeated 
treasons to iEthelred and Edmund, and his earldom was given to 
Leofwine. The earldom of Wessex, which Canute had at first kept 
in his own hands, was bestowed in 1020 on Godwin, the son of 



* Canute had two sons, Harold and 
Sweyn, by another wife or concubine, 
Elgiva of Northampton, who was still 
alive. The time of these sons' birth is not 
known with certainty; but that one at 



least was already born is probable from 
Emma's stipulation for the succession of 
her own offspring. It was doubted by 
many whether they were really the sons 
of Canute. 



a.d. 1016-1035. 



CANUTE. 



59 



Wulfnoth, an Englishman,* who had already won the king's favour 
and been made an earl, as some say, of Kent, early in Canute's 
reign. 

§ 2. When Canute had settled his power in England beyond all 
danger of a revolution, he appears in 1019 to have made a voyage to 
Denmark ; and the necessity of his affairs caused him frecpiently to 
repeat the visit, in order to make head against the Wends,f as well 
as against the kings of Sweden and Norway. On one of these occa- 
oions, earl Godwin, observing a favourable opportunity, attacked the 
enemy in the night, drove them from their trenches, and obtained 
a decisive victory. Next morning, Canute, seeing the English 
camp entirely abandoned, imagined that his disaffected troops had 
deserted, and was agreeably surprised to find that they were 
engaged in pursuit of the discomfited enemy. Gratified with this 
success, and the manner of obtaining it, be bestowed Gytha, the 
sister of earl Ulf (who was the king's brother- in-law), in marriage 
upon Godwin, and treated him ever after with entire confidence 
and regard. 

§ 3. This semi-barbarous monarch, who had committed number- 
less murders and waded through slaughter to a throne, had never- 
theless many of the qualities of a great sovereign. He had become 
a Christian either before or at the time of his first election as 
-ZEthelreil's successor. He built churches, endowed monasteries, 
and even undertook one, if not two, pilgrimages to Rome. It 
appears, from a letter which he addressed to the English clergy, 
that he must have been in that city in the year 1027, when the 
emperor Conrad II. was also there for the purpose of his coronation. 
From the same letter we learn that he had obtained certain 
privileges for English pilgrims going to Eome, and an abatement 
of the large sums exacted from the archbishops for their palls. On 
the other hand, he enforced the payment of Peter's pence and other 
ecclesiastical dues. 

As an evidence of his magnanimity, tradition refers to Canute 
the following story : — When some of his courtiers had launched out 
one day in admiration of his grandeur, he commanded his chair to 
be set on the sea-shore. As the tide rose and the waters approached, 
he bade them recede and obey the voice of their lord, feigning 



* The origin of Earl Godwin still re- 
mains a problem. His father, Wulfnoth, 
is made by some of the early chroniclers 
a churl (or peasant) near Sherborne ; by 
others, a nephew of Edric, the traitor 
earl of Mercia ; by others, a man of rank 
or a child — (" A title nearly synonymous 
with atheling, but not confined to 



royalty."— Thorpe), " Child (riJd) Wulf- 
noth, the South Saxon." Mr. Freeman 
inclines to accept the last statement 
{Norman Conquest, vol. i. Appendix F). 
+ The name of Wends was given by the 
Germans and Scandinavians to their Sla- 
vonic neighbours. 



60 THE DANISH DYNASTY. Chap. iv. 

to sit some time in expectation of their submission. But as the sea 
still advanced and began to wet his feet, he turned to his courtiers, 
and said, " The power of kings is but vanity. He only is king whc- 
can say to the ocean, Thus far shalt thou go and no farther." 
And from that time he never bore his crown. 

§ 4. The only memorable action which Canute performed, after 
his return from Eome, was an expedition against Malcolm II., king 
of Scotland, whom he reduced to subjection, with two under kings, 
one of whom was Macbeth (1031). Canute died at Shaftesbury 
in 1035, leaving by his first marriage two sons, Sweyn and Harold, 
and by Emma another son, named, from his bodily strength, 
Harthacnut or Hardicanute. To the last he had given Denmark ; 
on Sweyn he had bestowed Norway ; and Harold was in England 
at the time of his father's death. 

§ 5. Harold I. Harefoot, 1035-1040. — According to Canute's 
marriage contract with Emma, Hardicanute should have succeeded 
him on the English throne : but the absence of that prince in Den- 
mark, as well as his unpopularity among the Danish part of the 
population, caused him to lose one-half of the kingdom. Leofric, 
now carl of Mercia, supported the pretensions of Harold, whose 
presence in England was of great service to his cause, whilst the 
powerful earl Godwin embraced the cause of Hardicanute. A civil 
war was, however, averted by a compromise. It was agreed that 
Harold should retain London, with all the provinces north of the 
Thames, while the possession of the south should remain to Hardi- 
canute. Till that prince should appear and take possession of his 
dominions, Emma fixed her residence at Winchester, and established 
her authority over her son's share of the partit'on, aided by Godwin, 
who governed it already as earl. 

Edward and Alfred, Emma's sons by iEthelred, still cherished 
hopes of ascending the throne. Their mother had sacrificed their 
claims on her marriage with Canute. Their uncle, duke Kobert of 
Normandy, had threatened, or even attempted, an invasion on their 
behalf (1029 or 1030).* The details of the story are differently 
told, but the English account is as follows : "This year the innocent 
astheling Alfred, son of king iEthelred, came hither (1036), and 
would go to his mother (Emma), who resided at Winchester ; but 
this earl Godwin would not permit, nor other men also, who could 
exercise much power ; because the public voice was then really in 
favour of Harold, though it was unjust. Godwin hindered him, set 
him in durance, and dispersed his companions. Some were slain, 
some sold for money, some burned, blinded, mutilated, and scalped. 

* The obscurity of this period is due I English, Norman, German, and Scandina- 
to the great conflict of the authorities | vian, (See Note A.) 



A.D. 1035-1042. HAROLD L, HAREFOOT — HARDICANUTE. 61 

No bloodier deed was done in this country since the Danes came 
The jetheling was carried to Ely. As soon as the ship neared the 
land, they blinded him and committed him to the monks. After he 
died he was buried at the west end nigh to the steeple in the south 
porch." * The death of Alfred resulted in the election of Harold, who 
was " chosen over all for king ; " the people forsaking Hardicanute 
" because he stayed too long in Denmark " (1037). Fearful lest 
a similar fate should befal Edward, his mother sent him over to 
the continent. She herself shortly after was driven out, " with- 
out any mercy, against the stormy weather," and took refuge with 
count Baldwin at Bruges. These were the only memorable actions 
performed in the reign of Harold, who, from his agility in hunting, 
apparently his only accomplishment, obtained the name of Harefoot. 
He died on the 17th March, 1040. 

§ 6. Hardicanute, 1040-1042. — On the intelligence of his 
brother's death, Hardicanute immediately proceeded to London, 
where he was acknowledged king of all England without opposition. 
His first act was to disinter the body of his brother Harold. The 
corpse was decapitated and thrown into the Thames ; but being 
found by a fisherman, was buried by the Danes of London in their 
cemetery at St. Clement's. Little memorable occurred in this reign. 
Hardicanute renewed the imposition of Danegeld, and obliged the 
nation to pay a great sum of money to the fleet which brought him 
from Denmark. The discontent in consequence ran high in many 
places, and especially at Worcester, which was set on fire and plun- 
dered by the soldiers. Hardicanute died suddenly about two years 
after his accession, whilst in the act of raising the cup to his lips at 
a marriage festival at Lambeth (a.d. 1042). 

II. The Kingdom is restored to the line of Cerdic, 
a.d. 1042-1066. 

§ 7. Edward the Confessor, 1042-1066.— The death of Hardi- 
canute seemed to present to the English a favourable opportunity 
for recovering their liberty and shaking off the Danish yoke. 
Edward the astheling was in England on his half-brother's demise ; 
and though the son of Edmund Ironside was the more direct heir of 
the West Saxon family, his absence in so remote a country as Hun- 
gary appeared a sufficient reason for his exclusion. The claims of 
Edward were supported by Godwin, who only stipulated that he 
should marry the earl's daughter Editha, as he did two years later. 
Edward was crowned king with every demonstration of duty and 

* This account of the Anglo-Saxon I discussion see Freeman's Norman Con- 
Chronicle agrees with Florence ofWorces- quest, vol. i. pp. 542-560. 
ter and Simeon of Durham. For fuller ) 
5 



62 



SAXON LINE RESTORED. 



Chap. iv. 



affection ; and, by the mildness of his character, he soon reconciled 
the Danes to his administration. 

One of the first acts of Edward was to strip his mother Emma of 
the immense treasures which she had amassed, " because she had 
done for him less than he would, before he was king, and also since." 
She was immurtd for the remainder of her life at Winchester, but 
he carried his rigour against her no further. As she was unpopular 
in England, the king's severity, though exposed to some censure, 
met with no general disapprobation. 

§ 8. But, though freed from the incursions of the Danes, the 
nation was not yet delivered from the dominion of foreigners. 
Edward, having been educated in Normandy, had contracted an 
affection for the manners- of that country. The court was filled 
with Normans, who by their superior culture and the partiality 
of Edward soon rendered their language, customs, and laws 
fashionable in England. The church, above all, felt the influence 
of these strangers, some of whom were appointed to ecclesiastical 
dignities, and Robert, a Norman, was even promoted to the see of 
Canterbury (1051). These proceedings paved the way to the Nor- 
man Conquest, and excited the jealousy of earl Godwin and the 
English. Besides the southern parts of Wessex, Godwin had the 
counties of Kent and Sussex under his government. His eldest 
son, Sweyn, possessed the same authority in the northern parts 
of Wessex and in the south of Mercia, that is, in the counties 
of Oxford, Berks, Gloucester, Somerset, and Hereford ; whilst 
Harold, his second son, was earl of East Anglia, including Essex. 
The enormous influence of this family was supported by immense 
possessions and powerful alliances ; and the abilities, as well as 
ambition, of Godwin contributed to render him still more dan- 
gerous. He was opposed by Leofric and Siward, the earls of 
Mercia and Northumbria; and another earldom (including the 
shires of Warwick and Worcester) was carved out of Mercia for 
Ralph, the king's nephew, a Frenchman.* 

It was not long before the animosity against the Norman favourites 
broke out into action. Eustace, count of Boulogne, the stepfather 
of Ralph the earl, having paid a visit to the king, passed by Dover on 
his return (1051). One of his train, being refused admittance into a 
lodging which had been assigned to him, attempted to make his way 
by force, and in the contest wounded the owner of the house. The 
inhabitants flew to his assistance; a tumult ensued, in which nearly 



* He was the son of Goda, the king's 
sister, by her first husband, Drogo of 
Mantes, and commanded the Norman 
mercenaries. As leaders in war, the earls 



were also called dukes (from the Latin 
dux), just as the ealdormen had been 
called heretogas. 



A.D. 1042-1051. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. 63 

20 persons were killed on each side ; and Eustace, overpowered 
by numbers, was obliged to save bis life by flight from the fury of 
the populace. On the complaint of Eustace, the king gave orders 
to Godwin, in whose government Dover lay, to punish the inhabi- 
tants ; but " the earl would not agree, because he was loath to 
injure his own followers." Touched in so sensible a point, Edward 
threatened Godwin with the utmost effects of his resentment if he 
persisted in his disobedience. 

Whatever may have been the faults of Godwin, he had the good 
fortune, the policy, or the skill, to appear in the present conjuncture 
as the patriotic defender of the English cause against the foreign 
predilections of his sovereign. He had now gone too far to retreat, 
and therefore he and his sons, Sweyn and Harold, assembled their 
forces on the Cotswold Hills, for the purpose of overawing the king 
and compelling him to redress the grievances of the nation. But 
the two earls, Leofric of Mercia, and Siward of Northumberland, 
with the French earl Ealph, embraced the king's cause, and assem- 
bled a numerous army. To avoid bloodshed it was agreed, on the 
proposal of Leofric, to refer the quarrel to the Witan ; but when 
Godwin approached London for that purpose, his followers dropped 
away, and he found himself outnumbered. Sweyn was declared an 
outlaw; Godwin and Harold were summoned to take their trial, but, 
refusing to appear, unless hostages were given for their safety, they 
were ordered to leave the country within five days. Baldwin, earl 
of Flanders, gave protection to Godwin and his three sons, Sweyn, 
Gurth, and Tostig, the last of whom had married the daughter of 
that prince; Harold and Leofwine, his two other sons, took shelter 
in Ireland with Dermot, king of Leinster. The estates of the father 
and sons were confiscated, their governments given to others; queen 
Editha was shut up in a monastery at Wherwell, near Andover, 
where the king's sister was abbess. The greatness of this family, 
once so formidable, seemed now to be totally supplanted and 
overthrown (1051). 

§ 9. The Norman influence was now again in the ascendant ; and 
before the end of tlie year, William, duke of Normandy, the king's 
near kinsman, paid a visit to Edward.* But Godwin had fixed his 
authority on too firm a basis, and was too strongly supported by 
alliances both foreign and domestic, not to occasion further disturb- 
ances, and make new efforts for his re-establishment. He fitted out 
a fleet in the Flemish harbours, and being joined at the Isle of 
Wight by his son Harold, with a squadron collected in Ireland, he 
entered the Thames, and, appearing before London, where the 

* William had become duke of Normandy by his father Robert's death in the 
year of Canute's death (1035). 



64 SAXON LINE RESTORED. Chap. iv. 

people were favourably disposed to him, threw everything into 
confusion (1052). The king alone seemed resolved to defend him- 
self to the last extremity; but the interposition of the English 
nobility, many of whom favoured Godwin's pretensions, made 
Edward hearken to terms of accommodation, and it was agreed 
that hostages should be given on both sides. At a witena-gemot 
held outside the walls of London, Godwin and his sons were de- 
clared innocent of the charges laid against them, and were restored 
to their honours and possessions ; the French were outlawed ; the 
archbishop of Canterbury and the bishops of London and Dor- 
chester escaped into Normandy. Godwin's death, which happened 
soon after, while he was sitting at table with the king, prevented 
him from further establishing the authority he had acquired 
(1053). As his son Sweyn had died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, 
Godwin was succeeded in his governments and offices by his son 
Harold, now earl of Wessex, who was actuated by an ambition equal 
to that of his father, and was superior to him in address, in insinu- 
ation, and in virtue. By a modest and gentle demeanour he acquired 
the goodwill of Edward, and, gaining every day new partisans by 
his bounty and affability, he proceeded in a more silent and 
therefore a more dangerous manner to augment his authority. 

§ 10. The death of Siward of Northumbria, in 1055, removed 
the last obstacle to Harold's ambition. Besides his other merits, 
Siward had acquired honour by his successful conduct in the 
only foreign enterprise undertaken during the reign of Edward. 
Duncan I., king of Scotland, the successor of Malcolm II., was a 
young prince of a gentle disposition, but possessed not the genius 
or firmness required for governing so turbulent a country. Macbeda 
(Macbeth), the powerful chief of Moray, was married to Gruach 
(the Lady Macbeth of Shakspere), whose descent from Kenneth III. 
constituted a claim to the crown for Lulach, her son by a former 
marriage. In one of the frequent petty wars of that turbulent 
realm, Duncan was defeated and murdered on his retreat into 
Moray ; Malcolm Canmore (i.e. Greathead), his son and heir, was 
chased into England, and Macbeth seized the kingdom, which he 
ruled ably and well (1040). Some years later, Siward, whose kins- 
woman was married to Duncan, avenged, by Edward's orders, the 
royal cause. He marched an army into Scotland, defeated Macbeth 
at Dunsinane (1054), and set Malcolm on the throne. Macbeth 
and Lulach prolonged the contest till Macbeth was killed at the 
battle of Lumphanan, in Aberdeenshire (1056 or 1058). Siward 
died the year after the battle of Dunsinane ; and as his son, Wal- 
theof, appeared too young to be intrusted with the government 
of Northumberland, it was obtained by Harold's influence for his 
own brother Tostig. 



a.d 1052-10GG. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. 65 

§11. Meanwhile Edward, feeling himself far advanced in life, 
began to think of appointing a successor, and sent a deputation to 
Hungary to invite over his nephew Edward, called the " Stranger," 
or the " Outlaw," son of his elder brother, Edmund Ironside, and 
the only remaining heir of the West-Saxon line. That prince, . 
whose succession to the crown would have been easy and undis- 
puted, came to England with his young children, Edgar the 
setheling, Margaret, and Christina ; but his death, which happened 
a few days after his arrival (1057), threw the king into fresh diffi- 
culties. He saw that Harold was tempted by his great power and 
ambition to aspire to the throne, and that Edgar, a mere child, 
was very unfit to oppose the pretensions of so popular and enter- 
prising a rival. In this uncertainty he is said to have cast his 
eye towards his kinsman, William, duke of Normandy, as the only 
person whose power, reputation, and capacity could support any 
arrangement which might be made in his favour, to the exclusion of 
Harold and his family. 

§ 12. In communicating his design to William, Edward, accord- 
ing to some accounts, chose Harold himself as his ambassador, 
commanding him to deliver to the duke a sword and a ring as pledges 
of his intention. But though Harold may have paid a visit to 
the court of the duke of Normandy, the circumstances attending 
it, and even the date, are involved in obscurity. The more probable 
account is that Harold was shipwrecked on the coast of Ponthieu, 
and thrown into prison by count Guy, until his ransom was paid. 
William claimed the prisoner from his vassal, and received Harold 
with honour and kindness; but he employed this opportunity to 
extort from Harold a promise that he would support his pretensions 
to the English throne, and made him swear that he would deliver 
up the castle of Dover. To render the oath more obligatory, he 
employed an artifice well suited to the superstition of the age. 
Unknown to Harold, he conveyed under the altar, on which Harold 
agreed to swear, the reliques of certain martyrs ; and when Harold had 
taken the oath, William showed him the reliques, and admonished 
him to observe religiously an engagement which had been ratified by 
so tremendous a sanction. Harold, dissembling his concern, renewed 
his professions, and was dismissed with all the marks of confidence 
by the duke, who promised to maintain him in all his possessions, 
and give him his daughter Adeliza in marriage.* 

§ 13. In what manner Harold observed the oath thus extorted 
from him by fear, we shall presently see. Meanwhile, he continued 
to practise every art of popularity ; and fortune threw two incidents 

* As no altar in those days was without its relics, this could be no cause for 
Harold's astonishment. 



66 SAXON LINE RESTORED. Chap, iv, 

in his way by which he was enabled to acquire fresh favour. The 
first of these was the reduction of Wales ; the second related to his 
brother Tostig, who, as earl of Northumberland, had acted with so 
much cruelty and injustice, that the inhabitants, taking advantage 
of his absence in the south, deposed him, and offered the earldom 
to Morcar, grandson of Leofric (1065). As Morcar led an army of 
his new subjects southwards, he was joined by his brother Edwin, 
the earl of Mercia. When met at Northampton by Harold, who 
had been commissioned by the king to reduce and chastise the 
Northumbrians, Morcar made so vigorous a remonstrance against 
Tostig's tyranny, that Harold found it prudent to abandon his 
brother's cause; and, returning to Edward, he persuaded him to 
pardon the Northumbrians and confirm Morcar in his new govern- 
ment. Tostig, in rage, took shelter in Flanders with earl Baldwin, 
his brother-in-law. Emboldened by these successes, as well as by the 
friendship of Morcar and Edwin, and his marriage with the widow 
of king Griffith, Edwin's sister, Harold now openly aspired to the 
crown. Broken with age and infirmities, Edward died on the 5th of 
January, 1066, in the 65th year of his age and 25th of his reign. 
By some authorities he is said, on his deathbed, to have recom- 
mended Harold for his successor. 

§ 14. This prince, who about a century after his death was 
canonized with the surname of " the Confessor," by a bull of pope 
Alexander III., was the last of the direct Saxon line that ruled in 
England. Though his reign was peaceable and fortunate, he owed 
his prosperity less to his own abilities than to the conjuncture of 
the times. The Danes, employed in other enterprises, no longer 
attempted those incursions which had been so troublesome to all 
his predecessors, and so fatal to some of them. The facility of 
his disposition made him acquiesce in the designs of Godwin and 
his son Harold ; and their abilities, as well as their power, enabled 
them to preserve peace and tranquillity at home. The most com- 
mendable circumstance of Edward's government was his attention 
to the administration of justice, and his compilation, for that pur- 
pose, of a body of laws, collected from the laws of iEthelbert, Ina, 
and Alfred. Though now lost — for the code that passes under 
Edward's name was composed at a later period — it was long the 
object of affection to the English nation.* Edward was buried in 
Westminster Abbey, which was consecrated only a few days before 
his death. This church was erected by Edward and dedicated to 



* It was not the laws in this restricted 
sense that the people demanded — if ever 
they did demand them— but the milder 
rule and administration prevailing before 



the Conquest, as compared with the harsher 
rule after the Conquest. But as such com- 
plaints under such circumstances are uni- 
versal, they prove nothing. 



a.d. 1066. HAROLD II. 67 

St. Peter, in pursuance of the directions of pope Leo IX., as the 
condition of the king's release from a pilgrimage to Eome. Its site 
was previously occupied by a church erected by Sebert, king of 
Essex, which had long gone to ruin. Only a few insignificant 
fragments of this first Norman church in England had survived 
its demolition in the thirteenth century, when the new minster was 
commenced by Henry III. in honour of the Confessor. Edward 
was the first sovereign who touched for the king's evil. 

§ 15. Harold II., 1066. — Harold's accession to the throne was 
attended with as little opposition and disturbance as if he had 
succeeded by the most undoubted hereditary title. On the day 
after Edward's death he was crowned and anointed king by Aldred, 
archbishop of York ; and the whole nation seemed to acquiesce 
joyfully in his elevation. But in Normandy the intelligence of 
Harold's accession moved William to the highest pitch of indigna- 
tion. He sent an embassy to England, upbraiding him with breach 
of faith, and summoning him to resign immediately possession of 
the kingdom, or at least to keep his promise of marrying William's 
daughter and holding England as his vassal. Harold refused to 
comply. The answer was no other than William expected. He 
assembled a fleet oi nearly 1000 vessels, great and small, and an 
army, variously estimated, from 14,000 to 60,000 men. Several 
Euronean rulers declared in favour of his claim : but his most 
important ally was pope Alexander II., who proclaimed Harold a 
perjured usurper, denounced excommunication against him and his 
adherents, and, the more to encourage the duke of Normandy in 
his enterprise, sent him a consecrated banner, and a ring with one 
of St. Peter's hairs in it. 

The first blow, however, was struck by Harold's brother Tostig, 
who sailed in the spring of the year with a considerable fleet from 
the Flemish ports, and ravaged the southern and eastern coasts of 
England. Eepulsed by earls Morcar and Edwin, he took refuge 
with the Scottish king, Malcolm Canmore. On the appearance of 
a large fleet in the Tyne under Harold Hardrada, king of Norway, 
Tostig hastened to join his force with the invader, promising him 
half of England as the price of his assistance. Scarborough was 
taken and burned, and the earls Edwin and Morcar were defeated in 
a bloody battle at Fulford on the Ouse, near Bishopthorpe. Harold 
now hastened with a large army into the north ; and he reached 
the enemy at Stamford Bridge, near York, called afterwards Battle 
Bridge. A bloody but decisive action was fought on Monday, the 
25th of September, which ended in the total rout of the Norwegians, 
with the death of Tostig and of Harold Hardrada. Harold had 
scarcely time to rejoice in his victory, when he received intelligence 



68 SAXON LINE RESTORED. Chap. iv. 

that the duke of Normandy had landed with a great army in the 
south of England. 

§ 16. The Norman fleet sailed from St. Valery-sur-Somme on 
the 27th of September, and arrived safely at Pevensey, in Sussex, 
on the eve of the feast of St. Michael. The army quietly disem- 
barked. The duke himself, as he leaped on shore, happened to 
stumble and fall ; but had the presence of mind, it is said, to turn 
the omen to his advantage, by calling aloud that he had taken 
possession of the country.* 

Harold hastened by quick marches to oppose the invader ; but, 
though he was reinforced at London and other places with fresh 
troops, he found himself weakened by the desertion of Edwin and 
Morcar, who kept back the great forces of their earldoms. His 
brother Gurth, a man of bravery and conduct, entertaining appre- 
hensions of the result, remonstrated with the king, urging him to 
defer an engagement. The enemy, he said, harassed with small 
skirmishes, straitened in*provisions, fatigued with bad weather and 
deep roads during the winter season, which was approaching, would 
fall an easy and a bloodless prey. But Harold was deaf to all these 
remonstrances. He resolved to give battle in person, and for that 
purpose drew near to the Normans, who had removed their camp 
and fleet to Hastings, where they fixed their quarters (Oct. 13). 

After fruitless negotiations on both sides, the English and 
Normans prepared for the combat. The two camps presented a 
very different aspect : the English spent the time in revelry and 
feasting ; the Normans in silence and prayer. On Saturday morn- 
ing, the 14th of October, the duke called together the most con- 
siderable of his commanders, and made them a speech suitable to 
the occasion. He then ordered the signal of battle to be given. 
The whole army, led on by the minstrel Taillefer, advanced in 
order and with alacrity towards the enemy, singing the hymn 
or song of Eoland, the peer of Charlemagne. 

Barring the road to London, Harold had seized the advantage 
of a rising ground at Senlac, eight miles from Hastings, and re- 
solved to stand on the defensive. He surrounded his camp with a 
stockade, crowned with a fence of wattled branches against the 
Norman arrows. The English, as was their invariable custom, 
fought on foot. The Kentishmen were placed in the van, a post 
which they had always claimed as their due ; the militia, who 
were poorly armed, were posted on the wings ; in the centre, the 
king, accompanied by his two valiant brothers, Gurth and Leof- 

* The incident might seem to have heen I the fact that one method of taking posses- 
borrowed from ancient times ; but its per- sion, according to feudal usage, consistedin 
tlnency oa this occasion is strengthened by | laving the hand on a wall or piece of land. 



a.d 1066. HAROLD II. 6£ 

wine, placed himself at the head of his mail-clad bodyguard (or 
house-carls), close to the royal standard. The spot where the 
standard was pitched was long marked by the site of the high 
altar of " Battle Abbey," which William had vowed to build 
on that very spot in honour of St. Martin. For some hours the 
battle raged with doubtful success, till William commanded his 
troops to make a hasty retreat, and allure the enemy from their 
ground by the appearance of flight. Heated by action, and san- 
guine of victory, the English precipitately followed the Normans 
into the plain, when William ordered the infantry to fate their 
pursuers. Assaulted upon their wings at the same moment by the 
Norman cavalry, the English were repulsed with great slaughter; 
but, being rallied by the bravery of Harold, they were stilljable to 
maintain their post. The duke tried the same stratagem a second time 
with the same success; but even after this second advantage he 
still found a great body of the English who seemed determined to 
dispute the ground to the last extremity. Ordering his heavy- 
armed infantry to advance, he posted his archers behind them to 
gall the enemy, who, exposed by the situation of the ground, were 
intent on defending themselves against the swords and spears of 
their assailants. The stratagem prevailed. Harold fell, pierced in 
the right eye by an arrow, while he was fighting with great bravery 
at the head of his men. His body was mangled by a band of Nor- 
man knights, who had vowed to take the standard, and cut their 
way through his valiant body-guards. His two brothers had already 
fallen. Thus the great and decisive victory of Hastings was 
gained, after a battle fought from morning till sunset, with an 
heroic valour on both sides, to decide the fate of a mighty kingdom.* 
The body of Harold, mutilated and defaced beyond recognition, was 
found on the field. William ordered it to be buried on the sea- 
shore under a cairn of stones, the well-known sign of execration, 
but afterwards allowed it to be removed to the abbey of Waltham, 
founded by Harold. It was entombed beside the high altar of the 
grand Norman church, but again removed to another spot in the 
choir, which was pulled down at the dissolution of the monastery 
(1540). Tid then a tomb used to be shown bearing the inscription : 
"Hie jacet Hakoldus infelix." 



* The battle of Hastings is depicted on 
the Bayeux tapestry. This curious piece 
of needlewoTk, 214 feet long and 19 inches 
broad, which is still preserved at Bayeux, 
represents the whole history of the expe- 
dition, as well as the battle. According to 
tradition, it was worked by Matilda, the 
wife of William the Conqueror; but it was 
5* 



more probably worked for the Conqueror's 
brother, bishop Odo, as an ornament of 
his newly built cathedral at Bayeux. ' It 
may be regarded not only as a faithful 
representation of the costume of the 
period, but as a contemporary authority 
for the history of the invasion, though 
of course from a Norman point of view. 



70 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap rv. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. THE GOVERNMENT, LAWS, 
AND INSTITUTIONS OF THE 

ANGLO-SAXONS. 

1. Introduction. — The completeness of 
the Anglo-Saxon conquest has been in- 
ferred from the establishment of their 
language in England. Even the British 
names of places yielded to Anglo-Saxon 
ones, with some few exceptions, and 
those chiefly in the border counties 
and in Cornwall. "No one travelling 
through England," says Mr. Hallam 
(Middle Ages, ch. viii. note 4), "would 
discover that any people had ever in- 
habited it before the Saxons, save so far 
as the mighty Home has left traces of her 
empire in some enduring walls, and a 
few names that betray the colonial city, 
the Londinium, the Camalodunum, the 
Linilum." It follows that the laws and 
customs of England were mainly of 
German origin. See Stubbs's Constitu- 
tional History of England, vol. i., 
chapters i.-iv. 

2. The King and Royal family. — 
The Teutonic tribes that invaded Britain, 
like their ancestors in the wilds and 
woods of Germany, had no regular or 
permanent king, but elected a supreme 
head as occasion required, who, as his 
office chiefly consisted in directing their 
warlike expeditions, obtained the name 
of Heretoga, or army-leader (in modern 
German herzog, "duke"). Among the 
Saxons and Frisians of the continent 
this state of things continued much longer 
than in England, where the acquisition of 
a territory by conquest raised the vic- 
torious chief to the position of king. 
Thus, in the Anglo-Saxun Chronicle, Hen- 
gest and Horsa are heretogas when they 
come to Britain (448) ; but after the battle 
of Aylesford (455) Hengest and his son 
jEsc took the kingdom (feng to rice) ; and 
in 488 jEsc succeeds his father as king 
(cyning),* that title being now first given 
to one of the conquerors. So Cordic and 
Cynric come as ealdormen (495), and in 
519 they take the kingdom (rice) of the 
West-Saxons. The fact that, in each of 
these cases, the son is named as becoming 

* Tiiis word is supposed to be of Sanscrit origin, 
meaning "Father of the Family." (See Stubbs' 
f.'onst. Hist. vol. i. p. 140.) 



king with his father, stamps the office at 
once with a certain hereditary character, 
which was wanting in the old German 
elective chieftainship. In the early 
period of the Anglo-Saxon occupation the 
kingly dignity remained really or nomi- 
nally elective ; but the crown was re- 
tained in the royal family, except in 
great emergencies, where (as with Canute 
and William) the hard fact of conquest 
was veiled under the form of election. 
There was, however, no fixed rule of 
succession. If the eldest son of the 
deceased monarch was qualified, he had 
the preference, but not without the 
consent of the great council, which was 
often merely formal; their authority in 
this or other matters varying according 
to the power and character of the monarch. 
But if he was a minor, or otherwise dis- 
qualified, he was sometimes set aside, 
and another appointed from the reign- 
ing family. The right of election appears 
to have belonged to the whole nation, 
but it was really exercised by the Witan, 
consisting of the prelates and the nobles, 
the share of the people in the act being 
confined to the acclamations of such as 
might happen to be present at the "hal- 
lowing" of the king. This ceremony, 
which included both coronation and unc- 
tion, performed by the bishops, signified a 
religious sanction of the king's authority. 
In the same spirit, the king took an 
oath that he would govern rightly, and, 
under the successors of Alfred, when the 
idea of kingly sanctity had grown 
stronger, the people took an oath of 
allegiance. By degrees the kingly power 
grew stronger in England, especially after 
the separate kingdoms became merged 
into one. The kings then began to as- 
sume more high-flown titles ; as that of 
Basileus — borrowed from the Byzantine 
court — Imperator, Primicerius, Flavius, 
Augustus, etc. ; some of which are not 
very intelligible. Egbert, however, and 
his five immediate successors, contented 
themselves with the title of kings of 
Wessex. Edward the elder assumed the 
style of "king of the Angles" (rex 
Anglorum), whilst Athelstan called him- 
self " king of all Britain " (totius Britan- 
nia monarchus, rex, or rector), and was 



Chap. iv. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



71 



the first to introduce the Greek name of 
basileus. Edwy and Edgar are remark- 
able for their pompous titles. 

The king, like the rest of his. subjects, 
had a wergild, or fixed price for his life, 
the amount of which varied in different 
kingdoms, but was of course considerably 
higher than that of his most distinguished 
subjects. This was increased b^Alfred, 
who made the compassing of the king's 
death a capital offence, attended with 
confiscation. The king's sons, or, in 
their default, those who had the next 
pretension to the succession, were called 
cethelings, or nobles.* The consort of 
an Anglo-Saxon king was styled em- 
phatically "the wife" (cweri), "the lady" 
(Jilcefdige). She was crowned and con- 
secrated like him, had a separate court, 
and a separate property, besides her 
dowry, or " morning gifts " (morgen-gifu). 

3. Division of ranks. — The whole free 
population of England under the rank of 
royalty may be divided into two main 
classes of eorls (earls) and ceorls (churls) ; 
that is, gentle and simple, or nobles and 
yeomen. 

Ealdormen. — In ancient times the 
affairs of each tribe were directed by 
the elders (ealdorman, alderman), which 
name thus became synonymous with 
thief. Hence ealdorman was the chief 
title of nobility among the Anglo-Saxons. 
It was the next rank after the king, and 
was applied to any man in authority, but 
more especially to the governor of a shire, 
or a large district including several 
shires. The title of ealdorman corre- 
sponds to the princeps of Tacitus, the 
satrapa or subregulus of Bede, the dux 
of the Latin chroniclers, and the comes 
of the "Normans. The office was properly 
elective, but in the larger districts or 
sub-kingdoms it was to a considerable 
extent hereditary. In this case, the elec- 
tion apparently required the consent of the 
king and the Witan. In the 11th century, 
under the Danish monarchs, an important 
change was introduced in the appellation 
of ranks. The word eorl lost its general 
sense of good birth, and became an 
official title, equivalent to alderman, 
and was applied to the governor of a 
shire or province. In this sense, both 
the word eorl and the Danish jarl came 
to be merged in the title earl. The term 

* jEtheling is a patronymic from ^Ethel, 
"noble." which forms the prefix of so many of the 
Anglo-Saxon names. 



earl as a general designation of nobility 
was now supplanted by thane ; and hence 
in the later period of Anglo-Saxon muni- 
ments we find thane opposed to ceorl, as 
eorl is in the earlier (Hallam's Middle 
Ages, vol. ii. pp. 360, 361). The ealdor- 
man, or earl, and bishop were of equal 
rank, whilst the archbishop was equal to 
the atheling, or member of the royal 
house. After the Norman Conquest the 
title of alderman seems to have been 
restricted to the magistrates of cities and 
boroughs. 

Tlianes. — Next in degree to the alder- 
man was the thane (A.S. thegen or 
thegn).* There were different degrees ot 
thanes, the highest being those called 
king's thanes, the warrior comites of the 
king. It was necessary that the lesser 
thane should have five hides of land (about 
500 acres) ; whilst the qualification of 
the alderman was forty, or eight times 
as much. This class formed a nobility -f- 
arising from office or service ; but subse- 
quently the hereditary possession of land 
produced an hereditary nobility ; and at 
length it became so much dependent upon 
property, that the mere possession of five 
hides of land, together with a chapel, 
a kitchen, a hall, and a hell, converted a 
churl into a thane. In like manner, as 
we have seen, by a law of Athelstan 
(which, however, was perhaps only a 
confirmation of an ancient charter), 
a merchant who had made three voyages 
on his own account became a thane. 
The thane was liable to military service, 
and was therefore on a par with the eques, 
or knight. Probably he had a vote in 
the national council. 

Ceorls or churls. — Between the thane 
and the serf, or slave, was the churl or 
freeman (sometimes also called frigman; 
in Lat. villanus ; Norm, villain). But 
every man was obliged by law to place 
himself under the protection of some 
lord, failing which he might be seized 
as a robber. The ceorls were for the 
most part not independent freeholders, 
and cultivated the lands of their lords, 
on which they were bound to reside, and 

* Commonly derived from thcrmian, " to serve," 
as if the king's servaut. But the proper meaning 
of the word seems to be a warrior ; and the second 
sense of service came from the military service 
rendered by the thanes. 

f It has often been stated that there was no 
nobility of blood, except in the royal family. Mr. 
Stubbs thinks that a class of nobles, descended 
from the ancient settlers {varies and isthel), were, 
gradually merged in the class of nobles by office 
and service (Stubbs Const. Hist. vol. i. p. 151). 



72 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. iv. 



could not quit, though in other respects 
they -were freemen. But there were 
Beveral conditions of ceorls, who in the 
Domesday Book form two-fifths of the 
registered inhabitants. We have already 
seen that the ceorl might acquire land, and 
that, if he obtained as much as five hides, 
he became forthwith a thane. Hence 
there must have been many ceorls in 
England who were independent free- 
holders possessing less than this quan- 
tity of land, (probably the Socmanni or 
Socmen of Domesday Book), whom Mr. 
Hallam describes as "the root of a 
noble plant, the free socage tenants, of 
English yeomanry, whose independence 
has stamped with peculiar features both 
our constitution and our national charac- 
ter " (Middle Ages, vol. ii. p. 274). 

Serfs. — The lowest class were the serfs, 
or servile population (theowas, esnas), 
of whom 25,000 are registered in Domes- 
day Book, or nearly one-eleventh of the 
registered population. Slaves were of 
two kinds— hereditary or penal. A free 
Anglo-Saxon could become a slave only 
through crime, or default of himself or 
forefathers in not paying a wergild; 
or by voluntary sale— the father having 
power to sell a child of seven, and a 
child of thirteen having power to sell 
itself. The great majority of slaves 
probably consisted of captured Celts or 
their descendants : a conclusion which 
seems to be corroborated by the fact that 
this class was by far the most numerous 
towards the Welsh borders, and that 
several Celtic words preserved in our 
language relate to menial employment. 

Clergy. — The clergy occupied an in- 
fluential station in society. They took 
a great share in the proceedings of the 
national council; and in the court of 
the shire the bishop presided along 
with the alderman. This influence was 
a natural result of their superior learn- 
ing in those ignorant ages, as well as 
of the veneration paid to their sacerdotal 
character. 

4. The Witena-gemot. — The great nar 
tional council (corresponding at first with 
the concilium prin ipum of Tacitus), 
whether of each state, like Kent or Wessex, 
or of the whole united kingdom of the 
Angles and Saxons, must not be conceived 
of as a popular assembly, like the folkmoot 
of each shire. It was called Witena-gemot, 
assembly of the Witan (sapientes), wise, 
able, or noble men. Its constitution, 



numbers, and privileges are quite uncer- 
tain. It was generally composed, accord- 
ing to the expression, of bishops, abbots, 
and ealdormen, and of the noble and 
wise of the kingdom ; but who these last 
were is uncertain. Probably they com- 
prised the royal, if not the lower, thanes. 
But it is now generally admitted that the 
ceorls hjd not the smallest share in the 
deliberation of the national assembly ; 
that no traces exist of elective deputies, 
either of shires or cities; and that the 
Saxon Witena-gemot cannot therefore be 
considered as the prototype of the modern 
Parliament. The Anglo-Saxon laws are 
declared to have been made (in varied 
phraseology; by the king, with the counsel 
or consent of the Witan, or the wise. They 
are found associated with the king in 
making grants of land and in taxation ; 
and they exercised both civil and criminal 
judicature. Sometimes they elected the 
kings, and, when they could, deposed 
them. From the names subscribed to 
extant acts, the Witena-gemot must have 
been a small assembly, their number, 
time, and place of meeting depending 
apparently on the pleasure of the king. 

5. Division of the soil. Folc-land 
and Boc-land. — The soil of England 
was distributed in the manner usual 
among the Germans upon the conti- 
nent. Part of the land remained the 
property of the state, and part was 
granted to individuals in perpetuity as 
freeholds. The former was called Folc- 
land, the land of the folk, or the people, 
and might either be occupied in com- 
mon, or parcelled out to individuals for 
a term, on the expiration of which it 
reverted to the state. The land de- 
tached from the folc-land, and granted 
to individuals in perpetuity as freehold, 
was called Boc-land, from hoc, a book 
or writing, because the possession of such 
estates was secured by a deed or charter. 
Originally they were conveyed by some 
token, such as a piece of turf, the branch 
of a tree, a spear, a drinking-horn, &c. ; 
and in the case of lands granted to the 
church, these tokens were solemnly de- 
posited upon the altar. There are 
instances of such conveyances as late 
as the Conquest. The title to land thus 
conveyed seems to have been equally 
valid with that of boc-land ; but the latter 
name can be applied with propriety only 
to such land as was conveyed by writing. 
Boc-land was exempt from all public 



Chap. tv. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



73 



burthens, except those called the trinoda 
necessitas, or liability to military service, 
and of contributing to the repair of fort- 
resses and bridges (fyrd, burh-bot, and 
brycge-bdt). Boc-land was granted by 
the king with the consent of the Witan ; 
ft could be held by freemen of all ranks, 
and even bequeathed to females; but in 
the latter case only in usufruct, reverting 
after the death of a female holder to the 
male line. After the Norman conquest 
we hear no more of folc-land; what re- 
mained of it at that period became terra 
regis, or crown-land: except a remnant, 
of which there are traces in the common 
lands of the present day. This was a 
consequence of the feudalism introduced 
by the Normans, by which all England 
was regarded as the demesne of the king, 
held under him by feudal tenure. 

6. Shires. — The territorial division of 
shires or counties, though ancient, was 
not common in England. They are first 
mentioned in connection with Wessex 
and the laws of king Ina. The smaller 
kingdoms and their subdivisions fell 
naturally into shires, as Kent, Sussex, 
Surrey, Essex, and Norfolk and Suffolk 
in East Anglia. At what time the 
complete distribution of counties was 
effected is unknown ; but they existed 
undoubtedly in their present state at the 
time of the Conquest. The counties of 
York and Lincoln, apparently from their 
great size, were divided, probably by the 
Danes, into thirds called tredings, which, 
under the corrupt name of ridings, still 
exist in the former. In the later Anglo- 
Saxon times a scir-gemot (shire-mote, or 
county court) was held twice a year — in 
the beginning of May and October — 
in which all the thanes were entitled 
to a seat and a vote. Its functions were 
judicial, and it was presided over by the 
ealdorrnan, or earl — the executive governor 
of the county — and by the bishop; for 
the ecclesiastical dioceses were originally 
identical with the counties. Hume justly 
remarks that, among a people who lived 
in so simple a manner as the Anglo- 
Saxons, the judicial power is always of 
more importance than the legislative; 
and the thanes were mainly indebted i r 
the preservation of their liberties to their 
possessing the judicial power in their own 
county courts. The scir-gerefa (shire- 
reeve, sheriff) was the executive officer 
appointed by the king to carry out the 
decrees of the court, to levy distresses, 



tike charge of prisoners, &c. The sheriff 
was at first only an assessor, but in pro- 
cess of time he became a joint president, 
and ultimately sole president. This court 
survived the Conquest; and it is the 
opinion of Mr. Hallam that it contri- 
buted in no small degree to fix the 
liberties of England by curbing the feudal 
aristocracy (Middle Ages, vol. ii. p. 277). 

7. Hundreds. — Division into hundreds 
was ancient among the Teutonic races, 
and is mentioned by Tacitus (Germ. 6 
and 12). It had a personal basis. Each 
pagus, or district, composed of several vici 
(villages or townships), sent its 100 
warriors to the host, and its court had 
100 assessors with the princeps (or ealdor- 
rnan), and both these may possibly re- 
present 100 free families to which the 
land of the district was originally allotted 
(Stubbs, Const. Hist. vol. i. p. 31). This, 
however, is only an hypothesis. In Eng- 
land the constitution of the hundreds is 
so anomalous, that it is impossible to 
ascertain the principle on which it was 
formed. Some of the smaller shires pre- 
sent the greatest number of hundreds; 
but this may have arisen from their being 
more densely populated. In the time of 
Edward the Confessor, the hundreds of 
Northamptonshire seem to have consisted 
of 100 hides of land. In the north of 
England the wapentake corresponded to 
the hundred of the southern districts. 
The name, which literally signifies " the 
touching of arms," was derived from the 
ceremony which took place on the in- 
auguration of the chief magistrate, when, 
having dismounted from his horse, he 
fixed his spear in the ground, which was 
then touched with the spears of those 
present. The hundred-mote, or court of 
the hundred, was held by its own hundred- 
man under the sheriffs writ, and was a 
court of justice for suitor* within the 
hundred. But all important cases were 
decided by the county court ; and in 
course of time the jurisdiction of the court 
of the hundred was confined to the punish- 
ment of petty offences and the mainte- 
nance of a local police. 

8. The Township or Village (vicus, 
villata; tun, tunscipe) was the territorial 
unit of the system, and is itself based on 
the family, which is its original unit. The 
first element in the state was the indi- 
vidual freeman ; his first relation to the 
community is that of the family ; and the 
tie of kindred (mtegburh) was the first 



74 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



CnAp. it. 



constitutional bond. A body of kinsmen, 
holding a district of land as their common 
property, and having their homesteads 
clustered together in its midst, is the first 
general type of a Germanic community ; 
and the original bond of kindred may 
probably still be traced in many of the 
names of places in England which end in 
the patronymic ing (with or without a 
local termination, as ham (home), ton 
(town), &c. But the cluster of homesteads 
formed the village (vicus, wick), or, with 
regard to its enclosure (tiln), the town 
or township. When fortified, it be- 
came the borough (burh).* The land 
around it, whether acquired by original 
colonization, or (as must have been usually 
the case in England) a division of territory 
allotted to a certain number of favour- 
ites, who cultivated it in common, and 
severed from neighbouring settlements 
by a belt of the original forest or 
waste, formed the marJc.f But as no 
certain t-aces of the mark are to be found 
in England, the basis of our political 
organization must rather be sought in the 
township. " The historical township is 
the body of allodial owners who have 
advanced beyond the stage of land-com- 
munity, retaining many vestiges of that 
organization; or, the body of tenants 
of a lord, who regulates them, or allows 
them to regulate themselves, on prin- 
ciples derived from the same" (Stubbs, 
i. p. 85). "It may represent the original 
allotment of the smallest subdivision of 
the free community, or the settlement 
of the kindred colonizing on their own 
account, or the estate of the great pro- 
prietor who has a tribe of dependants. 
Its headman is the tun-gerefa (town- 
reeve), who in the dependent townships 
is of course nominated by the lord, but 
in the independent ones may have been 
originally a chosen officer, although, when 
the central power has become stronger, 
he may be (as in the Frank villa) the 

* " The tun is originally the enclosure or hedge 
whether of the single farm " (still called in Scot- 
land the town), " or of the enclosed village, as the 
burh is the fortified house of the powerful man 
The corresponding word in Norse is yardr, our 
garth or yard. The equivalent German termina- 
tion is helm, our ham ; the Danish form is by 
(Norse bil = German ban). The notion of the dor/ 
or thor/w seems to stand a little further from the 
primitive settlement."— Stubhs, Const. Hist. vol. i. 
p. 82, note. 

_. t On the whole subject of the mark system, see 
btubbs, I. c. p. 83, and the authorities there quoted, 
and especially Sir Henry Maine, On. Village Com- 
munities, 



nominee of the king, or of his officer " 
(Ibid. p. 83). 

9. Tythings. Frankpledge. — In the 
later Anglo-Saxon times, and in the 
southern districts of England, we also find 
another smaller subdivision, the teothing, 
or tything, i.e. tenth part (of the hundred), 
or collection of ten, synonymous in 
towns with ward. Every man, whose 
rank and property did not afford an 
ostensible guarantee for his good conduct, 
was compelled, after the reign of Athel- 
stan, to find a surety (borh). This surety 
was afforded by the tythings, the mem- 
bers of which formed, as it were, a per- 
petual bail for one another's appearance 
in cases of crime; with, apparently, an 
ultimate responsibility if the criminal 
escaped, or if his estate proved inadequate 
to defray the penalty incurred. In this 
view the tythings were also called frith- 
borhs, or securities for the peace ; a term 
which, having been corrupted into fri- 
borg, gave rise to the Norman appellation 
of frankpledge. The institution seems 
to have existed only partially in the 
north of England, where it was called 
tienmannatale (tenman's tale). Whether 
the tything arose out of the township or 
was a separate association of freemen by 
tens is very doubtful. 

10. Punishments. — Almost every of- 
fence could be expiated with money; 
and in cases of murder and bodily in- 
juries, not only was a price set upon the 
corpse, called wergild, or leodgild, or 
simply wer or leod* but there was also 
a tariff for every part of the body, down 
to the teeth and nails. Considerable 
value seems to have been set on personal 
appearance, as the loss of a man's beard 
was valued at 20 shillings, the breaking 
of a thigh at only 12 ; the loss of a front 
tooth at 6 shillings, the breaking of a rib 
at only half that sum. In the case of a 
freeman this price was paid to his rela- 
tives, in that of a slave to his master. 
In this regulation we see but little ad- 
vance upon that barbarous state of society 
in which, in the absence of any public 
or general law, each family or tribe 
avenges its own injuries. The wergild 
is merely a substitute for personal ven- 
geance. The amount of the ivergild 
varied according to the rank and property 
of the individual, and in this sense every 
man had truly his price. For this pur- 

* Wer and leod both signify man, and gild 
money or payment. 



Chap. iv. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



75 



post all society below the rank of the 
royal family and of an ealdorman was 
divided into three classes: first, the 
twyhynd man or ceorl, whose wergild, ac- 
cording to the laws of Mercia, was 200 
shillings ; secondly, the sixhynd man, or 
lesser thane, whose wergild was 600 shil- 
lings ; and thirdly, the royal thane whose 
death could not be compensated under 
1200 shillings. The wergild of an ealdor- 
man was twice as much as that of a 
royal thane ; that of an aatheling three 
times, that of a king commonly six times 
as much. The value of a man's oath was 
also estimated by his property. The evi- 
dence of a thane in a court of justice 
counterbalanced that of 12 ceorls, and that 
of an ealdorman the oath of 6 thanes. In 
cases of foul or wilful murder (morth), 
arson, and theft, capital punishment was 
sometimes inflicted, if the injured party 
preferred it to the acceptance of a wer- 
gild. Treason was a capital crime. Ban- 
ishment was a customary punishment 
for atrocious crimes. The banished crimi- 
nal became an outlaw, and was said to 
bear a wolfs head ; so that if he returned 
and attempted to defend himself it was 
lawful for any one to slay him. Cutting 
off the hands and feet was another punish- 
ment for theft. Adultery, though a penal 
offence, might be expiated, like murder, 
with a fine. 

11. Courts of justice. — The two prin- 
cipal courts of justice were the shire- 
mote, or county court, and the hundred- 
mote, of the constitution of both of 
which we have already spoken. From 
the county court an appeal lay to the 
king. In the county court, as observed 
above, all the thanes had a right to vote ; 
but as so large and tumultuous an as- 
sembly was found inconvenient, it gradu- 
ally became the custom to intrust the 
finding of a verdict to a committee usually 
consisting of 12 of the principal thanes, 
but sometimes of 24, or even 36 : and 
in order to form a valid judgment it was 
necessary that two-thirds of them should 
concur. In the northern districts these 
judges were called lawmen (lahmen). 
Their decisions were submitted for the 
approval of the whole court. The accused, 
who was obliged to give security (tiorh) 
for his appearance, might clear himself 
by his own oath, together with that of 
a certain number of compurgators or 
fellow-swearers who were acquainted 
with him as neighbours, or at all events 



resident within the jurisdiction of the 
court. The compurgators therefore were 
witnesses to character, and their functions 
cannot be at all compared to those of a 
modern juryman. The thanes, or lahmen, 
who found the verdict, bore a nearer 
resemblance to a jury : yet it is evident, 
from the mode of trial by compurgation, 
as well as those by ordeal and judicial 
combat, of which we shall speak pre- 
sently, that they were not called upon, 
like a modern juryman, to form a judg- 
ment of the facts from the evidence and 
cross-examination of witnesses, but from 
their own knowledge of the facts or 
opinion of the accused person.* If the 
accused was a vassal, and bis hlaford, 
or lord, would not give testimony in his 
favour, then he was compelled to bring 
forward a triple number of compurgators. 
The accuser was also obliged to produce 
compurgators, who pledged themselves 
that he did not prosecute out of interested 
or vindictive motives. 

Ordeals, or God's judgments, were only 
resorted to when the accused could not 
produce compurgators, or when by some 
former crime he had lost all title to 
credibility. Some forms of ordeal, as the 
consecrated morsel and the cross-proof, 
were only calculated to work upon the 
imagination ; others, and the more cus- 
tomary, as those by hot water and fire, 
subjected the body to a painful and 
hazardous trial, from which it is difficult 
to see how even the most innocent person 
could ever have escaped, except through 
the collusion of his judges. These were 
conducted in a church under the super- 
intendence of the clergy. In the ordeal 
by hot water, the accused had to take 
out a stone or piece of iron with his 
naked hand and arm from a caldron of 
the boiling element; in that by fire, he 
had to carry a bar of heated iron for a 
certain distance that had been marked 
out. In both cases the injured member 
was wrapped up by the priest in a piece 
of clean linen cloth, which was secured 
with a seal : and if, on opening the cloth 
on the third day, the wound was found 
to be healed, the accused was acquitted, 
or, in the contrary event, was adjudged 
to pay the penalty of his offence. Ju- 
dicial combats, called by the Anglo- 
Saxons eornest, and by the Danes holm- 
gang, from their being generally fought 

* The origin of trial by jury is discussed io a 
note at the end of chapter viii. 



76 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. iv. 



on a small river-island, though not 
entirely unknown, appear to have been 
much rarer among those people than 
among their Norman successors. 

Within the verge of the king's court 
an accused person enjoyed sanctuary and 
refuge. Its limits, whether permanent 
or temporary, are defined with an exact- 
ness almost ludicrous, and as if there was 
something magical in the numbers, to 
be on every side from the burgh gate 
of the king's residence, 3 miles, 3 fur- 
longs, 3 acres, 9 feet, 9 palms, and 9 
barleycorns. 

12. Guilds. — The municipal guilds of 
the Anglo-Saxons may be traced to the 
heathen sacrificial guilds, an original 
feature of which was the common ban- 
quet. These devil's-guilds, as they are 
termed in the Christian laws, were not 
abolished, but converted into Christian 
institutions. There were even numerous 
ecclesiastical guilds. It was incumbent 
on them to preserve peace, and, in case 
of homicide by one of the members, the 
corporation paid part of the wergild. In 
London were several frith-gilds (peace- 
guilds) of different ranks ; and in the time 
of Athelstan we find them forming an 
association for the purpose of mutual 
indemnity against robbery. Ealdormen 
are usually found at the heads of the 
guilds as well as of the cities themselves. 
The chief magistrate of a town was the 
wic-gerefa, or town-reeve, who appears 
to have been appointed by the king. 
Other officers of the same kind were the 
port-reeve and burgh-reeve. The chief 
municipal court of London was the Bus- 
thing, literally, a court or assembly in a 
house, in contradistinction to one held 
in the open air; whence the modern 
hustings. This word was introduced by 
the Northmen, in whose language thii.g 
signified any judicial or deliberative 
assembly. 

13. Commerce, manners, and customs. 
— England enjoyed a considerable foreign 
commerce. London was always a great 
emporium: Frisian merchants are found 
there and in York as early as the 8th 
century. Wool was the chief article of 
export, and was received back from the 
continent in a manufactured state. Mints 
were established in several cities and 
towns, with a limited number of privi- 
leged moneyers ; and many of the Anglo- 
Saxon coins still preserved exhibit con- 



siderable skill. The Anglo-Saxons loved 
to indulge in hospitality and feasting ; 
and at their cheerful meetings it was 
customary to send round the harp, that 
all might sing in turn. The men, as 
well as the women, sometimes wore 
necklaces, bracelets, and rings, which 
were of a more expensive kind than those 
used by the female sex. We have 
already adverted to king Alfred's taste 
for jewellery. The Anglo-Saxon ladies 
employed themselves much in spinning ; 
and thus even king Alfred himself calls 
the female part of his 'family "the 
spindle-side," in contradistinction to the 
spear, or male side. Hence the name of 
spinster for a young unmarried woman. 

B. ANGLO-SAXON LANGUAGE AND 
LITERATURE. 

The Anglo-Saxon language was con- 
verted into modern English by a slow pro- 
cess of several centuries. It still remains 
the essential element of our language, 
all others being but grafts on the parent 
stock. The works of Alfred, and the 
Anglo-Saxon laws before the reign of 
Athelstan, present the language in its 
purest state. On an examination of 
Alfred's translations, Mr. Turner found 
that only about one-fifth of the words had 
become obsolete {Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii. 
p. 445) ; so that the great bulk of our vo- 
cabulary still remains Anglo-Saxon. The 
period of transition, called by some writers 
the Semi-Saxon, is commonly estimated to 
extend from the middle of the 12th to the 
middle of the 13th century. Anglo-Saxon 
became English chiefly through the 
effects of time ; and though the Norman 
conquest had undoubtedly some influence 
on the process, it was much less than 
has been commonly imagined. A few 
manuscripts of the 13th century are 
written in as pure Saxon as that which 
prevailed before the Conquest. The ad- 
mixture of Norman-French is exemplified 
in our literature, in the latter half of the 
14th century, by the genius and writings 
of Chaucer. 

The Angles and the Saxons introduced 
two slightly different dialects. Subse- 
quently the Danes settled in the districts 
occupied by the Angles, and introduced 
many Scandinavian words. The bounda- 
ries between the Anglian and Saxon 
dialects may perhaps be roughly indi- 



Chap. rv. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



77 



cated by a line drawn from the nortb 
of Essex to the north of Worcestershire. 

The earlier specimens of Anglo-Saxon 
literature are metrical; the metre being 
marked by accent and alliteration. The 
oldest extant specimen of Anglo-Saxon 
poetry is the "Gleeman's Song," the 
author of which flourished towards the 
end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th 
centuries, and consequently before the 
invasion of England : the oldest MS. of 
the poem, however, is five centuries later. 
Two other poems, also written before 
the Anglo-Saxon migration, are the 
" Battle of Finsburgh " and the " Tale 
of Beowulf." The songs of Caednion, a 
monk of Whitby, who flourished a little 
before the time of Bede, are probably the 
oldest specimens extant of Anglo-Saxon 
poetry written in this country. Ca?dinon 
remained for six centuries the great 
poet, sometimes styled the Milton of the 
Anglo-Saxons. Other poems and songs 
are extant, reaching to the 11th century. 
One of the noblest specimens of the last 
period is the Anglo-Saxon version of the 
Psalms. The most important Anglo- 
Saxon prose works are the Chronicles, 
composed at different times, and usually 
cited as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 

Of king Alfred's works, who must also 
be regarded as one of the Anglo-Saxon 
authors, we have already spoken. Other 
prose writers are St. Wulfstan (arch- 
bishop Wulfstan, better known by bis 
Latin name of Lupus), and vElfric, the 
strenuous defender of the English church 
in the 11th century against the innova- 
tions of Rome. 

C. THE ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE, 

called by Florence of Worcester Anglica 
Chronica, comprises a set of seven parallel 
(but not all independent) chronicles, which 
were kept in different monasteries, three 
of them at Canterbury, and the others 
at Winchester, Abingdon, Worcester, and 
Peterborough. Their range varies, but 
all begin either with the landing of 
Julius Caesar or from the Christiau era, 
and the latest (the Peterborough Chroni- 
cle) reaches to the accession of Henry 
II. in 1154 The early portions of the 
Chronicle for the most part follow Bede's 
Ecclesiastical History; a presumption 
that (at least, in its present form) the 
Chronicle was compiled after 731. But 
Bede (as he himself tells us) used early 



documents which were compiled in the 
monasteries from the first establishment 
of Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons, 
and which doubtless embodied the tradi- 
tions (if not written records) of the people 
since their arrival in England. The use 
of these original sources may be traced in 
the Chronicle by entries, relating chiefly 
to the details of the Conquest and other 
military events, which have no place in 
Bede. The first germ of the Chronicle, 
in its collected form, may be traced to 
king Alfred, who — if we may trust the 
Norman metrical chronicle of Geoffroi 
Gaimar {L'Estorie des Engles; time of 
Henry I.) — caused an English Book (un 
livre Engleis) to be written, " of adven- 
tures, and of laws, and of battles on land, 
and of the kings who made war ; " and this 
"Chronicle (cronez, cronike), a great 
book," was put forth by authority at 
Winchester, where the king had it 
fastened by a chain, for all who ivished 
to read it. An early, though probably 
not an original, copy of this Winchester 
Chronicle, forming the portion down to 
a.d. 891, was presented by archbishop 
Parker to Corpus Christi College, Cam- 
bridge (MS. C.C.C. clxiii.). Professor 
Earle traces marks of division, indi- 
cating the composition of successive 
sections of the Chronicle, at the years 
682, 755, 822, and 855, and the hand of 
one editor through the whole portion 
from 455 to 855. At the year 851 we 
have the decisive proof of original con- 
temporary authorship in the use of the 
first person, and in the phrase, " the 
present day." After Alfred, the marks 
of contemporary authorship are constant 
in this and the other editions of the 
Chronicle, and the continuations by dif- 
ferent hands may be traced at certain 
epochs. (See the Introduction to Prof. 
Earle's edition, " Two of the Saxon 
Chronicles parallel, with Supplementary 
Extracts from the Others," and Sir T. D. 
Hardy's Catalogue, etc., in the Rolls 
Series). The last complete edition, in the 
Rolls series, exhibits the chronicles in a 
parallel form, with a translation by 
Benjamin Thorpe. 

D. AUTHORITIES. 

The principal ancient historical sources 
for the Anglo-Saxon times are: Bede, 
Chronicon and Historia Ecclesiastica ; 
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; Gildas, Be 



78 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap, iv. 



Excidio Britannice; Nennius, Historia 
Britonum ; Asser, Be Rebus Gestis 
JElfredi; Ethelweard, Chronicon; Flo- 
rence of Worcester, Clironicon; Simeon 
of Durham, Historia de Gestis Anglorum, 
continued by John of Hexham ; Henry of 
Huntingdon, Hist. Anglorum; Geoffroi 
Gaimar, L'Estorie des Engles. The pre- 
ceding works, so far as they extend to the 
Conquest, will be found in the Monu- 
mental, Historica Britannica, as well as 
in other collections and separate editions. 
In the collection just referred to are also 
contained the following anonymous pieces 
referring to the period in question : An- 
nates Cambrics; Brut y Tywysogion, or 
Chronicle of the Princes of Wales ; Car- 
men de Bello Hastingensi. All these are 
in Latin, except the Anglo-Saxon Chroni- 
cle, the Brut, y Tywysogion, and the 
Norman-French poem of Gaimar. To 
these sources may be added Michel's 
Chroniques Anglo- Nor mandi:s. 

The other principal collections in 
which these and other historical works 
relating to the Anglo-Saxon period will 
be found are : Parker's Collections ; 
Savile's Collection ; Camden, Anglica, 
Normannica, Hibernica, Cambrica, a 
veteribus scripta; Fulman, Quinque 
Scriptores; Gale, Historia? Anglicanm 
Scriptores Quinque, and Scriptores Quin- 
decim ; Hearne's Collections ; Twysden, 
Histories Anglicanm Scriptores Decern; 
Sparke, Hist. Anglicanm Scriptores va- 
rii; Wharton, Anglid Sacra. These 
collections contain the following authors, 
besides most of those already enumerated 
as in the Monumenta Historica: Ailred 
of Rievaulx, Life of Edward the Con- 
fessor, &c. [Twysden] ; John Brompton, 
Clironicles [ibid.] ; Eadmer, Historia 
Novorum, etc. ; Roger Hoveden, Annates 
[Savile] ; * William of Malmesbury, Be 
Gestis Regum Anglorum and De Gesits 
Pontificum Angl. [Savile] ; Hugo Can- 
didus, Historia [Sparke] ; Peter Langtoft, 
Metrical Chronicle [Hearne] ; St. Neot 
Clironicon [Gale] ; the Florcs Historia- 
rum, wrongly attributed to Matthew of 
Westminster [Parker]. 

The following authors are published 

* Ingulphus, Hist. Croylandcnsis [Savile and 
Fulman], is now proved to be spurious. 



in the foreign collection of Dnchesne: 
Gervase of Tilbury ; Emmce Anglice Be- 
ginaz Encomium. 

The most complete collection (when 
the plan is fully executed) will be that 
of Ihe Chronicles and Memorials of 
Great Britain and Ireland during the 
Middle Ages, published by the authority 
of her Majesty's Treasury, under the 
direction of the Master of the Rolls. 
This series is in large 8vo. each work 
being intrusted to a competent editor, and 
furnished with historical and critical in^ 
troductions, besides notes and (in some 
cases) translations. 

The English translations of a large 
number of the old chronicles in Bohn's 
Antiquarian Library are of various 
degrees of merit (and demerit), but of 
use and interest for the English reader. 

The English Historical Society has 
published the following works : a Col- 
lection of Saxon Charters, edited by the 
.late Mr. J. M. Kemble, under the title 
of Codex Diplomaticus JEvi Saxonici ; 
also, the Chronica of Roger of Wen- 
dover, by the Rev. H. 0. Coxe ; and 
valuable editions of Gildas, Nennius, 
Bede, and Richard of Devizes, by the 
Rev. J. Stevenson. 

The best modern works on the Anglo- 
Saxon period are : Turner's History of the 
Anglo-Saxons, 3 vols. 8vo. ; Palgrave's 
Rise and Progress oj the English Com- 
monwealth during the Anglo-Saxon 
Period, 2 vols. 4to- , and, History oj 
England, Anglo-Saxon Period [Family 
Library, vol. xxi,] ; Kemble's Saxons in 
England, 2 vols. 8vo. ; Lappen berg's Eng- 
land under the Anglo-Saxon Kings, trans- 
lated from the German, with additions, 
by Thorpe, 2 vols. 8vo. ; Pearson's 
History qf England; Pmili's Life oj 
King Alfred ; Thorpe's Ancient Laws and 
Institutes of the Anglo-Saxon Kings; 
Freeman's History of the Norman Con- 
quest, and Old English History; Pro- 
fessor Stubbs's Documents Illustrative cj 
English History, vol. i., and Con- 
stitutional History of England. On the 
influence of the Danes in England, the 
best work is : Worsaee, An A ccount of the 
Danes and Norwegians in England, 
Scotland, and Ireland 




Silver Penny of William the Conqueror, struck at Chester — unique. 
Obverse : + willelm eex ; bust, front face, crowned, with sceptre in right hand. 
Reverse: + vnnvlf on cestre; cross potent, in each angle, a circle, containing 
respectively paxs. 

BOOK II. 

THE NOEMAN AND EARLY PLANTAGENET 
KINGS. 

a.d. 1066-1199. 



CHAPTER V. 

WILLIAM I., SURNAMED THE CONQUEROR, b. 1027 ; r. 1066-1087. 

§ 1. History of Normandy. Rolf the Ganger. William I. Longue-epee. 
Richard I. Sans-peur. § 2. Richard II. le Bon. Richard III. Robert 
the Devil. William II. of Normandy and I. of England. § 3. Norman 
manners. § 4. Consequences of the battle of Hastings. Submission of 
the English. § 5. Settlement of the government. § 6. William's return 
to Normandy. Revolts of the English, suppressed upon William's return 
to England. § 7. New insurrections in 1068. § 8. Insurrections in 
1069. Landing of the Danes. § 9. Deposition of Stigand and the Anglo- 
Saxon prelates. § 10. Last struggle of the English. Conquest of 
Hereward. § 11. Insurrection of the Norman barons. § 12. Revolt of 
prince Robert. § 13. Projected invasion of Canute. Domesday Book. 
War with France and death of William. § 14. Character of William. 
His administration. Forest laws. Curfew-bell. 

§ 1. The Norman conquest produced a complete revolution in the 
manners as well as in the government of the English ; and we must, 
therefore, here pause a while in order to take a brief survey of the 
conquerors in their native homes. 

For a long period the coasts of Gaul, like those of England, were 
ravaged by the Northmen ; and for the greater part of a century 
the monks made the Neustrian churches re-echo with the dismal 



80 WILLIAM I. Chap. v. 

chant of the litany, A furore Normannorum libera nos, Domine. 
Thus the way was prepared for the final subjugation of the country 
by Rolf, or Rollo, son of the Norwegian jarl Rbgnwald. Rollo is 
said to have been so large of limb that no horse could be found to 
carry him, whence his name of " Eolf the Ganger," or walker. It 
was in November, 876, that Rollo first landed in Neustria; but 
he made no settlement there on that occasion, and he had to fight 
and struggle long before he could obtain possession of his future 
dominions. In 911 the French king, Charles the Simple, conciliated 
him by the cession of a considerable part of Neustria. As a 
condition of this gift, Rollo, next year, abjuring his pagan gods, 
became a Christian ; was baptised by the archbishop of Rouen, and 
married Gisla, Charles's daughter. After the completion of the 
treaty, when Rollo was required to do homage to Charles for his 
newly acquired domains, the bold Northman started back with 
indignation, exclaiming, Ne si, by Oott I But as the ceremony was 
insisted on, Rollo deputed one of his soldiers to perform it ; who, 
proudly raising Charles's foot to his mouth, in a standing position, 
threw the monarch on his back ! 

Homage performed in such a fashion did not promise a very 
obedient vassal ; and in the course of a few years Rollo's risings and 
rebellions extorted new cessions of territory. But towards the close 
of his life he found it expedient to connect himself more closely with 
the court of France, and he allowed his son William to receive in- 
vestiture from king Charles at Eu. Rollo died in 931. In 933 we 
find his son and successor, Guillaume Longue-epee, or William Long- 
sword, doing homage to king Rudolf, and receiving Cornouaille, 
subsequently known as the Cotentin, from that monarch, thus 
extending the western boundary of Normandy to the sea. The name 
of " Normandy " (Normannia), however, does not appear till the 
11th century ; and in the earlier times the county and the count, 
for it was not at first a dukedom, appear to have been called after 
the capital, Eouen. Already in the time of William, though only 
the second ruler, the court had become entirely French in language 
and manners ; whilst a pure Norwegian population still occupied 
the parts near the coast. Hence William, who wished that his 
son and heir, Richard, should be able to speak to his Norse subjects 
in their own tongue, sent him to Bayeux to be educated. William 
was murdered by Flemings in 942. He had, however, previously 
engaged his subjects to acknowledge his youthful son, Richard, 
afterwards known by the surname of Sans-peur or the Fearless. 
This prince married Emma, daughter of Hugh le Grand, duke of 
France, and was one of the chief partisans who established his son 
Hugh Capet on the throne of France. Richard was engaged in a 



a.d. 876-10G6. THE NORMANS. 81 

war with England, the causes of which remain unexplained. It was 
terminated through the mediation of pope John XV., by a treaty 
of peace signed at Kouen on the 1st March, 991. 

§ 2. By the sister of Hugh Capet, Eichard Sans-peur had no 
children ; but by Gunnor, his second wife, he left five sons and three 
daughters, among whom, beside his successor, Richard II., or le 
Bon, was Emma, wife of Ethelred II. of England, and subsequently 
of Canute. As Richard II., like his father, was a minor at his 
accession in 996, the oppressed peasantry took advantage and rose 
in rebellion ; but the insurrection was soon put down. Richard's 
reign is peculiarly interesting to us in consequence of his intimate 
connection with England ; and as this was continued under his suc- 
cessor Robert, it contributed much to introduce Norman civilization 
and influence into this country, and to effect its moral subjugation 
before its actual conquest. Richard le Bon died in 1026. His 
eldest son and successor, Richard III., died after a short reign, 
poisoned, as some suspected,. by his brother Robert, surnamed the 
Devil, and also the Magnificent. Robert assumed the reins of 
government in 1028, not without a struggle. His short reign was 
marked by a fresh acquisition of territory ; but a few years after 
his accession he resolved to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and 
died on his return, as it is said by poison, at Nice in Bithynia, in 
the summer of 1035. Before his departure to the Holy Land he 
had induced the Norman barons to acknowledge as his successor 
his natural son William, born of a concubine named Herletta 
at Falaise in 1027, to whom he was much attached. But upon 
the death of Robert many of the barons refused to acknowledge 
William ; and during his minority the country was disturbed by 
the feuds of the nobility. When William arrived at manhood, he 
asserted his rights by force of arms. Active and prudent, just 
though rigorous, he triumphed over all his adversaries. His success 
and energy caused him to be feared and courted by the other 
princes of Europe ; and Baldwin, count of Flanders, bestowed upon 
him his daughter Matilda in marriage. Like the rest of the 
Normans, William was remarkable for his munificence and devotion 
to the church of Rome. 

§ 3. When the Normans invaded England, they had lost all 
trace of their northern origin in language and manners ; and, though 
little goodwill existed between them and their French neighbours, 
they had become in these respects completely French. It has 
been already remarked that, under the second Norman prince, the 
Danish language had become obsolete in the Norman capital. It 
was in Normandy, indeed, as Sir F. Palgrave observes, " that the 
langue d'oil acquired its greatest polish and regularity. The 



82 



WILLIAM I. 



Chap, v 



earliest specimens of the French language, in the proper sense of 
the term, are now surrendered by the French philologists to the 
Normans." * They were thus completely estranged from their 
Norwegian brethren, who would willingly have rescued England 
from their grasp. Yet the more essential attributes of body and 
mind are not so easily shaken off as language and conventional 
manners ; and the Normans were still distinguished from the other 
natives of France by their large limbs, their fair complexions, and 
their moral qualities. William himself represents them as proud, 
hard to govern, and litigious, and the imputation of craft and vin- 
dictiveness, brought against them by Malaterra, is confirmed by 
several French proverbs.f 

To return. 

§ 4. Nothing could exceed the consternation which seized 
the English when they received intelligence of the unfortunate 
battle of Hastings,^ the death of their king, the slaughter of their 
principal nobility and of their bravest warriors, and the rout and 
dispersion of the rest. That they might not, however, be 
altogether wanting in this extreme necessity, they took some steps 
towards uniting themselves against the common enemy. The two 
potent earls, Edwin and Morcar, who hastened to London on the 
news of Harold's fall, combined with the citizens and the arch- 
bishop of York to raise Edgar, nephew of Edmund Ironside, to the 
throne. But when the Londoners prepared to risk another battle, 
the earls withdrew to Northumbria with their forces, in which the 
only hope of resistance lay. William proceeded to make sure of the 
south-eastern coast, and advanced against Dover, which imme- 
diately capitulated. From Canterbury, where he was detained a 
month by illness, he despatched messengers to Winchester; on 
his recovery, he advanced with quick marches to London. A 
repulse which a body of Londoners received from 500 Norman 
horse, and the burning of the suburb of Southwark, renewed in the 
city the terror of the great defeat at Hastings. As soon as William 
had passed the Thames at Wallingford, and reached Berkhampstead, 
Stigand, the primate, and Aldred, archbishop of York, made their 
submissions : and before he arrived within sight of the city, the 
chief nobility, with Edgar himself, the newly elected king,' came 
into his camp, and declared their intention of acknowledging his 
authority.§ Orders were immediately issued for his coronation; 

* Normandy and England, vol. i. 
d. 703. 

•f As Eeponse Normande, for an am- 
biguous answer: tin fin Normand, a 
sly fellow, not much to be relied on ; and 
Reconciliation Normande, for a pretended 



reconciliation, -which does not banish all 
projects of vengeance. These, however, 
were the taunts of their enemies. 

I Strictly, of Senlac. 

$ The authorities confuse the order of 
the submissions. 



A.D. 1066. CORONATION OF WILLIAM I. 83 

and William, asserting that the primate had obtained his pall in 
an irregular manner from pope Benedict IX., who was himself a 
usurper, refused to be consecrated by him, and conferred this honour 
on Aldred, archbishop of York. The ceremony was performed in 
Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day (1066). The most con- 
siderable of the nobility, both English and Norman, attended on 
this occasion. Aldred, in a short speech, asked the English whether 
they agreed to accept of William as their king; the bishop of 
Coutances put the same question to the Normans; and as both 
answered with acclamations, Aldred administered to the duke the 
usual coronation oath, by which he bound himself to protect the 
church, to administer justice, and to repress violence. He then 
anointed William, and placed the crown upon his head. Nothing 
but joy appeared in the countenances of the spectators ; but in that 
very moment the strongest symptoms of the jealousy and animosity 
which prevailed between the two nations burst forth, and continued 
to increase during the reign. The Norman soldiers, who were 
posted outside in order to guard the church, hearing the shouts 
within, pretended to believe that the English were offering violence 
to their duke, immediately assaulted the populace, and set fire to 
the neighbouring houses. The alarm was conveyed to the nobility 
who surrounded the prince. Both English and Normans, full of 
apprehensions, rushed out to secure themselves from the present 
danger ; and it was with difficulty that William himself was able 
to appease the tumult. 

§ 5. William claimed the throne by a pretended promise of king 
Edward, and had won it by force of arms ; but to cover the weakness 
of his title, and the appearance of having gamed it by violence, 
he prudently submitted to the formality of a popular election. He 
now retired from London to Barking in Esses, and there received 
the submissions of all those who had not atteuded his coronation. 
Even Edwin and Morcar, with the other principal noblemen of 
England, came and swore fealty to him, were received into favour, 
and were confirmed in the possession of their estates and dignities. 
William sent Harold's standard to the pope, accompanied with 
many valuable presents : all the considerable monasteries and 
churches in France, where prayers had been put up for his success, 
now tasted of his bounty : the English monks found him disposed 
to favour their order : and on the battle-field, near Hastings, he 
built Battle Abbey, as a lasting memorial of his victory. 

William introduced into England that strict execution of justice 
for which his administration had been celebrated in Normandy; 
and his new subjects were treated with affability and regard. No 
signs of suspicion appeared, not even towards Edgar iEtheling, the 



84 



CORONATION OF WILLIAM I. 



Chap. 



heir of the ancient royal family, whom he affected to treat with 
the greatest kindness, as nephew to the Confessor, his friend and 
benefactor. Though he confiscated the estates of Harold and of those 
who had fought at Hastings, yet in many instances the property 
was left in the hands of its former possessors.* He confirmed the 
liberties and immunities of London and other cities ; and his whole 
administration bore a semblance of a legitimate king, and not of a 
conqueror. But amidst all this confidence and friendship which he 
professed for the English, he took care to place all real power in 
the hands of his Normans, and kept possession of the sword, to 
which he was sensible he owed his advancement to sovereign 
authority. He disarmed the city of London and all warlike and 
populous places; he built a castle in the capital,! as well as in 
Winchester, Hereford, and other cities best situated for commanding 
the kingdom ; in all of them he quartered Norman soldiers, and 
left nowhere any force able to resist or oppose him. Nothing 
tended more to break down the power of the great territorial chiefs, 
and to make the central government supreme, than William's division 
of England into smaller earldoms, generally one for each of the 
shires, which thus came to assume the name of counties. 

§ 6. By this mixture of vigour and lenity he had so soothed the 
minds of his new subjects, that in the course of the year 1067 he 
thought he might safely revisit his native country. He left the 
administration in the hands of his uterine brother, Odo, bishop of 
Bayeux, and of William Fitz-Osbern, the latter of whom had 
rendered him important services in the conquest of England. That 
their authority might be exposed to less danger, he carried over 
with him the most considerable of the nobility of England that 
still survived : and while they served to grace his court by their 
presence and magnificent retinues, they were in reality hostages for 
the fidelity of their nation. Among these were Edgar iEtheling, 
Stigand the primate, the earls Edwin, Morcar, and Waltheof,J with 



* It seems that, at the very beginning 
of his reign, William assorted the right 
of conquest, though without fully acting 
on it, by which both the public land 
(folc-land) became the king's {terra 
regis), and the estates of the conquered 
were at his disposal. Distinct mention is 
found of cases in which those who sub- 
mitted had their lands granted back to 
them, or bought them of William for 
money. (See Freeman's Norman Con- 
quest, vol. iv. pp. 14, 25.) 

•)- This is the keep, or White Tower, 
of the Tower of London, which a mis- 
taken tradition ascribed (like the Norman 



keep at other castles) to the Romans. 
Its builder was Gundulph, bishop of 
Rochester. It was re-faced by Sir Chris- 
topher Wren, but parts of the original 
surface are visible. The interior is 
little altered. (See Mr. G. T. Clark's 
paper on "The Military Architecture of 
the Tower " in the Proceedings of the 
Archaeological Institute, held at London, 
entitled " Old London," 1867 .) 

J Waltheof, son of Siward, had been 
made earl of the shires of Northampton 
and Huntingdon in the famous Witena- 
gemot held at Oxford (1065). There was a 
fpurth great earl, Oswulf of Northumber- 



A.D. 1067-1068 THE ENGLISH REBEL. 85 

others eminent for the greatness of their fortunes and families, or 
for their ecclesiastical and civil dignities. At the abbey of Fecamp, 
where he resided during some time, he was visited by Budolph, 
uncle to the king of France, and by many powerful princes and 
nobles, who had contributed to his enterprise, and were desirous of 
participating in its advantages. His English courtiers, willing to 
ingratiate themselves with their new sovereign, outvied each other 
in equipages and entertainments, and made a display of riches 
which struck the foreigners with astonishment. William of 
Poitiers, a Norman historian, who was present, speaks with admira- 
tion of the beauty of their persons, the size and workmanship of 
their silver plate, the costliness of their embroideries — an art in 
which the English then excelled ; — and he expresses himself in 
such terms as tend much to exalt our idea of the opulence and 
culture of the people. 

But the departure of William was the immediate cause of all the 
calamities which befel the English in this and the subsequent 
reigns. It gave rise to those mutual jealousies and animosities 
between them and the Normans, which were never appeased tili, 
after a long tract of time, the two nations had gradually united 
into one people. During the king's absence discontents and com- 
plaints multiplied everywhere; secret conspiracies were formed 
against the government, and hostilities had already begun in many 
places. The king, informed of these dangers, hastened over to 
England ; and by his presence, and the vigorous measures which 
he pursued, disconcerted the schemes of the conspirators. But he 
now began^ if not before, to regard the English as irreclaimable 
enemies, and thenceforth resolved to reduce tfiem to more complete 
subjection. After subduing Cornwall, quelling some disturbances in 
the west of England, excited by Gytha, king Harold's mother, and 
building a fortress to overawe the city of Exeter, William returned 
to Winchester, and dispersed his army into their quarters. 

§ 7. At Winchester he was joined by his wife Matilda, who had 
not before visited England, and whom he now ordered to be crowned 
by archbishop Aldred (1068). The English formed a league for 
expelling the Normans and restoring Edgar. The two earls Edwin 
and Morcar, the former of whom William had disgusted by 
refusing him the hand of his daughter, which he had promised, 
were the chief instigators of the rebellion. Cospatric, earl of North- 
umberland beyond the Tyne, and Malcolm, king of Scotland, 

)and north of the Tyne (the present l his successor met with violent deaths 
county), which had scarcely yet lost the soon after. The earldom was thea 
name of Bernicia. He appears to have bought of William by Cospatric 
been deposed by William. Both he and j 
6 



86 WILLIAM I. Chap. v. 

agreed to take up arms. The conspirators seem to have received 
promises of assistance from the sons of Harold, who had fied 
to Ireland after the battle of Hastings; from Blethwallon, or 
Bleddyon, king of North Waies ;. and from Sweyn, king of Den- 
mark. William immediately marched northwards, and took up 
his position at Warwick, in the heart of Mercia. When Edwin and 
Morcar approached, they did not venture a battle with the 
Conqueror. The sons of Harold, landing upon the western coast 
of England, were defeated and compelled to retire to Ireland. In 
the north the Normans were equally successful. York, the only 
fortress in the country was taken, and Cospatric, accompanied by 
Edgar iEtheling and his sisters, fled to the court of Malcolm in 
Scotland. The latter concluded a peace with William, to whom 
he swore fealty.* With this act the conquest' of England may be 
regarded as complete. 

§ 8. In 1069 the insurrection broke out a second time in the 
north. The Danes, after two or three vain attempts on the south- 
eastern coast, landed in the Humber, with 240 ships, under the 
command of the brother of king Sweyn ; Edgar iEtheling, with 
Cospatric and other leaders, appeared from Scotland, and earl 
Waltheof left William's court to join them. York was taken by 
assault, and the Norman garrison, to the number of 3000 men, 
was put to the sword. This success proved a signal for disaffec- 
tion in many parts of England. The inhabitants, repenting of 
their former easy submission, seemed determined to make one 
great effort for the recovery of their liberties and the expulsion 
of their oppressors. 

William first marched against the rebels in the north, and 
engaged the Danes by large presents to retire. Having thus got 
rid of his most formidable opponents, he found no difficulty in 
crushing the rest of his enemies. Waltheof and Cospatric submitted 
to the Conqueror, and, while both were confirmed in their earldoms, 
Waltheof was rewarded with the hand of Judith, William's niece. 
Three years later, the son of Siward was restored to that part of the 
Northumbrian earldom which had been held by Cospatric, to which 
that of Northumberland was subsequently added. Malcolm, king 
of Scotland, coming too late to the support of his confederates, was 
constrained to retire ; the English submitted, the rebels dispersed, 
and left the Normans undisputed masters of the kingdom. Edgar 
iEtheling, with his followers, sought once more a retreat in 
Scotland from the pursuit of his enemies, where his sister Margaret 

* Ordericus Vitalis (p. BIId), the sole i a word about Cumberland, for which 
authority for this, says, " Guillelmo Regi historians have assumed that the homage 
fidele obsequium juravit." There, is not | was done. 



A.D. 1068-1070. DEPOSITION OF STIGAND. 87 

was shortly afterwards married to Malcolm (1070). In her daughter's 
subsequent marriage with Henry I., the English and Norman royal 
lines were united. William, who passed the winter in the north, 
issued orders for laying waste the entire country for the extent 
of sixty miles between the H umber and the Tees. The lives of 
100,000 persons, who died by lamine, are computed to have been 
sacrificed to this stroke of barbarous policy, and the country was 
reduced to such a state of desolation, that for several years after- 
wards there was hardly an inhabitant left. This act, attributed to 
William's vengeance, was rather, perhaps, a stern measure of precau- 
tion against the incursions of the Scots and Danes. It is not likely 
that so avaricious and sagacious a prince should have resorted to a 
measure that crippled his own power and revenue merely out of 
a spirit of revenge. The same barbarous measure was resorted 
to in France in much more civilized times, when the constable 
Montmorency completely desolated Provence in order to check the 
advance of the emperor Charles V. 

Insurrections and conspiracies in so many parts of the kingdom 
had involved the bulk of the landed proprietors, more or less, 
in the guilt of treason ; and the king took the opportunity for 
enforcing against them, with the utmost rigour, the laws of 
attainder and forfeiture. Their lives were indeed commonly 
spared ; but their estates were confiscated, and either annexed to 
the royal demesnes, or conferred with the most lavish bounty on 
the Normans and other foreigners. Several of the English nobles, 
despairing of the fortunes of their country, fled abroad. Some took 
refuge at the court of Constantinople, where they entered the service 
of the Greek emperor, and, being incorporated with Danes and 
others, formed, under the name of Varangians, the imperial body- 
guard. 

§ 9. The Conqueror now proceeded to deprive the English of all 
offices in the state, as well ecclesiastical as civil. The Anglo-Saxon 
church had, to a certain extent, maintained its independence of the 
Roman see; and accordingly pope Alexander willingly assisted 
William in depriving the native prelates of their benefices. Three 
papal legates were despatched into England, who summoned a 
council of prelates and abbots at Winchester in 1070. In this 
council the legate, upon some frivolous charges, degraded Stigand, 
the primate : William confiscated his estate, and confined him at 
Winchester, where he died. Like rigour was exercised against other 
English bishops ; and Wulstan of Worcester was the only one that 
escaped the general proscription. Even monasteries were plundered, 
and their plate carried off to the royal treasury. 

Lanfranc, an Italian celebrated for his learning and piety who, 



88 WILLIAM I. Chap. v. 

as prior of Bee in Normandy, had long been William's chosen friend 
and counsellor, was now promoted to the vacant see of Canterbury. 
He was rigid in defending the prerogatives of his see ; and, after a 
long process before the pope, obliged Thomas, a Norman monk, 
who had been appointed to York, to acknowledge the primacy of 
Canterbury. 

§ 10. The two earls, Morcar and Edwin, sensible that they 
had entirely lost their dignity, and could not even hope to remain 
long in safety, determined, though too late, to share the fate of 
their countrymen. " They fled from William's court, and made 
some ineffectual attempts to gather followers. Edwin was slain 
on his way to Scotland, either by his own men, or by the Normans 
to whom he was betrayed. Morcar took shelter with the brave 
Hereward in the Isle of Ely, then really an island amidst the 
waters of the fens, where the English had formed their last " Camp 
of Refuge." The exploits of Hereward against the Normans lived 
long in the memory of the English, invested with the romance of 
patriotic legends. Of his parentage and early life nothing is known 
except that he possessed estates in Lincolnshire and Warwickshire. 
According to one account, he was in Flanders at the time of the 
Conquest ; but, hearing that his mother had been deprived of her 
estate by a foreigner, he returned to England, drove out the intruder, 
and erected the banner of independence. He was quickly joined 
by other bold spirits, and, protected by the fens and morasses of 
the Isle of Ely, was able to bid defiance to William. The king 
found it necessary to employ all his endeavours to subdue their 
stronghold, and having surrounded it with flat-bottomed boats, and 
made a causeway through the morasses to the extent of two miles, 
he obliged the rebels to surrender at discretion (1071). Hereward 
alone escaped, with a small band, in ships to the open sea. After 
long harassing the Normans, he married a rich Englishwoman, 
made his peace with William, but was at last murdered in hia 
own house by a band of Normans. Eomantic as this story may 
appear, thus much is certain, that a Hereward is found in Domes- 
day Book as a holder of lands under Norman lords in Warwick and 
Worcester shires.* Earl Morcar was thrown into prison, and long 
after died in confinement, in Normandy. To complete these 
successes, Edgar iEtheling himself, weary of a fugitive life, sub- 
mitted to his enemy; and, receiving a decent pension for his 
subsistence, was permitted to live at Bouen despised and unmo- 
lested. 

§ 11. As William had now nothing to fear from his English sub- 

* See Freeman's Norman Conquest, vol. iv. pp. 455-485, and Appendix 00, " The 
Legend of Hereward." 



a.d. 1071-1075. INSURRECTION OF NORMAN BARONS. 89 

jects, it was his policy to conciliate and protect them. But he had 
to encounter the jealousy and disaffection of his companions in 
arms. His resolute opposition to their feudal aggressions, in the 
maintenance of his royal authority, had excited general discontent 
among the haughty Norman nobles. Even Eoger, earl of Hereford, 
son and heir of Fitz-Osbern, the king's chief favourite,was strongly 
infected with it. Intending to marry his sister to Ealph de Guader, 
earl of Norfolk, Roger had thought it his duty to inform the king 
and desire his consent ; but meeting with a refusal, he proceeded 
nevertheless to complete the nuptials, and assembled his own 
friends, and those ot Guader, to attend the solemnity (1075). The 
two earls here prepared measures for a revolt ; and during the gaiety 
of the festival, while the company was heated with wine, they 
opened the project to their guests. Inflamed with the same senti- 
ments, the whole company entered into a solemn engagement to 
shake off the royal authority. Even earl Waltheof, who had 
married the Conqueror's niece, inconsiderately expressed his ap- 
probation of the plot, and promised his concurrence towards 
its success. But, on cooler judgment, he foresaw that the con- 
spiracy of these discontented barons was not likely to prove suc- 
cessful against the established power of William ; and he opened 
his mind to his wife, Judith, of whose fidelity he entertained no 
suspicion, but who, having secretly fixed her affections on another, 
took this opportunity of ruining her easy and credulous husband. 
She conveyed intelligence of the conspiracy to the king, aggra- 
vating every circumstance which she believed would tend to incense 
him against Waltheof, and render him absolutely implacable. 
Meanwhile the earl, at the suggestion of Lanfranc, to whom he had 
discovered the secret, went over to Normandy, whither William 
had gone some time previously to quell an insurrection in his 
province of Maine ; but though he was well received by the king, 
and thanked for his fidelity, the account previously transmitted by 
Judith sunk deep into William's mind, and had destroyed the 
merit of her husband's repentance. 

Hearing of Waltheof s departure, the conspirators immediately 
concluded that their design was betrayed, and flew to arms before 
their schemes were ripe for execution. They were defeated at every 
point. The prisoners had their right feet cut off to mark them for 
the future (1075).* William returned to England, accompanied 
by Waltheof, who was soon afterwards arrested. The earls were 
condemned, in a council held at Westminster, to stricter imprison- 

* " Ut notificentur," to be known or i Freeman's Norman Conquest, vol. iv. 
detected (Orderic. p. 535b). On the pp. 278, 581. 
custom of mutilating prisoners of war, see | 



90 



WILLIAM I. 



Chap. v. 



merit. Ealph, who had escaped, and the earl of Hereford, suffered 
forfeiture of their estates ; and the latter was kept a prisoner till 
his death. But Waltheof, being an Englishman, was treated with 
less humanity. At the instigation of Judith, and of the rapacious 
courtiers, who longed for so rich a forfeiture, he was tried, 
condemned, and executed (1076). His body was removed by the 
monks of Orowland to the abbey, which he had befriended and 
enriched. The English, who considered this nobleman as the last 
prop of their nation, grievously lamented his fate, and held him for 
a saint and martyr. The legend adds that the infamous Judith, 
falling soon after under the king's displeasure, was abandoned by 
all the world, and passed the rest of her life in contempt, remorse, 
and misery. It is more certain that the execution of Waltheof 
marks the turning point in William's prosperous career.* 

§ 12. The king now spent some years in passing between England 
and Normandy, where he was involved in a series of unsuccessful 
wars. The climax of these troubles was the revolt of his eldest 
son Eobert, to whom William had caused the nobles of Normandy 
to swear fealty as his successor. When Robert, instigated by the 
French king, Philip I., demanded the full possession of the duchy, 
his father replied with the taunt, " I am not used to take off my 
clothes before I go to bed." After various disputes Eobert 
openly levied war upon his father (1078). William called over 
an army of English under his ancient captains, who soon ex- 
pelled Eobert and his adherents from their retreats, and restored 
the authority of the sovereign in all his dominions. The young 
duke was obliged to take shelter in the castle of Gerberoi, in 
the district of Beauvais, which the king of France, who secretly 
fomented all these dissensions, had provided for him (1079). 
Under the walls of the castle many rencounters took place, which 
resembled more the single combats of chivalry than the military 
actions of armies. One of them was remarkable for its circum- 
stances and its event. Eobert happened to engage the king, who 
was concealed by his helmet ; and both of them being valiant, a 
fierce combat ensued, till at last the young duke wounded his 
father in the hand, and unhorsed him. On calling out for assist- 
ance, the king's voice was recognized by his son, who quickly 
dismounted, set his father on his horse again, and let him depart 



* The descendants of Waltheof occupy 
an important place in the history of 
the Scotch and English royal families. 
In the famous contest for the Scottish 
crown, the question occurs, " How did the 
ancestor of the claimant come to be earl 
oj Huntingdon f " It was thus : — Matilda, 



the daughter of Waltheof, married (for 
her second husband) David, son of 
Malcolm and Margaret (afterwards 
David I.), and thus brought the earldom 
of Huntingdon into the Scottish royal 
family, and made Waltheof an ancestor 
of our royal line. 



a.d. 1076-1087. 



DOMESDAY BOOK. 



91 



with his defeated soldiers. The interposition of the queen and the 
nobles of Normandy at length brought about a reconciliation. The 
king seemed so fully appeased, that he even took Kobert with him 
into England ; where he intrusted him with the command of an 
army, in order to repel an inroad of Malcolm, king of Scotland. 
This expedition is memorable for the foundation of the New Castle 
on the Tyne, which gave name to the modern chief town of North- 
umberland. It was followed by a fresh quarrel between the king 
and his son, who departed in anger to France (1080). About the 
same time William marched into Wales as far as St. Davids, and 
the Welsh, unable to resist his power, were compelled to make a 
compensation for their incursions. The whole land was now reduced 
to tranquillity (lOcil). 

§ 13. The remaining transactions of William's reign are not of 
much importance. In the year 1085, Canute, who had succeeded 
Sweyn in the kingdom of Denmark, collected a large fleet with the 
design of invading England ; and though from various causes it was 
not carried into execution, it nevertheless occasioned some calamity 
to the nation. The odious tax of Danegeld was reimposed ; a large 
army of foreigners was brought over from the continent; and the 
lands adjoining the sea-coast were laid waste in order to deprive the 
expected enemy of support. In the following year (August, 1086) 
William received at Salisbury the oath of fealty from all holders of 
land in the kingdom : thus enforcing direct homage to himself, and 
not as before to their immediate lords ; a modification of feudalism 
which formed the strongest bond of union to the whole state. This 
great change had been prepared for by the compilation of their 
Domesday Booh* 

In 1087 William was detained on the continent by a misunder- 



* The origin and meaning of the word 
Domesday is quite uncertain. It was 
sometimes called the Book of Winchester, 
because the requisitions of the commis- 
sioners appointed to make the survey 
were returned to Winchester, and hence 
some have thought ihat the name is a 
corruption of Domus Dei, the name of the 
chapel in Winchester Cathedral where 
it was preserved. Though not complete 
for all the counties, it shows the extent, 
nature, and divisions of the landed pro- 
perty in each, in the time of Edward 
the Confessor, and at the time of the 
survey ; the products of various kinds, 
as woods, fisheries, mines, etc. It was 
ordered by William at his Christmas 
court at Gloucester (1085), and such was 
the expedition used that it was finished 



by July, 1086. It consists of two volumes, 
a large and smaller folio, written on 
vellum. It was printed by the govern- 
ment in 1783, and fac similes of it in 
photo-zincography have lately been pub- 
lished by the Ordnance Survey Office. A 
complete account of it will be found in Sir 
H. Ellis's General Introduction to Domes- 
day, 2 vols. 8vo. By its division into 
modern counties it shows that already 
this arrangement had become perfectly 
familiar and was universally recognized. 
The whole number of persons registered 
in Domesday Book is 283,242. But aa 
the work was not intended for a record 
of population, all inferences on that head 
are uncertain. The tenants in capite are 
generally Normans ; the inferior tenants 
often Anglo-Saxons. 



92 WILLIAM I. Chap. v. 

standing between himself and the king of France, occasioned by 
the inroads made into Normandy by French nobles on the fron- 
tiers. His displeasure was increased by the account he received 
of some railleries which that monarch had thrown out against him, 
William, who had become corpulent, had been detained in bed some 
time by sickness; upon which Philip expressed his surprise that 
his brother of England should be so long in lying in. The king 
sent him word that, as soon as he was up, he would present so many 
lights at Notre Dame as would perhaps give little pleasure to the 
king of France— alluding to the usual practice at that time of 
women after childbirth. Immediately on his recovery he led an 
army into L'Isle de France, and laid it waste with fire and sword. 
But the progress of these hostilities was stopped by an accident 
which soon after put an end to William's life. His soldiers having 
burnt the town of Mantes, William rode to the scene of action, 
and as his horse treading upon some hot ashes started aside, the 
king was thrown violently on the pommel of his saddle. Being in 
a bad habit of body, as well as somewhat advanced in years, he 
began to apprehend the consequences, and ordered himself to be 
carried in a litter to the monastery of St. Gervais, near Bouen. 
Finding his illness increase, and sensible of the approach of death, 
he was struck with remorse for those acts of violence which he 
had committed during the course of his reign over England. He 
endeavoured to make atonement by presents to churches and monas- 
teries, and issued orders that several prisoners should be set at 
liberty. He left Normandy and Maine to his eldest son Bobert. 
Lanfranc was directed to crown William king of England ; and 
to Henry he bequeathed 5000 pounds of silver. His second son, 
Bichard, had been killed long before, whilst hunting in the New 
Forest. 

§ 14. William expired on the 9th of September, 1087, in the 
61st year of his age, in the 21st year of his reign over England, 
and in the 54th of that over Normandy. He was buried in 
the church of St. Stephen at Caen. Few princes have been more 
fortunate than this great monarch, or better entitled to grandeur 
and prosperity, from the abilities and the vigour of mind 
which he displayed in all his conduct. His spirit was bold and 
enterprising, yet guided by prudence. His ambition did not always 
submit to the restraints of justice, still less to those of humanity, 
but was controlled by the dictates of sound policy. Born in 
an age when the minds of men were intractable and unused to 
obedience, he was yet able to direct them to his purposes; and, 
partly by the ascendancy of his energetic character, partly by 
policy, he was enabled to establish and maintain his authority* 



a.d. 1087. HIS ADMINISTRATION. 93 

Though not insensible to generosity, he was too often hardened 
against compassion. In the difficult enterprise of subduing a 
brave and warlike people he succeeded so completely that he 
transmitted his power to his descendants, and it would be difficult 
to find in all history a revolution attended with a more com- 
plete subjection of the ancient inhabitants. For a time the 
English name became a term of reproach, and generations elapsed 
before one family of native pedigree was raised to any considerable 
bonours. 

The administration of "William was more severely displayed 
in the Forest Laws. Like all the Normans, William was fond of 
hunting; and, according to the quaint expression of the Anglo- 
Saxon chronicler, " loved tbe tall game as if he had been their father." 
The forests had been protected before the Conquest ; but William, 
for the preservation of the game, established more rigid penalties. 
The killing of a deer or boar, or even a hare, was punished 
with the loss of the delinquent's eyes, at a time when man- 
slaughter could be atoned for by a fine or composition. In forming 
the New Forest in the neighbourhood of his palace at Winchester, 
the country around was "afforested," that is, subjected to the 
forest laws. For that purpose, churches and villages were destroyed; 
but the number has been probably exaggerated. 

The numerous Castles erected in all parts of England during 
the reign of the Conqueror were at once the means and the visible 
emblems of English subjection. Of these strongholds no fewer than 
48 are recorded in Domesday as erected since the time of Edward 
the Confessor. 

William is said to have introduced the curfew (i.e. couvre feu) 
bell, upon the ringing of which all fires had to be covered up 
at sunset in summer, and about eight at night in the winter. 
The custom was brought over from Normandy, and has been 
thought by some to have been used in many countries as a pre- 
caution against fire. But it was probably of ecclesiastical origin, 
and served originally for devotional purposes. 
. 6* 




Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester and brother of king Stephen, 
enamelled plate in the British Museum.* 



From 



CHAPTEE VI. 



WILLIAM II., HENRY I., STEPHEN. A.D. 1087-1154. 

§ 1. Accession of William Rtjf'tjs. Conspiracy against the king. § 2. 
Invasion of Normandy, and other wars. § 3. Acquisition of Normandy, 
§ 4. Quarrel with Anselm, the primate. § 5. Transactions in France. 
Death and character of Rufus. § 6. Accession of Henry I. His charter. 
§ 7. Marriage of the king. § 8. Duke Robert invades England. Accom- 
modation with him. § 9. Henry invades and conquers Normandy. § 10. 
Ecclesiastical affairs. Disputes respecting investitures. § 11. Wars 

* For an explanation of the inscription, see Labarte, Arts of the Middle Ages, 
p. xxiv. 



A.D. 1087-1090. INVASION OF NOEMANDY. 95 

abroad. Death of prince William. § 12. Henry's second marriage. 
Marriage of his daughter. His death and character. § 13. Accession of 
Stephen. Measures for securing the government. § 14. Stephen 
acknowledged in Normandy. Disturbances in England. § 15. Matilda 
invades England and obtains the crown. Her flight. § 16. Prince Henry 
in England. Acknowledged as Stephen's successor. Death and character 
of Stephen. 

§ 1. William II., b. a.d. 1060 ; r. 1087-1100.— William, surnamed 
Rvfus, or the Red, from the colour of his hair, had no sooner pro- 
cured his father's commendatory letter to Lanfranc, the primate, 
than he hastened to England before intelligence of his father's 
death could arrive. Pretending orders from the king, he secured 
the fortresses of Dover, Pevensey, and Hastings ; and got possession 
of the royal treasure at Winchester, amounting to the sum of 
(i0,000 pounds. Assembling some of the bishops and princii al 
nobles, the primate proceeded at once to crown the new king 
(September 26), and thus anticipate all faction and resistance. 
The Norman barons, however, who for many reasons preferred 
Robert, with Odo, bishop of Bayeux, and Robert, count of Mor- 
taigne, maternal brothers of the Conqueror, envying the great 
credit of Lanfranc, engaged their partisans in a formal conspiracy 
against the king. William, who had gained the affections of the 
English by general promises of good treatment, and an amelioration 
of the forest laws, was soon in a situation to take the field. The 
rapidity of his movements speedily crushed the rebellion (1088). 
Freed from immediate danger, he took little care to fulfil his 
promises. The English still found themselves exposed to the same 
oppressions as in the reign of the Conqueror, oppressions augmented 
by the new king's violent and impetuous temper. The death of 
Lanfranc (1089), who had been William's tutor and had retained 
great influence over him, gave full scope to his tyranny ; and all 
orders of men found reason to complain of arbitrary and illegal ad- 
ministration. Even the privileges of the church, usually held sacred 
in those days, proved a feeble rampart against his usurpations. The 
terror of William's authority, confirmed by the suppression of the 
late insurrections, retained every one in subjection, and preserved 
the general tranquillity of England. 

§ 2. Thus strengthened at home, William invaded the dominions 
of his brother Robert in Normandy (1090). The war, however, 
was brought to an end by the mediation of the nobles on both 
sides, who were strongly connected by interest and alliances. It 
was stipulated that, on the demise of either brother without issue, 
the survivor should inherit all his dominions. Henry, disgusted 
that little care had been taken of his interests in this accommo- 
dation, retired to St. Michael's Mount, a strong fortress on the 



96 WILLIAM II. Chap. vi. 

coast of Normandy, and infested the neighbourhood with his incur- 
sions. He was besieged by Eobert and William, with their joint 
forces, and had been nearly reduced by scarcity of water, when 
Eobert, hearing of his distress, granted him permission to supply 
himself, and also sent him some pipes of wine for his own table. 
Eeproved by William for this ill-timed generosity, he replied, 
" What, shall I suffer my brother to die of thirst ? Where shall 
we find another when he is gone ? " During this siege, William 
performed an act of generosity little in accordance with his character. 
Riding out one day alone, to take a survey of the fortress, he was 
attacked by two soldiers and dismounted. One of them drew his 
sword in order to despatch him, when the king exclaimed, " Hold, 
knave! I am the king of England." The soldier suspended his 
blow ; and, raising the king from the ground with expressions of 
respect, received a handsome reward, and was taken into his service. 
Soon after Henry was obliged to capitulate ; and being despoiled of 
his patrimony, was reduced to great poverty. William, attended 
by Eobert, returned to England ; and soon after, accompanied by 
his brother, led an army into Scotland, and obliged Malcolm to 
accept terms of peace (1091), which were mediated by Eobert on 
the part of William, and by Edgar iEtheling on that of Malcolm. 
Advantageous conditions were stipulated for Edgar, who returned 
to England ; Malcolm consented to do homage to William ; and 
Cumberland, formerly held by the Scottish kings as a fief under 
the English crown, was now reduced to an English county, and 
secured by the fortification of Carlisle. Its settlement by an 
English colony extinguished its Celtic character, though in memory 
of them it retains to this day the name of the Cymry. 

§ 3. At the preaching of the Crusade by Peter the Hermit for 
the recovery of the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem,* Eobert enlisted 
himself among the Crusaders. To provide himself with money, he 
resolved to mortgage his dominions for a term of five years ; and 
he offered them to William for the inadequate sum of 10,000 
marks. The bargain was concluded ; the king raised the money 
by violent extortions from his subjects of all ranks, even the 
religious houses, which were obliged to melt their plate to furnish 
the quota demanded. William was put in possession of Normandy 
and Maine; and Eobert, providing himself with a magnificent 
train, set out for the Holy Land (1095). 

§ 4. Devoid alike of religious feeling and religious principle, 
William, during the latter part of his reign, was engaged in dis- 
putes with the church. After the death of Lanfranc he retained in 
his own hands, for several years, the revenues of Canterbury, and 

* The history of the Crusades is narrated in the Student's Gibbon, pp. 545, seq. 



A.D. 1090-1100. QUARREL WITH ANSELM. 97 

of other vacant bishoprics ; but falling into a dangerous sickness, 
he was seized with remorse, and resolved, therefore, to supply 
instantly the vacancy of Canterbury (1093). For this purpose he 
sent for Anselm, a native of Aosta in Piedmont, abbot of Bee in 
Normandy, who was much celebrated for his learning and piety, 
and whom he persuaded with difficulty to accept the primacy. 
But William's passions returned with returning health. He re- 
tained ecclesiastical benefices ; the sale of spiritual dignities con- 
tinued as openly as ever. He refused to surrender the temporalities 
of Canterbury to Anselm. The division between them grew more 
serious. The new primate had determined to receive his pall in 
Borne from the hands of Urban VI., contrary to the king's wishes, 
who had espoused the cause of the antipope. Enraged at this 
attempt, William summoned a council with an intention of deposing 
Anselm : but he was at last prevailed upon by other motives to 
give the preference to Urban. Anselm received the pall from that 
pontiff ; and matters seemed to be accommodated between the king 
and the primate, when the quarrel broke out afresh from a new 
cause. In 1097 William had undertaken an expedition against 
Wales, and, requiring the archbishop to furnish his quota of soldiers 
for that service, accused him of insufficiently fulfilling his feudal 
obligations. Anselm retorted by demanding that the revenues of 
his see should be restored. He appealed to Borne against the king's 
injustice ; and, finding it dangerous to remain in the kingdom, 
obtained the king's permission to retire beyond sea the same year. 
His temporalities were seized by William ; the archbishop was 
received with great respect by Urban, who menaced the king, for his 
proceedings against the primate and the church, with sentence of 
excommunication. 

§ 5. In 1099 the Crusaders became masters of Jerusalem. Their 
success stimulated others to follow their example; and William, 
duke of Guienne and count of Poitou, like Bobert, offered to mort- 
gage his dominions to William, in order to raise money for the 
purpose of proceeding to the Holy Land with an immense body of 
followers. The king accepted the offer, had prepared a fleet and 
an army in order to transport the money and take possession of 
the rich provinces of Guienne and Poitou, when an accident put 
an end to his life and all his ambitious projects. He was 
engaged in hunting in the New Forest, attended, among others, by 
Francis Walter, surnamed Tyrrel, a French gentleman, remarkable 
for his address in archery. As William had dismounted after 
the chase, impatient to show his dexterity, Tyrrel let fly an arrow 
at a stag which suddenly started before him. The arrow, glancing 
from a tree, struck the king in the breast, and killed him in- 



98 HENRY I. Chap, vu 

stantaneously.* Without informing any one of the accident, Tyrrel 
put spurs to his horse, hastened to the sea shore, embarked for 
France, and joined the Crusade. The body of William was found 
in the forest by the country people, and was buried at Winchester. 
Tradition long pointed out the tree struck by the arrow, and a 
stone still commemorates the spot where it stood. 

William was a violent and tyrannical prince; a perfidious, 
encroaching, and dangerous neighbour ; an unkind and ungenerous 
relative. He was equally prodigal and rapacious in the manage- 
ment of his treasury ; and if he possessed abilities, he lay so much 
under the government of impetuous passions, that he made little 
use of them in his administration. He built a new bridge across 
the Thames at London, surrounded the Tower with a wall, and 
erected Westminster Hall, which still retains portions of the 
original fabric. It was remarked in that age that Richard, an 
elder brother of William, had perished by an accident in the New 
Forest ; and that Richard, his nephew, natural son of duke Robert, 
had lately lost his life in the same place, after the same manner. 
As the Conqueror had been guilty of extreme violence in ex- 
pelling the inhabitants to make room for his game, popular belief 
ascribed the death of his posterity to the just vengeance of Heaven. 
William was killed August 2nd, 1100, in the 13th year of his 
reign, and about the 40th of his age. He died unmarried. 

HENRY I. 

§ 6. Henry I., surnamed Beauclerk, b. A.r>. 1070, r. 1100-1135. 
— Henry was hunting with Rufus in the New Forest when intelli- 
gence was brought him of that monarch's death. Sensible of the 
advantage attending the conjuncture, he hurried to Winchester, to 
secure the royal treasure. Without losing a moment, he hastened 
to London, and having assembled such of the nobles and prelates 
as adhered to his party, he was suddenly elected, or rather saluted, 
as king. In less than three days after his brother's death, he 
was crowned by Maurice, bishop of London (August 5). As the 
barons would have preferred the more popular rule of Robert, 
who had not yet returned from Palestine, Henry resolved, by fair 
professions at least, to gain the affections of his subjects. He 
granted a charter, in which he promised — to the church, that he 
would not seize the revenues of any see or abbey during a vacancy 
— to the barons and other tenants of the crown, that he would 



* Such is the account, as related by 
the contemporary chronicler, Florence of 
Worcester, and his immediate follower, 
William of Malmesbury. Some deny the 



charge against Tyrrel. The Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle simply says that William was 
shot "by one of his men." 



a.d. 1100, 1101. ROBERT INVADES ENGLAND. 



99 



not oppress them with unlawful reliefs — and to the people, that he 
would observe the laws of Edward the Confessor. Whilst attempt- 
ing, by granting special boons to each order in the state, to secure 
the goodwill of all, Henry definitively committed himself to the 
duties of a national king.* Henry at the same time granted a 
charter to London, which seems to have been the first step towards 
rendering that city a corporation.! 

§ 7. Sensible of the great authority acquired by Anselm, Henry 
invited him to return. On his arrival the king had recourse to his 
advice and authority respecting his marriage with Matilda, daughter 
of Malcolm III., king of Scotland, niece to Edgar iEtheling, and 
great-granddaughter of Edmund Ironside. This lady, whom the 
English called Edith, had been educated under her aunt Christina 
in the nunnery of Romsey. She had taken the veil, but not the 
vows required of a nun, and doubts arose concerning the lawfulness 
of the act contemplated by Henry. The affair was examined by 
Anselm, in a council of the prelates and nobles summoned at Lam- 
beth. Matilda proved that she had put on the veil, not with a 
view of entering a religious life, but as other English ladies had 
done, to protect her chastity from the brutal violence of the 
Normans. The council pronounced that she was free to marry; 
and her espousals with Henry were celebrated by Anselm with 
great pomp and solemnity, to the delight of his English subjects. 
His marriage with the " good queen Maud," the heiress " of the 
right royal race of England " as she is styled in the Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle, united the English and Norman blood in the person 
of her grandson, Henry II. 

§ 8. Meanwhile Robert had taken possession of Normandy 
without opposition, and immediately made preparations for re- 
covering England. The fame which he had acquired in the East 
assisted his pretensions, and many of the Norman barons, still 
further alienated by the king's marriage, invited Robert to take 
the crown, and promised to join him in the attempt with all their 
forces. At the end of July, 1101, Robert landed at Portsmouth; 
and Henry, who had collected his forces chiefly through the in- 
fluence of the primate, advanced to meet him. The two armies 
lay in sight of each other for some days without coming to action, 
and both princes, apprehensive of the result, hearkened the more 
willingly to the couusels of Anselm and others, who mediated an 
accommodation between them. It was agreed that Robert should 



* The term vntan, that is, the Anglo- 
Saxon term for any council or assembly of 
nobles and prelates, now drops out of use, 
and is supplanted, as in this cliarter, by 
the Latin equivalent barones. The witan 



and barons, however, to whom Henry 
owed his election, consisted of four only. 

f Both charters are printed in Professor 
Stubbs's Documents illustrative of Eng- 
lish History. 



100 HENRY I. Chap. vi. 

resign his pretensions to England, and receive in lieu of then) 
an annual pension of 3000 marks ; that, if either of the princes 
died without issue, the other should succeed to his dominions; 
that the adherents of each should be pardoned and restored to 
their possessions, whether in Normandy or in England ; and that 
neither Kohert nor Henry should thenceforth encourage, receive, or 
protect the enemies of the other. 

§ 9. The indiscretion of Eobert soon made him a victim to Henry's 
ambitious schemes. During the reign of this indulgent and disso- 
lute prince, Normandy became a scene of violence and depredation ; 
and Henry, finding that the nobility were more disposed to pay 
submission to him than to their legal sovereign, collected a great 
army and treasure in England, and landed in Normandy in 1105. 
In the second campaign he gained a decisive victory before the 
castle of Tinchebray, in which nearly 10,000 prisoners were taken, 
among whom was Robert himself, and the most considerable barons 
who adhered to his interests. This victory was followed by the final 
reduction of Normandy (1106). Having received the homage of all 
the vassals of the duchy, Henry returned into England, and carried 
the duke along with him. The unfortunate prince was detained 
in custody during the remainder of his life, for no less a period 
than 28 years, and died in the castle of Cardiff, in Glamorganshire 
(1134). William, his only son, who had also been captured, was 
committed to the care of Helie de St. Saen, who had married 
Robert's natural daughter, and, being a man of probity and honour, 
he executed the trust with great affection and fidelity. To Edgar 
iEtheling, who had followed Robert in the expedition to Jerusalem, 
had lived with him ever since in Normandy, and was taken at 
Tinchebray, Henry granted his liberty and a small pension. He 
lived to a good old age in England, totally neglected and forgotten. 
This prince was distinguished by personal bravery ; but nothing can 
be a stronger proof of the meanness of his talents than that he 
was allowed to live unmolested and go to his grave in peace. 

§ 10. A controversy had long been depending between Henry and 
Anselm, with regard to investitures. Before bishops took posses- 
sion of their dignities they had been accustomed, since the days 
of Charlemagne, to pass through two ceremonies. From the hands 
of the sovereign they received a ring and a crozier, as symbols of 
their spiritual office, and this was called their investiture ; they also 
made those submissions to the sovereign for their lands which were 
required of all vassals by the feudal law, and this act was known by 
the name of homage. As the king might refuse both investiture and 
homage, he could neutralize the right of election granted to the 
chapter by the Lateran council of 1059, and engross the sole power 



A.D. 1105-1128. DEATH OF PRINCE WILLIAM. 101 

of appointing prelates. In 1074 Gregory VII. had forbidden the 
practice. His example was followed by Pascal II., who now filled 
the papal throne, and who supported Anselm in his refusal to accept 
investiture from Henry's hands, and threatened to excommunicate 
the king for persisting in his demands. But Henry had established 
his power so firmly in England and Normandy, that the pope con- 
sented to a compromise. Henry resigned the right of granting 
investitures, by which the spiritual dignity was supposed to be 
conferred ; and Pascal allowed the bishops to do homage for their 
temporal possessions. The pontiff was well pleased to have gained 
this advantage, which he hoped would in time secure the whole ; 
whilst the king, anxious to escape from a dangerous situation, was 
content to retain a substantial authority in the election of prelates. 

§ 11. The acquisition of Normandy had been a great object 
of Henry's ambition; but it proved the source of great dis- 
quietude, involved him in frequent wars, and obliged him to 
impose on his English subjects those heavy and arbitrary taxes 
of which the historians of that age complain. The cause of 
William, the son of Eobert, was espoused by Louis the Fat, kiug of 
France, and by other continental princes. The wars which ensued 
required Henry's frequent presence in Normandy ; and, though he 
was generally successful, he was not released from anxiety on this 
account till the year 1128, when his nephew was killed in a skirmish, 
shortly after he had been created count of Flanders by the French 
monarch. 

Eight years previously, Henry had received a terrible blow in the 
loss of his only son William. In 1120 the king, having concluded 
in Normandy a treaty of peace with the French king, set sail from 
Barfieur on his return, and was soon carried by a fair wind out of 
sight of land. His son William and his young companions, who 
were to follow in a vessel called the White Ship, wasted the time 
in feasting and revelry. On leaving the harbour, the ship was 
heedlessly carried on a rock, and immediately foundered. William, 
escaping in the long boat, had got clear of the ship, when, hearing 
the cries of his natural sister, Adela, countess of Perche, he ordered 
the seamen to put back in hopes of saving her ; but the numbers 
who crowded in sunk the boat, and the prince, with all his retinue, 
perished. Above 140 young nobles, of the principal families of 
England and Normandy, were lost on this occasion. Bertold, a 
butcher of Eouen, who alone escaped to tell the tale, clung to the 
mast, and was taken up next morning by fishermen. Fitz-Stephen, 
the captain of the ship, who had also gained the mast, being in- 
formed by the butcher that prince William was lost, refused to sur- 
vive the disaster, and perished in the sea. For three days Henry 



102 HENRY I. Chap, vl 

entertained hopes that his son had escaped to some distant port 
of England; but when certain intelligence of the calamity was 
brought him he fainted away ; and it was remarked that he 
never after was seen to smile, nor ever recovered his former cheer- 
fulness. 

§ 12. William left no children, and the king now turned his 
thoughts to Matilda, his only surviving child, whom, in 1110, he 
had betrothed, though only eight years of age, to the emperor 
Henry V., and had sent over to be educated in Germany. The 
king had lost his consort, " the good queen Maud," in 1118, and 
after the death of his son he was induced to marry, in 1121, 
Adelais, daughter of Godfrey, duke of Louvain, and niece of 
pope Calixtus II. As the emperor died without issue in 1125, 
Henry sent for his widowed daughter, and endeavoured to insure her 
succession by having her recognized as heir to all his dominions, 
and obliging the barons, both of Normandy and England, to 
swear fealty to her at Christmas, 1126. Two years later, motives 
of policy led him to give Matilda in marriage to Geoffrey the Hand- 
some, son of his most formidable enemy, Fulk, count of Anjou. 
Geoffrey succeeded his father in 1129; and in 1131 Henry brought 
Matilda to England, and caused the nobles to renew their oath 
to her at Northampton. In 1133 she bore a son, at Le Mans, 
who was named Henry after his grandfather. During the latter 
years of his reign Henry resided chiefly in Normandy, where he 
died December 1, 1135, from a surfeit of lampreys, in the 67th 
year of his age, and the 35th of his reign. By his will he left 
Matilda heir of all his dominions, without making any mention 
of her husband Geoffrey, who had given him several causes of 
displeasure. His bjody was carried to England, and interred at 
Beading, in the abbey of St. Mary, which he had founded. 

Henry, like his father, was a monarch of great ability, and 
possessed many qualities both of body and mind, natural and 
acquired, fitted for the high station to which he attained. His 
person was manly, his countenance engaging, his eyes clear, serene, 
and penetrating. From his early progress in letters he acquired 
the name of Beauclerc, or the Scholar ; but his application to such 
sedentary pursuits abated nothing, in after life, of the activity 
and vigilance of his government. He carried the oppressions of the 
forest laws to an extreme, and, though he restrained the tyranny 
of his nobles, he set no limits to his own arbitrary and avaricious 
temper. He was susceptible of the sentiments as well of friendship 
as of resentment ; but his conduct towards his brother and nephew 
showed that he was too disposed to sacrifice to his ambition all the 
dictates of justice and equity. 



A.D. 1120-1135. STEPHEN. 103 

§ 13. Stephen, 6. a.d. 1096, r. 1135-1154. — Adela, fourth 
daughter of William the Conqueror, had been married to Stephen, 
count of Blois, and had brought him several sons, among whom 
Henry and Stephen, the two now surviving, had been invited over 
to England by the late king. Henry was created bishop of Win- 
chester, and Stephen was endowed with great estates. In 1107 the 
king married him to Matilda, daughter and heir of Eustace, count 
of Boulogne, who brought him, besides a feudal sovereignty in 
France, immense property in England. Stephen, in return, pro- 
fessed great attachment to his uncle, and had been among the 
first to take the oath for the succession of Matilda. But no sooner 
had Henry breathed his last, than, insensible to all the ties of 
gratitude and fidelity, he hastened over to England, and stopped not 
till he arrived in London, where he was hailed by the citizens as their 
deliverer, and immediately saluted king. This irregular election 
was confirmed by the nobles, who disliked Matilda and her Angevin 
marriage, and hoped for license under a sovereign who had a doubt- 
ful title and an easy temper. It was pretended that the late king 
on his deathbed had disinherited Matilda, and had expressed an 
intention of leaving Stephen heir to all his dominions. William, 
archbishop of Canterbury, with some misgivings, placed the crown 
upon Stephen's head on St. Stephen's Day (December 26). 

To secure the favour of his subjects, and strengthen his tottering 
throne, Stephen granted a charter, and promised to maintain the 
immunities of the church, the laws and liberties of his subjects, 
and to observe the good customs of the Confessor. He invited over 
from the continent, particularly from Brittany and Flanders, 
great numbers of mercenary and disorderly soldiers, with whom 
every country in Europe at that time abounded ; and he procured a 
bull from Rome, which ratified his title. 

§ 14. Matilda and her husband, Geoffrey, were as unfortunate in 
Normandy as they had been in England. The Norman nobility, 
hearing that Stephen had obtained the English crown, put him in 
possession of their government. Even Robert, earl of Gloucester, 
natural son of the late king, who was much attached to the in- 
terests of his sister Matilda and zealous for the lineal succession, 
submitted to Stephen, and took the oath of fealty, but with an 
express condition that his rights and dignities should be preserved 
inviolate. In return for their submission, Stephen allowed many of 
the barons to fortify castles and put themselves in a posture of 
defence. As the king found himself totally unable to refuse these 
exorbitant demands, England was immediately filled with fortresses, 
which the nobles garrisoned cither with their vassals, or with 
mercenary soldiers, who flocked to them from all quarters. 



104 STEPHEN. Chap. vi. 

In 1138 David, king of Scotland, appeared at the head of an 
army in defence of his niece's title, and penetrated into Yorkshire, 
where his wild Galwegians and Highlanders committed the most 
"barbarous ravages. Enraged by this cruelty, the northern clergy 
and nobility assembled an army, with which they encamped at 
Northallerton, and awaited the arrival of the enemy. A great 
battle was fought, called the battle of the Standard, from the 
consecrated banners of St. Cuthbert of Durham, St. Peter of York, 
St. John of Beverley, and St. Wilfrid of Ripon, which were erected 
by the English on a waggon, and carried along with the army as a 
military ensign. The king of Scots was defeated, and he himself, 
as well as his son Henry, narrowly escaped falling into the hands of 
the English (August 22, 1138). 

§ 15. This success might have given some stability to Stephen's 
throne, had he not, with incredible imprudence, engaged in a 
controversy with the clergy. In imitation of the nobility, the 
bishops of Salisbury, Ely, and Lincoln had erected strong fortresses, 
and Stephen, who was now sensible from experience of the mischiefs 
attending these multiplied citadels, resolved to begin with destroy- 
ing those of the clergy. Accordingly, he first seized the bishops of 
Salisbury and Lincoln, threw them into prison, and obliging them 
by menaces to deliver up the strongholds they had lately erected, 
he then turned his arms against the bishop of Ely. To the surprise of 
Stephen, the cause of the prelates was espoused by his own brother, 
Henry, bishop of Winchester, and papal legate. At a synod assembled 
at Winchester, complaints were made of the king's proceedings, and 
Stephen promised redress ; but the empress Matilda, invited by this 
opportunity, and encouraged by the legate himself, had now landed 
in England, with Robert, earl of Gloucester (who had renounced his 
allegiance the year before), and a small retinue of knights (1139). 
She fixed her residence first at Arundel castle. The gates were 
opened to her by Adelais, her stepmother. Many barons declared 
for her, and open war broke out between the two parties. A fright- 
ful state of anarchy ensued. The castles of the nobility had become 
receptacles of licensed robbers, who, sallying forth day and night, 
committed spoil in the open country, the defenceless villages, and 
even the cities. They put their captives to torture, in order to 
make them reveal their treasures ; sold their persons into slavery ; 
and set fire to their houses after they had pillaged them of every- 
thing valuable. The land was left unfilled; the instruments of 
husbandry were destroyed or abandoned; and a grievous famine, 
the natural result of those disorders, affected equally both parties, 
and reduced the spoilers and their victims to the extremity of 
indigence and hunger. 



A.D. 1138-1150. FLIGHT OF MATILDA. 105 

The unexpected capture of Stephen himself by the earl of 
Gloucester, at Lincoln, seemed to promise an end to these 
calamities. He was conducted to Gloucester, and, though at 
first treated with humanity, was soon after loaded with irons, 
and imprisoned at Bristol (1141). The claims of Matilda were 
solemnly recognized in a synod held at Winchester by Stephen's 
brother, the legate. The Londoners, who clamoured in vain for 
Stephen's release, were obliged to submit ; and Matilda's authority, 
by the prudence of earl Robert, seemed to be established over the 
whole kingdom. But besides the disadvantage of her sex, which 
weakened her influence over a turbulent and martial people, Matilda 
was of a passionate, imperious spirit, and knew not how to temper 
with affability the harshness of a refusal. Stephen's queen, seconded 
by many of the nobility, and by the citizens of London, petitioned 
for the liberty of her husband, and undertook that on this con- 
dition he should renounce the crown and retire into a convent. 
The offended legate, who desired that his nephew Eustace might 
inherit Boulogne and the other patrimonial estates of his father, 
retired to Winchester in disgust, and sided with Stephen's partisans. 
The Londoners were alienated by a heavy fine imposed upon them 
for the support they had given to Stephen. To check the designs 
of the legate, he was besieged by the empress at Winchester. 
The bishop held his palace and Maud the castle ; and the burning 
of that ancient capital put an end to its rivalry with London. 
At length the legate, having joined his force to that of the 
Londoners, besieged Matilda. Hard pressed by famine, she made her 
escape ; but in the flight earl Bobert, her brother, while covering her 
retreat, fell into the hands of the enemy. This nobleman was as 
much the life and soul of one party, as Stephen was of the other; and 
Matilda, sensible of his merit and importance, consented to exchange 
prisoners on equal terms (Nov. 1, 1141). Next year the civil war 
was again kindled with greater fury than ever. Matilda retired to 
Oxford, was besieged by the legate, and escaped through the snow 
to Walsingford, scantily attended (Dec. 20). The war continued to 
rage for three years longer with variable success ; the empress 
holding the west of England, and Stephen the east and London, 
the barons being too disaffected towards both to bring the contest 
to a decision. Earl Bobert died in 1145, and the empress retired 
into Normandy (1146). 

§ 16. In 1149 Matilda's son, Henry of Anjou, proceeded into 
Scotland, from which place he made various incursions into England, 
but with little success. By his dexterity and vigour, his valour in 
war, and his prudent conduct, he roused the hopes of his party, and 
gave indications of those great qualities which he afterwards dis- 



106 STEPHEN. Chap. vi. 

played when he mounted the throne. After his return to Normandy 
he was, by Matilda's consent, invested with the duchy, and upon 
the death of his father, Geoffrey, in 1150, he took possession of 
Anjou. His dominions were still further augmented by his marriage 
with Eleanor, daughter and heir of William, duke of Guienne 
and count of Poitou (1152), whom Louis VII. of France had 
divorced on account of the levity of her conduct. By this 
marriage he obtained possession of Guienne, Poitou, and other 
provinces in the south of France included under the name of 
Aquitaine. Enabled to push his fortunes in England with greater 
chance of success, Henry was encouraged to make an invasion ; and 
landing in England at the end of 1152, he gained some advantages 
over Stephen, who had finally broken with the church by his 
attempt to procure the coronation of his son Eustace, which had 
been forbidden by a papal bull obtained by archbishop Theobald. 
A decisive action was every day expected; when the great men 
of both sides, and especially the archbishop and Henry, the legate, 
terrified at the prospect of further bloodshed and confusion, inter- 
posed with their good offices, and set on foot a negociation between 
the rival princes. The death of Stephen's son, Eustace (August 
18), facilitated arrangements. It was agreed by the treaty of 
Wallingford that Stephen should enjoy the crown during his life- 
time, and that upon his demise Henry should succeed to the 
kingdom (November, 1153). After all the barons had sworn to 
the observance of this treaty, and done homage to Henry, as heir 
to the crown, that prince evacuated the kingdom ; and the death of 
Stephen, which happened the next year after a short illness 
(October 25, 1154), prevented all those quarrels and jealousies 
which were likely to have ensued from so delicate a situation. 

England suffered great miseries during the reign of this prince, 
but his personal character was not liable to any great exception. 
He possessed industry, activity, and courage to a great degree. 
Though not endowed with a sound judgment, he was not deficient 
in abilities. He had the talent of gaining men's affections ; and 
notwithstanding his precarious situation, he never indulged himself 
in the exercise of cruelty or revenge. He is commonly branded as a 
usurper ; but as the right of direct lineal sucession was not firmly 
established till the time of Edward I., his seizing of the crown, 
regarded in itself, was no more an act of usurpation than that of 
his two predecessors. He must, however, be condemned for breaking 
his oath of fealty to Matilda, the daughter of his benefactor. 




Henry II. From his monument at Fontevraud. 



CHAPTEK VII. 
THE EAELY PLANTAGENET KINGS. 

HENRY II. AND RICHARD I. A.D. 1154-1199. 

§ 1. Accession of Henry II. First acts of his government. § 2. His wars 
and acquisitions in France. § 3. Ecclesiastical disputes. Thomas 
Becket. § 4. Constitutions of Clarendon. § '5. Opposed by Becket. 
§ 6. Compromise with Becket and return of that prelate. § 7. Becket" 
assassinated. § 8. Grief and submission of the king. § 9. Conquest of 
Ireland. § 10. Revolt of the young king Henry and his brothers. § 11. 
Henry's penance at the tomb of Becket. Peace with his sons. § 12. 
Death of the young king Henry. § 13. Preparations for a Crusade. 
Family misfortunes and death of the king. His character. § 14. Acces- 
sion of Richard i. Preparations for the Crusade. § 15. Adventures 
on the voyage. § 16. Transactions In Palestine. § 17. The king's 
return and captivity in Germany. His brother John and Philip of 
France invade his dominions. § 18. Liberation of Richard and return to 
England. § 19. War with France. Death and character of the king. 

§ 1. Henry II., I. 1133 ; r. 1154-1189.— Henry II., who now- 
ascended the throne, was the first monarch of the house of the 
Plantagenets, whose name was derived from the planta genista, the 
Spanish broom-plant, a sprig of which was commonly worn in 
his hat by Geoffrey, Henry's father. The Plantagenets reigned 
over England for more than three centuries, and to this family all 
the English monarchs belonged from Henry II. to Eichard III. 
(a.d. 1154-1485) ; but after the deposition of Richard II. the line 



108 HENRY II. Chap. vii. 

was divided into the houses of Lancaster and York. To Lancaster 
belonged Henry IV., Henry V., and Henry VI. (1399-1461), and 
to York Edward IV., Edward V., and Eichard III. (1461-1485). 
The name of Plantagenet was especially used as a distinctive 
surname by Edward IV. Henry II. and his two sons are also 
called Angevins. They were more intimately connected with 
France by their character and possessions than even the Norman 
princes, and it was not till the loss of Normandy under John, 
that the interests of the royal house were exclusively centred in 
England. 

No opposition was offered to the accession of Henry. He was in 
Normandy at the time of Stephen's death, and upon his arrival 
in England he was received with the acclamations of all orders of 
men. He was crowned on Sunday, the 19th of December. The 
first acts of his government corresponded to the idea entertained 
of his abilities, and prognosticated the re-establishment of that 
justice and tranquillity, of which the kingdom had so long been 
bereaved. He dismissed the mercenary soldiers who had committed 
great disorders ; revoked all grants made by his predecessor, even 
those which necessity had extorted from' the empress Matilda; 
and he reformed the coin, which had been extremely debased during 
the reign of his predecessor. He was rigorous in the execution of 
justice, and in the suppression of robbery and violence. To main- 
tain his authority, he caused all the newly erected castles to be 
demolished, which had proved so many sanctuaries for freebooters 
and rebels. 

§ 2. The continental possessions of Henry were far more exten- 
sive than those of any of his predecessors. In the right of his 
father, he held Anjou, Maine, and Touraine ; in that of his mother, 
Normandy ; in the right of his wife, Guienne, Poitou, Saintogne, 
Auvergne, Perigord, Angoumois, and the Limousin. These pro- 
vinces composed above a third of the whole of France, and were 
much superior, in extent and opulence, to the territories imme- 
diately subjected to the jurisdiction and government of the French 
monarch. On the death of his brother Geoffrey in 1158, Henry 
laid claim to Nantes, which had been put into Geoffrey's hands 
by the inhabitants, after they had expelled count Hoel, their former 
prince. That Louis VII. might not interpose and obstruct his 
design, Henry paid him a visit, and by the skilful diplomacy of 
Thomas a Becket it was arranged that young Henry, heir to the 
English monarchy, should be affianced to Margaret of France, 
though the former was only five years of age and the latter was 
still in her cradle. Secure against all interruption on this side, 
Henry now advanced with an army into Brittany. The duke Conan, 



A.D. 1154-1162. THOMAS A BECKET. 109 

in despair of being able to resist, not only delivered up tbe crnnty 
of Nantes, which he had seized on pretence of being wrongfully 
dispossessed, but also betrothed his daughter and only child, yet an 
infant, to Geoffrey, the king's third son, who was of the same 
tender years. On the death of the duke of Brittany, about seven 
years after, Henry, as mesne lord and natural guardian to his son 
and daughter-in-law, took possession of that principality, and an- 
nexed it to his other dominions. 

§ 3. In 1162 commenced the long and memorable struggle be- 
tween Henry II. and Thomas a Becket. 

Thomas Becket, or a Becket, as he is generally called, was the 
first man of English birth who, since the Norman conquest, had 
risen to any considerable station. He was born (1119) of respect- 
able parents, in the city of London ; * was educated by the prior 
of Merton, sent to Oxford, and afterwards to Paris. Introduced into 
the household of archbishop Theobald, he readily acquired great in- 
fluence over the primate ; was enabled by his means to study juris- 
prudence at Bologna ; and on his return to England was promoted 
to the archdeaconry of Canterbury, to the provostship of Beverley, 
and other valuable preferments. His genius, intrepidity, and know- 
ledge of the law, were of great service to Theobald in the trouble- 
some times of king Stephen ; and shortly after Henry's accession, 
he was recommended by his patron to the new king's notice. He 
soon ingratiated himself with Henry, as he had done with the 
archbishop, and in 1157 was appointed chancellor. Besides this 
high office, he held several baronies that had escheated to the 
crown ; and, to enhance his greatness, he was intrusted with the 
education of Henry, the king's eldest son, and heir to the monarchy. 
The pomp of his retinue, the sumptuousness of his furniture, the 
luxury of his table, the munificence of his presents, corresponded 
to these great preferments. His historian and secretary, Fitz- 
Stephen, mentions, among other particulars, that his apartments 
were every day in winter covered with clean straw or hay, and 
in summer with green rushes or boughs, lest the gentlemen who 
paid court to him, and could not, by reason of their great number, 
find a place at table, should soil their fine clothes by sitting on 
the floor. A great number of knights were retained in his service ; 
the greatest barons were proud of being received at his table ; his 
house was a place of education for the sons of the chief nobility ; 
and the king himself frequently vouchsafed to partake of his 
entertainments, and lay aside with his favourite the dignity of 
royalty. 

Becket, who by his complaisance and good humour had rendered 

* An anonymous author states that his parents hai migrated from Normandy. 



110 HENRY II. Chap. vn. 

himself agreeable, and by his industry and abilities useful, to his 
master, appeared to be the fittest person for supplying the vacancy 
caused by the death of Theobald. As he was well acquainted with 
the king's intentions of retrenching the ecclesiasticaLprivileges of the 
clergy, Henry, never expecting any resistance, immediately issued 
orders for electing Becket archbishop of Canterbury (May 24, 1162). 
Nor was he inclined to waver in his purpose, though Becket, it is 
said, had warned him not to expect from him, as archbishop, the 
same undivided devotion to the royal interests he had exhibited as 
chancellor. No sooner was he installed in this new dignity, than 
he altered his demeanour and conduct. Without waiting for 
Henry's return from Normandy, he resigned into his hands his 
commission as chancellor ; and he now stood forth as the champion 
of the church, the assertor of its rights, and of his own privileges, as 
the highest constitutional adviser of the crown. He maintained, 
in his retinue and attendants at his table and in public, his ancient 
pomp and lustre ; but in his own person he practised the greatest 
austerity. He wore sackcloth next his skin ; was strictly temperate 
in his diet, and abundant in his charity to the poor, feeding them 
with the dishes from his own table. In person, or by deputy, 
he washed daily on his knees, in imitation of Christ, the feet of 
thirteen beggars. Relying on a sort of promise made to him by 
the king, the new archbishop proceeded to demand from his former 
associates the restitution of estates belonging to his see, which he 
accused them of retaining unjustly. 

He thus became embarked, as he had been in the days of 
Theobald, in defence of the church's rights against the powerful 
barons ; and as the king was equally zealous in maintaining and 
augmenting the power of the monarchy, a rupture beween them 
became imminent. The tenants in chief in different counties 
had been accustomed to pay two shillings for every hide of land 
to the sheriffs, as a voluntary gift, for their own security. This 
money the king desired to confiscate to his own use, and thus 
convert a voluntary into a compulsory tax. He broached this 
proposal at a council at Woodstock, and when all stood blank with 
astonishment, Becket ventured to object. " By God's eyes ! " said 
the king, " it shall be paid as I require." " By the reverence of 
those eyes by which you have sworn," replied the archbishop, 
" it shall never be paid from my lands whilst I am alive." " He 
carried his point," says Professor Pearson, " and is the first English- 
man on record who defeated an unjust tax." * 

* Hist, of England, i. 495. See Roger | to was the Danegeld ; but this supposition 
of Pounteney, p. 113, and Grim, 21. Pro- is irreconcilable with the statements of 
fessor Stubbs thinks that the tax referred Grim and Roger. 



a.d. 1162-1164. CONSTITUTIONS OF CLAEENDON. Ill 

Three months after, a fresh quarrel ensued. Since the Conquest 
the spiritual and temporal jurisdiction had been sharply divided. The 
priest was no longer to judge the offences of laymen, and by parity 
of argument, the layman was not to judge the priest. But whilst 
the temporal laws were severe, and could restrain crime by death or 
mutilation, the clerical tribunals were regulated by the milder code 
of the canon law, which forbad the shedding of blood. Its utmost 
censure proceeded no farther than degrading the ecclesiastic and 
reducing him to the condition of the laity, when he might be 
punished by the lay tribunals for a fresh offence, but not for any 
he had formerly committed. In the disorders of the last reign 
discipline had been wholly relaxed, and many unworthy clerks had 
entered the church to shelter themselves and their crimes under its 
immunities. Henry proposed, at a council at Westminster (1163), 
that clerks guilty of felony should be degraded, and then handed 
over to the lay tribunals, to be hanged or mutilated, as justice 
might require. The proposal was opposed by Becket, as contrary 
to the customs of the nation and the privileges of the church. He 
insisted that clerks should be tried in the ecclesiastical courts, and 
be degraded if found guilty, but not be punished twice for the 
same offence. Shortly after the king required of the bishops and 
clergy to observe the laws of his grandfather, Henry I. But as no 
one could tell what those laws were, and to allow them to be deter- 
mined by secular judges would have surrendered the whole question 
in dispute, Becket prevailed upon the bishops to consent, " saving 
the honour of God and their order." The king dismissed the 
assembly in wrath, took from the archbishop the manors of Eye and 
Berkhampstead, and persistently refused all his offers of recon- 
ciliation. 

§ 4. Eesolved to carry out his purpose, Henry summoned a 
general council of the nobility and prelates at Clarendon (January 
25, 1164), when the laws, commonly called the Constitutions of 
Clarendon,* Avere enacted. They consisted of 16 articles, of which 
the following are the most important : — That bishops and abbots 
should do homage to the king, as their liege lord — that they 
should not appeal to Eome, or quit the country without his leave — 
that they should neither be elected without his consent, nor excom- 
municate any tenant in capite without the king's permission — that 
the sons of serfs should not be ordained without consent of their 
lord — finally, that the clergy should be amenable to the king's 
courts in all causes not exclusively spiritual. 

§ 5. To these articles, which seemed to aim at the independence 

* The Assize of Clarendon was not I Constitutions will be found in Stubbs, 
issued till the year 1166. This and the | Documents, &c, p. 129. 



112 HENRY II. Chap. vii. 

of the church — the only body which, in the absence of parliament 
or public opinion, could at that time exercise any moral control 
over kings or their officers — Becket demurred. Moved at last by 
the entreaties of his brethren, whom the king had terrified into 
compliance, the primate gave a reluctant and general consent, but 
immediately repented of his act. He redoubled his penance, sus- 
pended himself from offering mass, and wrote to the pope for 
absolution. Resolved upon his ruin, the king summoned a council 
at Northampton (Oct. 6, 1164). Becket was condemned for not 
having personally appeared to a suit instituted against him 
respecting certain lands, and as wanting in the fealty he had 
sworn to his sovereign. His goods and chattels were confiscated. 
Not content with this sentence, the king further demanded of him, 
on various pretexts, large sums of money; and finally required 
him to give in the accounts of his administration while chancellor, 
and to pay the balance due from the revenues of all the prelacies, 
abbeys, and baronies which had, during that time, been subjected 
to his management. By the advice of the bishop of Winchester, 
Becket offered 2000 marks as a general satisfaction for all demands ; 
but his offer was rejected. On the seventh and last day of the 
council (Oct. 13), the archbishop entered the king's hall, bearing 
his cross before him. It was understood that he had come to 
forbid his suffragans to take any further part in the proceedings. 
Fierce words ensued. As he moved to the door, the nobles cried 
out, " Traitor and perjurer ; " but the people fell on their knees and 
implored his blessing. Considering his life in danger, he asked 
Henry's permission to leave Northampton. On his refusal, he with- 
drew secretly, proceeded to the Kentish coast disguised as a monk, 
under the name of Brother Christian, and at last took shipping 
and arrived safely at Gravelines. Henry revenged himself by 
sequestrating the revenues of the see of Canterbury, and banishing 
the adherents and kinsfolk of the archbishop, to the number of 
400, in the depth of winter. 

§ 6. Louis VII., king of France, jealous of the rising greatness of 
Henry, and the pope, whose interests were more immediately con- 
cerned in supporting Becket, received him with the greatest marks 
of distinction. A war ensued between Louis and Henry ; and the 
pope menaced Henry with excommunication. In 1169 peace was 
concluded between the two monarchs ; and the pope and Henry 
began at last to perceive that, in the present situation of affairs, 
neither of them could expect a final and decisive victory. After 
many negociations, all difficulties were adjusted (July, 1170). The 
king allowed Becket to return, after six years' banishment. But 
the king attained not that tranquillity he had hoped. During 




New "York; Harper & Brothers 



a.d. 1164-1170. 



BECKET S RETURN. 



113 



the heat of his quarrel with Becket, while he was every day 
expecting excommunication, he had thought it prudent to have 
his son Henry, now fifteen years old, associated with him in the 
kingdom. He was consequently crowned by Roger, archbishop of 
York (June 14, 1170).* But Becket, claiming the sole right, as 
archbishop of Canterbury, of officiating in the coronation, had in- 
hibited all the prelates of England from assisting at the ceremony, 
and had procured from the pope a mandate to the same purpose.. 
On his arrival in England on the first of December, he notified to 
the archbishop of York the sentence of suspension, and to the 
bishops of London and Salisbury that of excommunication, which, 
at his solicitation, the pope had pronounced against them. As he 
proceeded to take possession of his diocese, he was received in 
Rochester, and all the towns through which he passed, with the 
shouts and acclamations of the populace. In Southwark the 
clergy, the laity, men of all ranks and ages, came forth to meet 
him, and celebrated with hymns of joy his triumphant return. 

§ 7. Arriving at his see, he found that the property had been 
grievously wasted in his absence by Ranulph de Broc, the se- 
questrator appointed by the king, and he fulminated the church's 
censures against the offender. Meanwhile, the suspended and 
excommunicated prelates arrived at Bur, near Bayeux, where 
the king then resided, and complained of the violent proceedings 
of Becket. Henry, furious at their report, declaimed more than 
once against the ingratitude of his courtiers, who were slow to 
avenga him on a base-born priest. Taking these passionate expi-es- 
sions for a hint, four gentlemen of his household, Beginald Fitz- 
Urse, William de Tracy, Hugh de Morville, and Richard Brito, 
or the Breton, immediately took counsel ; and, swearing to avenge 
their prince's quarrel, secretly withdrew from court. Some 
menacing expressions which they had dropped gave a suspicion 
of their design ; and the king despatched a messenger after them, 
charging them to attempt nothing against the person of the 
primate: but these orders arrived too late to prevent their fatal 
purpose. Repairing by different routes to Saltwood,f where De 
Broc resided (Dec. 28), they spent that night, the Feast of 
The Holy Innocents, in planning the murder. Next day they 
proceeded in great haste to the archiepiscopal palace of Canter- 



• Prince Henry was called " the young 
king," and his father "the old king," 
though he was only thirty-seven years old 
now and fifty-six when he died. The 
young king is often styled Henry III. in 
old books. 

f This castle, which was claimed by 



Becket as belonging to his see, was held 
for the king by the royal officers, Robert 
and Ranulf de Broc. Robert accompanied 
the knights to Canterbury, and Ranulf 
sheltered them for the uight, after the 
murder. 



114 HENRY II. Chap, vil 

bury, pretending business from the king. They found the primate 
slenderly attended ; and, among other menaces and reproaches, 
required him to quit the country, or absolve the excommunicated 
prelates. Alarmed by the threats of the knights, the monks 
hurried the archbishop into the transept, where vespers had 
already commenced. The assassins, who had retired to arm them- 
selves, reappeared at the church door, which the monks would 
have fastened, but Becket forbad them to convert the house of 
God into a fortress. In the dim twilight the trembling monks con- 
cealed themselves under the altars and behind the pillars of the 
church. Becket was mounting the steps that led from the north 
transept into the choir, when the murderers rushed in ; he then 
turned round, came down, and confronted them. Fitz-Urse, wield- 
ing in his hand a glittering axe, was the first to approach him, 
exclaiming," Where is the traitor? Where is the archbishop ? " At 
the second call Becket replied, " Beginald, here I am, no traitor, 
but an archbishop and priest of God : what do you wish ? " and 
passing by him, took up his station between the central pillar and 
the massive wall which still forms the south-west corner of what 
was then the chapel of St. Benedict. On his repeated refusal to 
revoke the excommunication, the assassins attempted to drag him 
out of the church, in order to despatch him outside the sacred 
precincts. But Becket resisted with all his might, and, exerting his 
great strength, flung Tracy down upon the pavement. Finding 
it hopeless to remove him, Fitz-Urse approached him with his 
drawn sword, and, waving it over his head, dashed off his cowl. 
Thereupon Tracy sprang forward and struck a more decisive blow. 
Grim, a monk of Cambridge, who up to this moment had his arm 
round Becket, threw it up to intercept the blade. The blow lighted 
upon the arm of the monk, which fell wounded or broken, and 
the spent force of the stroke descending on Becket's head, grazed 
the crown, and finally resting on the left shoulder, cut through the 
clothes and skin. At the next blow, struck by Tracy or Fitz-Urse, 
upon his bleeding head, Becket drew back, as if stunned, and then 
raised his clasped hands above it. The blood from the first blow 
was trickling down his face in a, thin streak ; he wiped it with his 
arm, and when he saw the stain he said, " Into thy hands, Lord, I 
commend my spirit." At the third stroke, he sank on his knees, 
and murmured in a low voice, "For the name of Jesus and in 
defence of the church I am willing to die." Without moving hand 
or foot, he fell flat on his face as he spoke, and, while in this 
posture, received from Richard the Breton a tremendous blow 
upon the skull. A subdeacon named Hugh, an associate of the 
assassins, planting his foot on . the neck of the corpse, caused 



a.d. 1170. MURDER OF BBCKET. 115 

the blood and brains to spirt out upon the pavement. This 
foul deed was perpetrated on Tuesday, the 29th December 
(a.d. 1170) a day long memorable in England as the martyrdom 
of St. Thomas, 

Thomas Becket was a prelate of the most lofty, intrepid, and 
inflexible spirit, and no one who enters into the genius of that age 
can reasonably doubt of his sincerity. Nor does it detract from his 
sincerity, that he was sometimes actuated by mixed motives, in 
which it was difficult to determine whether his zeal for the church 
or his own personal wrongs and offended dignity had the upper 
hand. He had to contend, as he believed, for the independence of 
the clergy, against a monarch no less powerful, energetic, and 
absolute than Henry II. He had to defend the spiritual against 
the aggressions of the temporal authority, armed with all the 
wealth, the territorial possessions, and the influence of a monarch 
more powerful than any in Christendom. Right as it undoubtedly 
was for Henry to maintain the supremacy of the crown, and render 
the clergy amenable for criminal offences to the temporal courts, 
the assertion of an authority vesting on some higher sanction than 
the will of the monarch was no less needful and important. 

§ 8. The intelligence of the murder threw the king into great 
consternation. The point of chief importance to Henry was to con- 
vince the pope of his innocence ; or, rather, to persuade him that 
he would reap greater advantages from the submission of England 
than from proceeding to extremities against that kingdom. By 
the skill of his ambassadors he found means to appease the 
pontiff, whose anathemas were only levelled in general against all 
the actors, accomplices, and abettors of Becket's murder. The 
cardinals Albert and Theotwin were appointed legates to examine 
the cause, and were ordered to proceed to Normandy for that 
purpose. Henry made his submission, denying all complicity in 
the murder of the archbishop, and rescinding the Constitutions 
of Clarendon. Three years after his death. Becket was canonized 
by pope Alexander III. ; his body was removed to a magnificent 
shrine, enriched with presents, and visited by pilgrims from all parts 
of Christendom. 

§ 9. As soon as Henry found that he was in no immediate danger 
from the thunders of the Vatican, he undertook a long-projected 
expedition into Ireland. 

As Britain was first peopled from Gaul, so was Ireland probably 
from Britain. The Irish were converted to Christianity by St. 
Patrick, about the middle of the 5th century ; and the ecclesiastics 
of that country preserved a considerable share of learning when 
other nations were buried in ignorance. The invasions of the Danes 



116 HENRY II. Chap. vu. 

and Northmen in the eighth century plunged Ireland again into 
barbarism, from which, however, the towns which those invaders 
founded on the coast — Dublin, Waterford, Cork, and Limerick — ■ 
were now beginning to emerge. Besides many small tribes, there 
were, in the age of Henry II., five principal sovereignties in the. 
island — Munster, Leinster, Meath, Ulster, and Connaught; one 
or other of which was commonly paramount in Ireland. Roderic 
O'Connor, king of Connaught, held that dignity at this time. The 
ambition of Henry, very early in his reign, had been set on attempt- 
ing the subjection of Ireland. A pretext only was wanting. For 
this purpose he had recourse to Rome, which assumed a right to 
dispose of kingdoms and empires, and especially of islands, according 
to the alleged donation of Constantine. Adrian IV. (Breakspear), 
the only Englishman who has ever sat upon the papal throne, 
gladly availed himself of the opportunity of bringing the Irish 
church under the dominion of Rome ; and therefore, in the year 
1155, he issued a bull in favour of Henry, giving him entire 
right and authority over Ireland. The king, however, was at 
that time prevented by various causes from putting his design into 
execution. 

Dermot Macmorrogh, king of Leinster, had carried off Dervorghal, 
wife of O'Ruarc, prince of Breffny (Leitrim). Her husband, collect- 
ing his forces, and strengthened by the alliance of Roderic, king of 
Connaught, invaded the dominions of Dermot, and drove him from 
his kingdom. The exiled prince craved the assistance of Henry, 
and offered, in the event of being restored to his kingdom, to hold it 
in vassalage under the crown of England (1168). Embarrassed 
by the rebellions of his French subjects at that time, as well as by 
his disputes with the see of Rome, Henry gave Dermot no further 
assistance than letters patent, empowering all his subjects to aid 
the Irish prince in the recovery of his dominions. Supported 
by this authority, Dermot formed an alliance with Richard, earl of 
Chepstow or Strigul, surnamed Strongbow, son of Gilbert de Clare. 
Richard had dissipated his fortune ; and being ready for any 
desperate undertaking, he promised to assist Dermot on condition 
of espousing Eva, daughter of that prince, and being declared 
heir to the kingdom of Leinster. While Richard was assembling 
his forces, Dermot engaged the assistance of two other knights 
in South Wales, Robert Fitz-Stephen and Maurice Fitz-Gerald. 
In 1170 Fitz-Stephen crossed over to Ireland with a small force 
and took the town of Wexford ; and was shortly afterwards joined 
by Fitz-Gerald. Next year Richard de Clare, having obtained an 
ambiguous permission from Henry to embark in the enterprise, 
landed in Ireland, took Waterford and Dublin, and, marrying Eva., 



A.D. 1170-1173. CONQUEST OF IRELAND. 117 

became soon after, by the death of Dermot, master of Leinster, 
and prepared to extend his authority over the rest of Ireland. 
Roderic, and other Irish princes, alarmed at the danger, besieged 
Dublin with an army of 30,000 men : but earl Richard, making 
a sudden sally at the head of 90 knights with their followers, 
put this numerous army to rout, chased them from the field, and 
pursued them with great slaughter. None in Ireland now dared to 
oppose themselves to the English. 

Henry now determined to attack Ireland in person, and landed 
at Waterford at the head of 400 knights and 4000 soldiers. 
He found the Irish so dispirited by their late misfortunes, that, in 
a progress which he made through the island, he had no other 
occupation than to receive the homage of his new subjects. The 
clergy, in a synod at Cashel, not only made submission to Henry, 
but agreed to alterations which brought the native church nearer 
to the English model (1172). Appointing Richard seneschal of 
Ireland, he returned in triumph to England, after a stay of six 
months. Thus was Ireland subdued and annexed to the English 
crown, whose king became " Lord of Ireland." 

§ 10. The king's precaution in establishing the several branches 
of his family seemed well calculated to prevent all jealousy among 
his children. He had appointed Henry, his eldest surviving son,* 
to be his successor in the kingdom of England, the duchy of Nor- 
mandy, and the counties of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine ; Richard, 
his third son, was invested with the duchy of Guienne and county 
of Poiton ; Geoffrey, his fourth son, by right of his wife, had the 
duchy of Brittany ; and the new conquest of Ireland was destined 
as an appanage for John, the youngest. But his hopes were 
frustrated. In 1173 his three eldest sons fled to the court of 
France, and demanded of their father immediate possession of a 
portion, at any rate, of the territories promised them. They 
had been encouraged in their filial disobedience by their mother, 
Eleanor, who, offended with her husband on account of his 
infidelities, had attempted to fly to France, but was seized 
and thrown into confinement. Young Henry had also been in- 
stigated by his father-in-law, Louis VII., who persuaded him that 
the fact of his having been crowned as king conferred upon him the 
right of participating in the throne. Many of the Norman nobility 
deserted to the prince. The Breton and Gascon barons seemed 
equally disposed to embrace the quarrel of Geoffrey and Richard. 
Disaffection crept in among the English; and the earls of Leicester 
and Chester, in particular, openly declared against the king. On the 
continent, however, Henry obtained at all points, and without much 

* His firstburn, William, had died an infant, in 1156. 

T* 



118 HENRY II. Chap. vii. 

difficulty, the advantage over his enemies. The defeat of Leicester, at 
Forneham, in Suffolk (October, 1173), was followed by fresh hostilities 
the next year. William the Lion, king of Scotland, also entered 
into this great confederacy ; and a plan was concerted for a general 
invasion at different parts of the king's extensive and factious 
dominions. The king of Scots crossed the border. Several of the 
counties were in open revolt. The belief gained ground that the 
king had been privy to the murder of the archbishop, and that these 
disasters were a judgment upon him. 

§ 11. Under these circumstances Henry resolved to make a pil- 
grimage to the tomb of the martyr, and humble himself before the 
ashes of the saint. He crossed over from Normandy in 1174, and 
on July 12 entered Canterbury. As soon as he came within sight 
of the cathedral he dismounted, walked barefoot towards it, prostrated 
himself before the shrine of St. Thomas, remained in fasting and 
prayer for a whole day, and watched all night the holy reliques. He 
even submitted to a penance still more humiliating. He assembled 
a chapter of the monks, disrobed himself before them, put a scourge 
of discipline into the hands of each, and presented his bare shoul- 
ders to the lashes successively inflicted upon him. Next day he 
received absolution ; and departing for London, received soon after 
the welcome intelligence of a great victory over the Scots at Alnwick, 
and of the capture of their king. As this success was gained on the 
very day of his absolution, it was regarded as the earnest of his 
final reconciliation with Heaven and with St. Thomas. The victory 
proved decisive. In less than three weeks all opposition disappeared, 
and Henry's rebellious subjects hastened to make their submissions. 
Louis was glad to conclude a peace; his sons returned to their 
obedience ; and William, king of Scotland, who had been imprisoned 
at Falaise, was compelled with all his barons and prelates to do 
homage in the cathedral of York, and to acknowledge Henry and 
his successors for their superior lord (1175). Berwick, Roxburgh, 
and other important places, were ceded to the English monarch, 
and the castle of Edinburgh was placed in his hands. 

§ 12. Thus extricated with honour, contrary to expectation, from 
a situation in which his throne was exposed to great danger, Henry 
employed himself for several years in improving the internal ad- 
ministration of his kingdom. One of the most important of his 
enactments was the appointment of itinerant justices, of which 
institution an account is given at the close of this book. Another 
was the substitution in certain cases of a trial by sixteen sworn 
recognitors in place of the trial by battle. 

The success which had attended Henry in his wars prevented his 
neighbours from forming any fresh projects against him. In 1177 



A.D. 1173-1189. HIS DEATH. 119 

he sent over his fourth son, John, into Ireland with a view of 
making a more complete conquest of the island ; but the petulance 
and incapacity of this prince exasperated the Irish chieftains, 
and obliged the king soon after to recall him. The latter years of 
Henry's reign were embittered by the renewed rebellion of his sons, 
and their mutual quarrels. In 1183 his son Henry was seized with 
a fatal illness in the midst of his criminal designs, and died ex- 
pressing deep sorrow for his filial ingratitude. Richard and Geoffrey 
made war upon each other; and when this quarrel was accom- 
modated, Geoffrey, the most vicious perhaps of all Henry's unhappy 
family, levied war against his father. Henry was freed from this 
danger by his son's death, who was killed in a tournament at Paris 
(1186). 

§ 13. In the year 1187 the city of Jerusalem fell into the hands 
of sultan Saladin, and a new Crusade was determined on. The 
French and English monarchs and the emperor Frederick Barbarossa 
assumed the cross. In the midst of these preparations Richard, 
supported by Philip Augustus of France (who had succeeded Louis 
VII. in 1180), again took up arms against his father for detaining 
certain lands belonging to Adelais, Philip's sister, who was betrothed 
to Richard (1189). After much fruitless negociation, Henry was 
obliged to defend his dominions by arms, and engage in a war with 
his son and with France, in which his reverses so subdued his spirit 
that he submitted to all the rigorous terms demanded of him. But 
this was the least of his mortifications. When he required a list 
of those barons to whom he was bound to grant a pardon for their 
connection with Richard, he was astonished to find at the head of 
them the name of his favourite son John. Overloaded with cares 
and sorrows, the unhappy father, in this last disappointment of 
his domestic tenderness, broke out into expressions of the utmost 
despair, cursed the day in which he was born, and bestowed on his 
ungrateful and undutiful children a 'malediction which he never 
could be prevailed on to retract. This final blow quite broke his 
spirit, and aggravated the fever from which he was suffering. He 
expired at the castle of Chinon, near Saumur (July 6, 1 189). His 
natural son, Geoffrey, who alone had behaved dutifully towards 
him, attended his corpse to Fontevraud, where it lay in state in 
the abbey church. As Richard met the sad procession, he was 
struck with horror and remorse, and expressed a deep sense 
of his own undutiful behaviour. Thus died, in the 58th year 
of his age, and 34th of his reign, the most remarkable prince of 
his time. 

Henry was of a middle stature, strong, and well proportioned ; his 
countenance was lively and engaging ; his conversation affable 



120 RICHARD I. Chap. vn. 

and entertaining; his speech easy, persuasive, and ever at com- 
mand. He loved peace, but possessed both bravery and conduct 
in war ; was provident without timidity, severe in the execution 
of justice, and temperate without austerity. Cruel and false, his 
abilities were more conspicuous than his virtues. He preserved his 
health, and kept himself from corpulency, to which he was some- 
what inclined, by an abstemious diet, and by frequent exercise, 
particularly hunting. Kestless and energetic, he generally trans- 
acted business standing, and was careless how he ate or drank or 
dressed. In his person were united many of the characteristics 
of his race, both bad and good. He was a fair scholar, had a 
wonderful memory, and was more careful of the forms than of the 
spirit of religion. He had five sons by Eleanor, of whom only two, 
Eichard and John, survived him. Of his natural children the most 
distinguished were William, who received the surname of Long- 
sword, and married the daughter of the earl of Salisbury, and 
Geoffrey, already mentioned, who became bishop of Lincoln and 
archbishop of York. 

EICHARD I. 

§14. Eichakd I., I. U67; r. 1189-1199.— Eichard succeeded 
his father without opposition. He dismissed his father's minister, 
Eanulf de Glanville, the justiciary, and released his mother Eleanor 
from the confinement in which she had long been detained by the 
late king. 

The history of Eichard's reign consists of little more than his 
personal adventures. Impelled by the love of military glory, the 
sole purpose of his government seems to have been the relief of the 
Holy Land, and the recovery of Jerusalem from the Saracens. This 
zeal against the infidels was shared by his subjects, and broke out 
in London on the day of his coronation (September 3). The king 
had issued an edict prohibiting the Jews from appearing at the 
ceremony ; but some of them, presuming on the large presents 
made him by their nation, ventured to approach the hall where the 
king was dining. Exposed by their appearance to the insults of 
the populace, they took to flight. A rumour was spread that the 
king had issued orders for their massacre. This command, so 
agreeable to popular prejudices, was executed in an instant on such 
as fell into the hands of the multitude, who, moved alike by 
rapacity and zeal, broke into their houses, plundered, and murdered 
the owners. The inhabitants of the other cities of England 
imitated the example. In York 500 Jews, who had retired into the 
castle for safety, unable to defend the place, murdered their own 
wives and children, and then, setting fire to the castle, perished 
in the flames. 



a.d. 1189-1191. PREPARES FOR THE CRUSADE. 121 

Regardless of every consideration except his expedition to the 
Holy Land, Richard endeavoured to raise money by all expedients, 
how pernicious soever they might be to the public, or dangerous to 
the royal authority. He set to sale the revenues and manors of 
the crown, and the offices of greatest trust and power ; sold, for so 
small a sum as 10,000 marks, the vassalage of Scotland, together 
with the fortresses of Roxburgh and Berwick, acquired by his father 
during the course of his victorious reign. Leaving the adminis- 
tration in the hands of the bishops of Durham and Ely, whom he 
appointed justiciaries and guardians of the realm, Richard proceeded 
to the plains of Vezelay, on the borders of Burgundy, the place of 
rendezvous agreed on with the French king. Philip and Richard, 
on their arrival there, found their combined army amount to 100,000 
men (July 1, 1190). 

§ 15. Here the French prince and the English reiterated their 
promises of cordial friendship, and pledged their faith not to invade 
each other's dominions during the Crusade. They then separated ; 
Philip took the road to Genoa, Richard the road to Marseilles, with 
a view of meeting their fleets, which were severally appointed to 
rendezvous in these harbours, and met again at Messina, where they 
were detained during the whole winter Here Richard was joined 
by Berengaria, daughter of the king of Navarre, with whom he had 
become enamoured in Guienne. In the spring of the following 
year (1191) the English fleet, on leaving the port of Messina, met 
with a furious tempest, and the squadron in which Berengaria and 
her suite were embarked was driven on the coast of Cyprus. In 
consequence of their inhospitable treatment by Isaac, the ruler 
of Cyprus, Richard landed there, dethroned Isaac, and established 
governors over the island. Richard then espoused Berengaria 
(May 12), and early in the next month sailed for Palestine. 

§ 16. The arrival of Philip and Richard inspired new life into 
the Crusaders. The emulation between the rival kings and rival 
nations | >roduced extraordinary acts of valour : Richard in particular 
drew upon himself the general attention. Acre, which had been 
attacked for above two years by the united force of all the Christians 
in Palestine, now surrendered , but Philip, instead of pursuing 
the hopes of further conquest, disgusted with the ascendancy 
assumed and acquired by Richard, declared his resolution of return- 
ing to France. Richard, with those who still remained under his 
command, determined to lay siege to Ascalon, and thus open the 
way to Jerusalem. The march along the seacoast of 100 miles 
from Acre to Ascalon was a perpetual battle of 11 days. Ascalon 
fell into his hands, and Richard was even able to advance within 
sight of Jerusalem, the object of his enterprise, when he had the 



122 RICHARD I. Chap. vii. 

mortification to find, from the irresistible desire of his allies to 
return home, that all hopes of further conquest must be abandoned 
for the present, and the acquisitions of the Crusaders be secured 
by an accommodation with Saladin. He concluded a truce for 
three years with that monarch (1192); stipulating that Acre, 
Joppa, and other seaport towns of Palestine, should remain in 
the hands of the Christians, and pilgrims to the Holy City be 
unmolested. 

§ 17. No business of importance now remained to detain Eichard 
in Palestine ; and the intelligence which he had received, concern- 
ing the intrigues of his brother John, and those of the king of 
France, made him sensible that his presence was necessary in 
Europe. As he dared not pass through France, he sailed to the 
Adriatic; and being shipwrecked near Aquileia, he assumed the 
disguise of a merchant returning from pilgrimage, with the pur- 
pose of taking his journey secretly through Germany. At Vienna 
he was betrayed by his prodigality ; was arrested by orders of 
Leopold, duke of Austria, who had been offended by some insult 
whilst serving with Eichard in Palestine (December 20, 1192). By 
the duke he was delivered to Henry VI., the German emperor, in 
return for a large sum which he paid to Leopold, and was detained 
by him in a castle in the Tyrol. The English learnt the captivity 
of their king from a letter which the emperor sent to Philip, king 
of France.* The news excited the greatest indignation ; it seemed 
incredible that the champion of the Cross should be treated with 
such indignity. Philip hastened to profit by the circumstance ; he 
formed a treaty with John, the object of which was the perpetual 
ruin of Eichard. Philip, in consequence, invaded Normandy, but 
was driven back with loss ; and John was equally unsuccessful in 
his enterprises in England. The justiciaries, supported by the 
general affection of the people, provided so well for the defence of 
the kingdom, that John was obliged, after some fruitless efforts, 
to conclude a truce. 

§ 18. Meanwhile the high spirit of Eichard suffered in Germany 
every kind of insult and indignity. He was brought before the 
diet of the empire at Hagenau, and accused by Henry of many 
crimes and misdemeanours (March 22, 1193) ; but Eichard de- 
fended himself with so much ability, that he produced a profound 
impression on the German princes, who exclaimed loudly against 
the conduct of the emperor. The pope threatened him with ex- - 
communication ; and Henry at last agreed, in a conference at 
Worms, to restore Eichard to his freedom for the sum of 100,000 

* The well-known story of the discovery I page singing a song under his window 
of Richard's place of confinement by his i rests on no historical authority. 



a.d. 1192-1199. HIS DEATH. 123 

marks paid down, and 50,000 more on security.* Half of the sum 
was to be paid before he received his liberty, and hostages delivered 
for the remainder (December, 1193). Making all imaginable haste 
to escape, Eichard embarked at the mouth of the Scheldt, and 
reached Sandwich, March 20, 1194. As soon as Philip heard of 
the king's deliverance, he wrote to his confederate John : Take 
heed of yourself, for the devil is broken loose. The joy of the 
English was extreme at the appearance of their monarch, who 
had suffered so many calamities, had acquired so much glory, and 
had spread the reputation of their name to the furthest East. The 
barons, in a great council, confiscated all John's possessions in 
England; and assisted the king in reducing the fortresses which 
still remained in the hands of his brother's adherents. 

§ 19. Having settled everything in England, Richard passed over 
with. an army into Normandy, impatient to make war on Philip, 
and revenge himself for the many injuries received from that 
monarch. The incidents which -attended these hostilities were 
mean and frivolous. The war, frequently interrupted by truces, was 
continued till within a short period of Richard's death. The 
king w 7 as wounded in the shoulder with an arrow by Bertrand 
de Gourdon, whilst besieging the castle of Chaluz, belonging to 
his vassal Vidomar, viscount of Limoges, who had refused to 
surrender the whole of a treasure which he had discovered. The 
castle was taken, and all the garrison hanged, except the un- 
fortunate archer, whom the king had reserved for a more deliberate 
and cruel execution. The wound was not in itself dangerous, but 
the unskilfulness of the surgeon made it mortal. A gangrene engued, 
and Richard, now sensible that his life was drawing towards a 
close, sent for Gourdon, and asked him, "Wretch, what have I 
done to you to oblige you to seek my life ? " " What have you 
done to me?" replied the prisoner: "you killed with your own 
hands my father and my two brothers, and you intended to have 
hanged myself. I am now in your power, and you may take 
revenge by inflicting on me the most cruel torments ; but I shall 
endure them with pleasure, provided I can think that I have been 
so happy as to rid the world of such a plague." Richard, struck 
with the reply, and humbled by the near approach of death, 
ordered Gourdon to be set at liberty and a sum of money to be 
given him ; but, unknown to the monarch, the unhappy man was 
flayed alive, and then hanged.f- Richard died on the 6th of April, 
1199, in the 10th year of his reign, and the 42nd of his age. He 
was buried at his father's feet at Fontevraud. 

* In all £100,000. | de Basile, and makes no mention of the 

f A contemporary French MS. says that archer Gourdon his spirited reply, and his 
Hichard was wounded by a knight, Peter cruol fate. 



124 



RICHARD I. 



Chap, vii. 



The most shining parts of this prince's character are his military- 
talents. No man, even in that romantic age, carried personal 
courage and intrepidity to a greater height ; and this quality gained 
him the appellation of the lion-hearted, Coeur de Lion. He loved 
military glory passionately ; and as his conduct in the field was 
not inferior to his valour, he seems to have possessed every 
talent necessary for acquiring it. Of an impetuous and vehement 
spirit, he was distinguished by the good as well as the bad 
qualities incident to such characters. Open, frank, generous, sincere, 
and brave, he was revengeful, ambitious, haughty, and cruel ; 
and was better calculated to dazzle men by the splendour of his 
enterprises, than to promote their happiness or his own grandeur by 
a sound and well-regulated policy. As Richard was a lover of 
poetry, and there even remain some poetical works of his composi- 
tion, he is ranked among the Proven cal poets, or Troubadours. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. THE ANGLO-NORMAN CONSTI- 
TUTION. 

1. The Feudal system. — Among the bar- 
barian tribes which overran Europe after 
the fall of the Roman empire, every indi- 
vidual claimed an equal share of liberty : 
and thus, when Charles the Simple in- 
quired of the Northmen what title their 
leader bore, they replied, " None ; we are 
all equally free." But when they were 
settled in the possessions won with their 
swords, they found new cares devolve up- 
on them, and the necessity of a new system 
of polity. Having abandoned their life of 
wandering and rapine, it became necessary 
not only to cultivate the land for a sub- 
sistence, but to be prepared to defend it 
both against the attempts of the ancient 
possessors to regain, and of fresh swarms 
of wanderers to seize, it. Retaining their 
military character, and ignorant alike of 
all systems of finance and the expedient of 
a standing army, each man held himself 
in readiness to obey the call to service in 
the field. The superior officers, who held 
large territories directly from the prince, 
were bound to appear with a proportionate 
number of followers ; and their followers 
held their lands from their immediate 
lord on the same condition. Thus, as 



Dr. Robertson observes, "a feudal king- 
dom was properly the encampment of a 
great army ; military ideas predominated, 
military subordination was established, 
and the possession of land was the pay 
which the soldiers received for their 
personal service." The possessions held 
by these tenures were called fiefs, or 
beneficia. The vassal who held them was 
not only bound to mount his horse and 
follow his lord, or his suzerain, to the wars, 
but also to assist him with his counsel, 
and attend as an assessor in his courts 
of justice. More special and definite ser- 
vices were — to guard the castle of his lord 
a certain number of days in the year ; to 
pay a certain sum of money when his 
lord's eldest son was made a knight, 
and his eldest daughter was married ; and 
to contribute to his ransom in case he was 
taken prisoner in war. In return for these 
services the lord was bound to afford his 
vassal protection in the event of his fief 
being attacked ; whilst the defence of each 
other's person was reciprocal. The natural 
consequence of this was the system called 
" sub-infeudation," by which the imme- 
diate holder parcelled out portions of his 
fief to others on the same conditions of 
tenure by which he held it himself. These 
sub-tenants owed to him the same duties 



Chap. vn. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



125 



as he owed to his lord ; and he held 
his own court of justice, in which he 
exercised jurisdietion over his vassals. 
The few lands that remained free, that 
is, which were not bound to render 
service to a superior lord, though liable 
to burthens for the public defence, were 
called allodial in contradistinction to 
feudal. 

The ceremony by which the vassal ac- 
knowledged his feudal dependence and 
obligations was called homage, from homo, 
a man, because the vassal became the 
man of his lord. Homage was accom- 
panied with an oath of fealty on the part 
of the vassal, and investiture on the part 
of the lord, which was the conveying of 
possession of the fief by means of some 
pledge or token. Homage was of two 
kinds, liege and simple. Liege homage 
Cfrom Lat. ligare, Fr. Iter, to bind) not 
only obliged the liege man to do personal 
service in the army, but also disabled him 
from renouncing his vassalage by surren- 
dering his fief. The liege man took the 
oath of fealty on his knees without sword 
and spurs, and with his hands placed 
between those of his lord. The vassal 
who rendered simple homage had the 
power of finding a substitute for military 
service, or could altogether liberate him- 
self by the surrender of his fief. ■ In 
simple homage the vassal took the oath 
standing, girt with his sword and with 
his hands at liberty. 

The aristocratic nature of feudalism will 
readily be inferred from the preceding 
description. The great chief, residing in 
his country-seat, which he was commonly 
allowed to fortify, lost in a great measure 
his connection or acquaintance with the 
sovereign, and added every day new force 
to his authority over the vassals of his 
barony. From him they received educa- 
tion in all military enterprises ; his hos- 
pitality invited them to live and enjoy 
society in his hall ; their leisure, which 
was great, made them perpetual re- 
tainers on his person, and partakers of 
his country sports and amusements ; they 
had no means of gratifying their ambi- 
tion but by making a figure in his train ; 
his favour and countenance was their 
greatest honour ; his displeasure exposed 
them to contempt and ignominy ; and 
they felt every moment the necessity of 
his protection, both in the controversies 
which occurred with other vassals, and, 
what was more material, in the daily 



inroads and injuries which were com- 
mitted by the neighbouring barons. From 
these causes not only was the royal au- 
thority extremely eclipsed in most of the 
European states, but even the military 
vassals, as well as the lower dependants 
and serfs, were held in a state of sub- 
jection, from which nothing could free 
them but the progress of commerce and 
the rise of cities, the true strongholds of 
freedom. 

2. Feudalism in England. — Feudalism 
was one of the principal changes intro- 
duced into England by the Conquest. 
The king became the supreme lord of 
all the land; whence Coke says, "All 
the lands and tenements in England in 
the hands of subjects are holden medi- 
ately or immediately of the king, for 
in the law of England we have not pro- 
perly allodium " (Coke upon Littleton, 
i. 1). Even the native landholders who 
were not deprived of their lands were 
brought under the system of feudal tenure, 
and were subjected to new services and 
imposts. Most of the manors were bestowed 
upon the Normans, who thus held imme- 
diately of the king, and were hence called 
Tenants in Capite or Tenants in chief. 
But though the Anglo-Saxon thane was 
thus reduced to the condition of a simple 
freeholder, or franklin, and though the 
Norman lord perhaps retained a certain 
portion of his estate as demesne land, yet 
the latter had no possessory right in the 
whole, and the estate was not therefore so 
profitable to him as might at first sight 
appear. The tenant in chief was bound 
to knight service, or the obligation to 
maintain, 40 days in the field, a certain 
number of mounted men, from his under- 
tenants, completely equipped. Even re- 
ligious foundations and monasteries were 
liable to this service, the only exception 
being the tenure of frankalmoign, or free 
alms. Every estate of 20 pounds yearly 
value was considered as a knight's fee, 
and was bound to furnish a soldier. The 
tenants in chief appear from Domesday 
Book to have amounted in the reign of 
William the Conqueror to about 1400, 
including ecclesiastical corporations, 
amounting to one-half of the number. 
The mesne lords, or those holding fiefs 
not directly from the king, are estimated 
at about 8000. 

There were peculiarities in the feudal 
system of Normandy itself which were 
introduced by William into England 



126 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. vii. 



According to the generally received 
principle of feuds, the oath of the vassal 
was due only to the lord of whom he 
immediately held. But William, as 
already related, exacted the oath of fealty 
from all the landowners of England, 
whether tenants in capite or under- 
tenants. In doing this he seems to 
have been guided by the custom of 
Normandy, where the duke had imme- 
diate jurisdiction over all his subjects.* 
Hence William's power was much greater 
than that of the feudal sovereigns of 
the continent, and his rule approached 
more to an absolute despotism. The 
great fiefs of England did not, like those 
of France, date their origin from a period 
when the power of the vassal who received 
them was almost equal to that of the 
sovereign who bestowed them ; but being 
distributed on the same occasion; and 
almost at the same time, William took 
care not to make them so large as to be 
dangerous to himself; for which reason 
also the manors assigned to his followers 
were dispersed in different counties. 
Hence the nobles in England never 
attained that pitch of power which they 
possessed in Germany, France, and Spain ; 
nor do we find them defying the sove- 
reign's jurisdiction, as was very common 
in those countries, by exercising the right 
of carrying on private wars amonp them- 
selves. 

3.' The Great Council or Parliament. — 
The supreme legislative power of Eng- 
land was confined to the king and the 
Great Council of the realm, called Com- 
mune Concilium Eegni, and also Curia 
Regis. It was attended by the arch- 
bishops, bishops, and principal abbots, 
and also by the Greater Barons. "The 
great tenants of the crown were of two 
descriptions— those who held by Knight 
Service in Capite, and those who held also 
in Capite by Grand Serjeantry, so called, 
says Littleton, from being a greater and 
more worthy service than Knight Service 
— attending the king not only in war but 
in his court. ... To both descriptions 
of tenants the word Baron, in its more 
extended sense of lord of a manor, was 
applicable ; but the latter only, or those who 
held of the king by Grand Serjeantry, held 
their lands per Baroniam, and were the 
King's Barons, and as such possessed both 

* See Houard, Anc. Lois des Francois, i. p. 196, 
ap. Thorpe, Lappenberg's Anglo- Norman Kings, 
p. 95. Comp. Halliim. Middle Ages, vol. i. p. 168. 



a civil and criminal jurisdiction, each in 
his Curia Baronis, or Court Baron, whilst 
the Lesser Barons had only a civil juris- 
diction over their vassals. To both ranks 
alike pertained the service of attending 
the sovereign in war with a certain 
number of knights according to the 
number of Knights, Fees holden of the 
crown, and to those who heldper Baroniam 
was annexed the duty also of attending 
him in his Great Councils, afterwards 
designated Parliaments; for it was the 
principle of the feudal system that every 
tenant should attend the court of his 
immediate superior, and hence it was that 
he who held per Baroniam, having no su- 
perior but the crown, was bound to attend 
his sovereign in his Great Council or 
Parliament, which was in fact the Great 
Court Baron of the Realm" (Nicolas, 
Historic Peerage of England, ea by 
Courthope, p. xviii.). It has been 
thought, but there is no distinct au- 
thority for the statement, that the lesser 
barons were sometimes summoned, par- 
ticularly when taxes were to be imposed ; 
for as the crown had only the right 
to exact from its immediate tenants the 
customary feudal aids, it became neces- 
sary, when the crown needed any ex- 
traordinary aid, to summon all the chief 
tenants in order to obtain their con- 
sent to the imposition. It was once dis- 
puted with great acrimony whether the 
Commons or representatives of counties 
and boroughs formed a part of the Great 
Council ; but it is now universally ac- 
knowledged that they were not admitted 
into it till the reign of Henry III., and 
that the tenants alone of the crown 
composed the supreme and legislative 
assembly under the Anglo-Norman kings. 
Mr. Hallam has summed up the con- 
stitution of this national assembly down 
to the reign of John as follows: — " 1. All 
tenants in chief had a constitutional right 
to attend, and ought to be summoned ; but 
whether they could attend without a sum- 
mons is not manifest. 2. The summons 
was usually directed to the higher barons, 
end to such of a second class as the king 
pleased, many being omitted for different 
reasons, though all had a right to it. 3. 
On occasions when money was not to be 
demanded, but alterations made in the 
law, some of these second barons, or 
tenants in chief, were at least occasionally 
summoned, but whether by strict right or 
usage does not fully appear. 4. The 



Chap. vii. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



127 



irreguianty of passing over many of them 
when councils were held for the purpose 
of levying money, led te the provision in 
the Great Charter of John by which the 
king promises that they 6hall be sum- 
moned through the sheriff on such occa- 
sions ; but the promise does not extend 
to any other subject of parliamentary 
deliberation " (Middle Ages, iii. p. 213). 

Under the Conqueror and his sons it 
was customary to assemble such councils 
at the three great festivals of Christmas, 
Easter, and Whitsuntide, and on other 
occasions when needed. It does not, 
however, appear probable that such a 
council could have assembled so fre- 
quently in any large numbers. What 
limitation it imposed on the royal preroga- 
tive in the matter of legislation cannot be 
determined. Practically, the authority of 
the Norman kings was absolute. 

4. Legislation. — There was indeed little 
or no legislation under the early Norman 
kings ; for the charters and other acts 
which they passed were rather confirma- 
tions of ancient privileges than new 
enactments. Even in Normandy itself 
there seems to be no trace of Norse juris- 
prudence, nor of e"tats nor courts, previous 
to the conquest of England ; the law 
seems to have lain in the breast of the 
sovereigns (Palgrave, Normandy and 
England, ii. 258). There is at all events 
no monument of jurisprudence previous 
to that epoch ; and, though a similarity 
may be subsequently traced between the 
English and Norman laws, yet England 
indisputably gave more than she borrowed. 
Learned men have even maintained that 
the famous Norman code called the Grand 
Coutumier, or Great Customary, was of 
Anglo-Saxon origin ; nay, the later Nor- 
mans claimed Magna Carta as the 
Foundation of their franchises.* In Eng- 
land the earliest legislation of the Norman 
sovereigns must be referred to the time 
of Henry II., and most of the changes 
usually ascribed to the Conqueror were 
really not effected before that reign.f 

5. Courts of Justice. — Besides the 
Great Council of the realm, the king had 
an ordinary or select council, for admi- 
nistrative and judicial purposes, which 
was also called Curia or Aula Regis (toe 

• Palgrave, Normandy and England, i. pp. 107, 
seq. and notes, p.720. Couip. Hallam, Mddle Ages, 
ii. p 314. The Grand Customary Itself, however, 
ascribes the collection to Rolf : Lappenberg, Anglo- 
Norman Kings, by Thorpe, p. 92. 

t Palgrave, ibid. p. 113 ; Hallam, ibid. p. 413. 



King's Court). It attended the person of 
the sovereign, and was composed of the 
great officers of state ; as the chief jus- 
ticiary,* chancellor, constable, marshal, 
chamberlain, treasurer, steward, and 
others nominated by the king. These 
were his councillors in political matters, 
and also the supreme court of justice of 
the kingdom, in which the king some- 
times sat in person. A particular branch of 
it, afterwards known as the Court of Ex- 
chequer, was established in very early times 
for the administration of all matters con- 
nected with the revenue. Its existence can 
at all events be traced to the reign of 
Henry I. By degrees, when suits began 
to multiply in the king's court, and plead- 
ings became more technical and intricate, 
another branch was detached for the 
decision of private suits, which was called 
the Court of Common Pleas. It seems to 
have had its beginning in the reign 
of Richard I. ; but it was completely 
established by Magna Carta, of which 
the 14th clause enacted, " Common Pleas 
shall not follow our court, but be held in 
some certain place." The Court of King's 
Bench, primarily intended to decide suits 
between the king and his subjects, was 
formed out of the ancient Curia Regis. 
The rolls of the King's Bench begin in 
the sixth year of Richard I.f 

The County courts and Hundred-courts 
still continued as in Anglo-Saxon times. 
All the freeholders of the county, even the 
greatest barons, were obliged to attend the 
sheriffs in these courts, and assist in the 
administration of justice. Such courts, 
which were unknown upon the continent, 
served as a powerful check upon the 
courts of the barons. Appeals were 
allowed from the county and baronial 
courts to the court of the king ; and, lest 
the expense and trouble of a journey to 
court should discourage suitors, itinerant 
judges (in Eyre) were established in the 
reign of Henry II. (a.d. 1176). Theymade 
their circuits through the kingdom, and 
tried all causes that were brought before 
them ; for this purpose England was 
divided into six districts. 

In judicial proceedings the ancient prac- 
tice of compurgation by the oaths of 

* The chief justiciary presided in the king's court, 
and was, by virtue of his office, tlte regent of the 
kingdom during the absence of the sovereign. He 
was thus the greatest subject in the kingdom. 

t According to Professor Stubbs, it was not until 
the end of the reign of Henry III. that the ancient 
Curia was divided into these separate and indepen- 
dent bodies. 



128 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. vii. 



friends and of trial by ordeal (p. 11) still 
subsisted under the Norman kings ; but 
the trial by ordeal was to some extent 
superseded by that of combat, which, if 
not introduced by the Normans, was very 
seldom practised before the Conquest. 
Trial by ordeal was abolished by the 
fourth Lateran Council in 1215. The 
privilege of compurgation, an evident 
source of perjury, was abolished by 
Henry II., though by some exemption it 
continued to be preserved long afterwards 
in London and in boroughs. A regulation 
of Henry II. introduced an important 
change in suits for the recovery of land, by 
allowing a tenant who was unwilling to 
risk a judicial combat to put himself on 
the assize ; that is, to refer the case to 
four knights chosen by the sheriff, who in 
their turn selected twelve more. These 
twelve decided the case by their verdict ; 
but this proceeding was limited to the 
king's court and that of the itinerant jus- 
tices, and never took place in the county 
court or in that of the hundred. This 
practice will again claim our attention 
when we come to trace the history of trial 
by jury. 

6. Revenue of the Crown. — The power 
of the Norman kings was supported by a 
great revenue that was fixed, perpetual, 
and independent of the subject. The first 
branch of the king's stated revenue was 
the royal demesnes or crown lands. When 
the king was not content with the stated 
rents, he levied, at his pleasure, heavy 
taxes, called tallages, on the inhabitants 
both of town and country who lived within 
his demesne. They were assessed by the 
itinerant justices on their circuits. The 
tenants in capite were bound, as we have 
already seen, to furnish in war a soldier 
for every knight's fee ; and if they neg- 
lected to do so, they were obliged to pay 
the king a composition in money called 
escuage or scutage. Another tax, levied 
upon all the lands at the king's discretion, 
was Danegeld, which was continued after 
all apprehension of the Danes had passed 
away. Before the Conquest it was a tax 
of two shillings on every hide of land, 
and was raised by William I. to six 
shillings. The name disappears after 
1163, but the carucage levied by Richard 
I. was virtually the same. The king also 
derived a considerable revenue from cer- 
tain burthens to which his military tenants 
were liable. The most important of these 
feudal incidents, as they were called, were 



Reliefs, Fines upon Alienation. Escheats, 
Forfeitures, Aids, Wardship, and Marriage. 

1. A Belief, which was the same as the 
Saxon heriot, was a fine paid by the heir 
to his lord on succeeding to a fief. The 
fine was at first arbitrary, but by Magna 
Carta it was fixed at about a fourth of 
the annual value of the fief. The king 
was entitled to a sort of extra relief, called 
Primer Seisin, on the death of any of his 
tenants in capite, provided the heir had 
attained his majority. The primer seisin 
consisted of one year's profits of the land. 

2. A Fine upon Alienation was a sum 
paid to the lord when the tenant trans- 
ferred his fief to another. 3. An Escheat 
was when a fief reverted to the superior 
lord in consequence of the tenant having 
died without heirs. 4. A Forfeiture arose 
from the vassal failing to perform his 
duties towards either his lord or the state. 
" Under rapacious kings, such as the 
Norman line in England, a new doctrine 
was introduced, the corruption of blood, 
by which the heir was effectually excluded 
from deducing his title, at any distant 
time, through an attainted ancestor" 
(Hallam). 5. Aids were contributions 
which the lord was entitled to demand 
from his vassal under certain circum- 
stances. They were raised according to 
local customs, and were felt to be a great 
grievance. Three only were retained by 
Magna Carta— to make the lord's eldest 
son a knight, to marry his eldest daugh- 
ter, and to ransom his person from cap- 
tivity. 6. Wardship was the right of 
the lord to the care of his tenant's person 
during his minority, and to receive certain 
profits of his estate. 1. Marriage. The 
lord might tender a husband to his female 
ward in her minority, and if she rejected 
the proposal she forfeited the sum which 
the guardian could have obtained for such 
an alliance. This was afterwards ex- 
tended to male wards. In both cases 
it became the source of great abuse and 
extortion. 

1. The Church. — The policy of William 
the Conqueror was favourable to the 
pope, who had supported his claims to 
the English throne. One of his most 
important innovations was the separation 
of the civil and ecclesiastical jurisdictions, 
which had been united in the Anglo-Saxon 
times. He prohibited the bishops from 
sitting in the county courts, and allowed 
ecclesiastical causes to be tried in spiritual 
courts only. 



Chap. vii. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



129 



8. Tillenage. — A great part of the popu- 
lation under the Anglo-Norman kings 
was in a state of slavery, to which the 
name of Villenage was applied. In the 
Anglo-Saxon times a large part of the 
population consisted of ceorls, or free- 
men, forming a class between the thanes 
and the serfs. But under the Normans 
most of the ceorls were thrust down into 
slavery, and the Anglo-Saxon ceorls and 
serfs became the Norman villeins. It 
would seem, however, that the ceorls who 
had acquired land were allowed in many 
cases to retain their land and their free- 
dom. These are the Socmanni or Socmen 
of Domesday Book, the same as the small 
freeholders or yeomanry of later times. 
The condition of the villeins appears to 
have increased in rigour under the succes- 
sive Anglo-Norman kings down to the 
time of Henry II., at which period the 
villein was absolutely dependent upon the 
will of his lord, and was incapable of 
holding any property of his own. Yet he 
appears to have possessed some personal 
rights; for, though liable to be sold by 
his master, an action would lie against the 
latter for murder, rape, or mutilation. 
Villeins were divided into two classes, 
called villeins regardant and villeins in 
gross. The former were adscripts glebce, 
or attached to certain lands ; and when 
these lands changed owners the villeins 
regardant became the property of the new 
possessors. The villeins in gross, on the 
contrary, might be sold in open market, 
and transferred from hand to hand with- 
out regard to any land or settlement. 
They were called en gross because this 
term, in our legal phraseology, indicates 
property held absolutely, and without 
reference to any other. But there appears 
to have been no essential difference in the 
condition of these villeins. The way in 
which the villeins emerged from this 
degraded position into the peasantry of 
England will be narrated at the end of the 
next book. 

B. AUTHORITIES FOR NORMAN 
HISTORY 

The principal sources of Norman his- 
tory are : — Dudo of St. Quentin, whose 
work contains the lives of the first three 
dukes (in Duchesne) ; William of Ju- 
knieges (Gemeticensis), who epitomized the 
preceding work, and continued it down to 
the battle of Hastings [ibid.] ; William of 
Poitiers, Gesta Willelmi duels Norman- 



riorum et regis Anglorum [ibid.'} ; Or- 
dericus Vitalis, Historia Eccl. [ibid.] ; 
Wace, or Gasse, Roman de Rou ; the 
ffypodigma Neustrice [Parker, Camden]. 

The best modern works on the early 
history of Normandy are : — The Epitome 
prefixed to Lappenberg's Sist. of England 
under the Norman Kings, translated and 
supplemented by Benjamin Thorpe ; Pal- 
grave, Hist of Normandy and England, 
8vo ; Thierry, Histoire de la Conquite de 
I' Angle ter re par les Normands, 4 vols. 8vo. 

C. AUTHORITIES FOR ANGLO- 
NORMAN HISTORY. 

Many of these authorities have been 
already enumerated in Note D, appended 
to Book i. Thus, of those mentioned 
there, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles con- 
tinue to the year 1154; Florence of 
Worcester to 1108 ; Simeon of Durham, 
with the continuation, to 1156; Eadmer 
to 1122 ; Henry of Huntingdon to 1154 ; 
Brompton to 1199 ; Hoveden to 1201 ; 
William of Malmesbury's Gesta Regum 
and Gesta Pontificum to 1142 ; Hugo 
Candidus to 1155 ; Matthew of West- 
minster (Flores IHstoriarum) to 1307 ; 
Roger of Wendover to 1235. 

Of the authorities for Norman history 
mentioned in the preceding note, the 
work of Ordericus Vitalis is also service- 
able for Anglo-Norman history. It 
comes down to the year 1141. 

Robert de Thorigny, a monk of the 
abbey of Bee, continued the history of 
William of Jumieges down to the year 
1137 ; and it forms the 8th book of that 
work as published in Camden's Anglica, 
Normanica, &c. William of Newburgh 
treats of the period from 1066 to 1197. The 
Chronicle of Radulphus de Diceto, a dean 
of St. Paul's, with a continuation, comes 
down to the year 1199, and is published 
in Twysden's and the Rolls' Collection. 
The Chronicle of Gervase of Canterbury 
reaches to about the same period as the 
preceding (ibid.). Benedict of Peter- 
borough's Chronicle embraces the period 
from 1170 to 1192 (in Hearne and the 
Rolls' Series). Walter of Coventry con- 
tinued Hoveden, besides writing other 
chronicles ; but his works exist only in 
manuscript. Ralph of Coggeshall, who 
died about 1227, wrote a Chronicon 
Anglicanum from the Conquest to the 
year 1209. It will be found in Martene 
and Durand's Collection, and more com- 
plete in the Rolls' Series. The chronicles 



130 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. vii. 



of St. Alban's, formerly cited under the 
name of Matthew Paris, are in reality 
by three persons — Roger of Wendover, 
Matthew Paris, and William Rishanger. 
Roger of Wendover, who has been already 
mentioned, is a contemporary authority 
from 1201 to 1235. His work has been 
published by the English Historical 
Society. The principal work of Matthew 
Paris is the Historia Major (a.d. 1066 to 
1259, with a continuation to 1273); but only 
the portion from 1235 to 1259 belongs 
to M- Paris, the remainder being adopted 
from Wendover with interpolations. 
William Rishanger is the continuator of 
Paris from 1259 to 1307, and his work 
therefore belongs to the period embraced in 
the next book — also in the Rolls' Series. 

Other works that may be mentioned 
relating to the present period are — a 
chronicle from 1066 to 1289, by Thomas 
Wikes (Gale and in the Rolls' Series). 
Many chronicles of this period bear no 
author's name, and are called after the 
abbey or monastery in which they were 
composed or preserved. Among the 
principal of them may be named— the 
Annates Burtonenses, a.d. 1114-1263 
(in Fulman's Collection) ; Annates 
Waverteienses, 1066-1291 (Gale); Chro- 
nicon de Mailros (Melrose), 731-1270. 
(Fulman and the Bannatyne Club. Also 
in the Rolls' Series.) 

Among the works relating to par- 



ticular periods may be named the Lives 
of Thomas Becket by John of Salisbury, 
Benedict of Peterborough, Edward Grim, 
Herbert of Bosham, and others, pub- 
lished by Dr. Giles, in the Patres 
Ecclesice Anglicance. 

Richard of Devizes wrote a chronicle 
of the first three years of Richard I., 
which is published by the English His- 
torical Society. The Itinerarium Regis 
Ricardi (in Gale) contains an account 
of king Richard's Crusade. It was for- 
merly wrongly ascribed to Geoffrey 
Vinesauf, but was probably written by 
Richard, canon of the Holy Trinity, 
London. 

Among modern works relating to 
this period may be mentioned that of 
Thierry, alluded to in the preceding 
note ; Lappenberg's Hist, of England 
under the Norman Kings, translated by 
Thorpe (also mentioned in the pre- 
ceding note), which comes down to the 
end of Stephen's reign ; the continu- 
ation of this work by Pauli, Geschichte 
von England ; and Lord Lyttelton's 
Life of Henry II. (6 vols. 8vo). More 
important still are the works of Mr. 
Freeman and Professor Stubbs, and 
especially, for the reigns and characters 
of Henry II. and Richard I., Professor 
Stubbs's Introductions to the Rolls' 
Editions of Benedict of Peterborough and 
the Memorials of Richard I. 




Richard 1. From his monument at Fontevraud. 




John. From his tomb in Worcester 
Cathedral. 



Isabella. From her tomb at Fontevraud. 



BOOK III. 

DEVELOPMENT OF 
THE ENGLISH CONSTITUTION. 

from the accession of john to the death of richard iii. 
a.d. 1199-1485. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
HOUSE OF PLANT AG^^T— Continued. 

JOHN AND HENRY III. A.D. 1199-1272. 

§ 1. Introduction. § 2. Accession and marriage of John. § 3. War with 
France. Murder of prince Arthur. John is expelled from Fiance. § 4. 
The king's quarrel with the court of Rome. Interdict of the kingdom. 
§ 5. Excommunication and submission of the king. He does homage to 
the pope. § 6. War with France. § 7. Discontent and insurrection of 
the barons. § 8. Magna Carta. § 9. Civil wars. Prince Louis called 
over. Death and character of the king. § 10. Accession of Henry III. 
General pacification. § 11. Commotions. War with France. § 12. 
The king's administration. His partiality to foreigners. § 13. Usurpa- 



132 



JOHN. 



Chap. vm. 



tions and exactions of the court of Rome. § 14. Richard, earl of Corn- 
wall, king of the Romans. Simon de Montfort. § 15. Parliament of 
Oxford, or the Mad Parliament. § 16. Opposition to the barons. Treaty 
with France. § 17. Civil wars. Battle of Lewes. § 18. Leicester's 
parliament. House of Commons. § 19. Battle of Evesham and death 
of Leicester. § 20. Prince Edward's Crusade. Death and character of 
the king. 

§ 1. The reign of John marks an important epoch in the history 
of the English nation. Under the early Norman kings there had 
been two different races dwelling upon the English soil, speaking 
different languages, and possessing no common interests ; but during 
the reigns of Henry II. and Richard I. the Anglo-Saxons and Nor- 
mans became fused into the English people.* Not only were the 
foundations laid, but much of the superstructure was reared, of 
those liberties which are still the glory and the safety of the 
English nation. 

§2. John, b. 1167; r. 1199-1216.— John was the fifth and 
youngest son of Henry II., and as he received from his father 
no great fiefs, like his brothers, he obtained the surname of Sans 
terre or Lackland, by which he was commonly known. Although 
Geoffrey, the fourth son of Henry II., had left two children, Arthur 
and Eleanor, and John had attempted to deprive Richard of his 
crown, yet Richard was induced, by the influence of their mother, 
to name John as his successor. He was acknowledged by the Nor- 
man barons ; but Arthur, who had become duke of Brittany in right 
of his mother, was not left without supporters. The nobles of 
Anjou, Maine, and Touraine immediately declared in his favour, and 
aj>plied for assistance to the French monarch as their superior lord. 
Philip, who desired only an occasion to embarrass John, and dis- 
member his dominions, embraced Arthur's cause, and sent him to 
Paris to be educated along with his own son Louis. John, after 
being crowned at Westminster on the 27th of May,f crossed over to 
France in order to conduct the war against Philip, and to recover 
the revolted provinces from his nephew, Arthur. Constance, the 
prince's mother, seized with a jealousy that Philip intended to 
usurp his dominions, found means to carry off her son secretly from 
Paris. She put him into the hands of his uncle, and restored the 
provinces which had adhered to her son. From this incident Philip 
saw that he could not hope to make any progress against John ; 
and the two monarchs entered into a treaty (1200) by which they 
adjusted the limits of tbeir several territories. John, now secure, 



* See Notes and Illustrations (A) on 
the amalgamation of the Saxon and 
Norman races. 

+ This was Ascension Day, and John's 



regnal years were dated, not from May 
27th of each year, but from that moveable 
feast, thus, they vary from May 2 to 
June 2. 



A.D. 1199-1203. DEATH OF ARTHUR. 133 

as he imagined, on the side of France, indulged his passion for 
Isabella, the daughter and heir of Aymar Taillefer, count of 
Angouleme, a lady of whom he had become much enamoured, 
though his queen, the heiress of the family of Gloucester, was still 
living. Isabella had been affianced to the count de la Marche, and 
was already consigned to the care of that nobleman's brother, though, 
by reason of her tender years, the marriage had not yet been con- 
summated. The passion of John made him overlook all these 
obstacles : he persuaded the count of Angouleme to carry off his 
daughter from her guardian ; and having, on some pretence or 
other, procured a divorce from his own wife, he espoused Isabella 
regardless of the resentment of the injured count. 

§ 3. But John's government, equally feeble and violent, gave 
great offence to his Poitevin barons, who appealed to the king of 
France, and demanded redress from him as their superior lord. 
Philip perceived his advantage, interposed in behalf of the barons, 
and began to talk in a high and menacing style to the king of 
England. The young dake .of Brittany, who was now rising to 
man's estate, sensible of the dangerous character of his uncle, 
determined to seek both his security and elevation by a union 
with Philip and the malcontent barons (1202). He joined the 
French army, which had begun hostilities against the king of 
England : he was received with great marks of distinction and 
knighted by Philip, espoused his daughter Mary, and was invested 
not only in the duchy of Brittany, but in the counties of Anjou and 
Maine, which he had formerly resigned to his uncle. Success 
attended the allies till an event happened which seemed to turn 
the scale in favour of John, and to give him a decided superiority 
over his enemies. He fell on Arthur's camp, who was besieging 
Mirabeau, before that prince was aware of the danger, dispersed 
his army, took him prisoner, together with the most considerable 
of his revolted barons, and returned in triumph to Normandy. 
The greater part of the prisoners were sent over to England, but 
Arthur was shut up in the castle of Falaise. His fate is in- 
volved in obscurity; but there is little reason to doubt that he 
was put to death by John's command, though probably not by 
the king's own hand. 

The states of Brittany now carried their complaints before Philip 
as tbeir liege lord, and demanded justice for the violence com- 
mitted by John on the person of Arthur (1203). Philip received 
their application with pleasure, summoned John to trial, and, on 
his non-appearance, with the concurrence of the peers, passed sen- 
tence upon him, declared him guilty of felony, and adjudged him 
to forfeit to his superior lord all his seignories and fiefs in France. 



134 JOHN. Chap. vm. 

Philip now embraced the project of expelling the English, or rather 
the English king, from Prance, and of annexing to the crown the 
many considerable fiefs, which during several ages had been dismem- 
bered from it. Whilst he was making considerable progress in this 
design, John remained in total inactivity at Rouen, passing the 
time, with his young wife, in amusements, as if his state had been 
in the most profound tranquillity, and his affairs in the most pros- 
perous condition. Philip pursued his victorious career without 
opposition. Town after town fell into his hands. At length, by 
the surrender of Eouen, the whole of Normandy was reunited to 
the crown of France, about three centuries after the cession of it 
by Charles the Simple to Rollo, the first duke (1204). Philip 
carried his victorious army into the western provinces ; he soon 
reduced Anjou, Maine, and Touraine ; and thus the French crown, 
during the reign of one able and active prince, received such an 
accession of power and grandeur, as in the ordinary course of 
events it would have required ages to attain. 

§ 4. The papal chair was filled at this time by Innocent III., 
who, being endowed with a lofty and enterprising genius, gave full 
scope to his ambition, and attempted, perhaps more openly than 
any of his predecessors, to convert that superiority which was 
yielded him by all the European princes into a real dominion over 
them. A favourable incident enabled him to extend his usurpa- 
tions over so contemptible a prince as John. Hubert Walter, the 
primate, died in 1205 ; and, as the chapter of Christchurch, Canter- 
bury, claimed the right of electing their prelate, some of the juniors 
of the order met clandestinely on the night of Hubert's death, 
and chose Reginald, their sub-prior, for his successor. Having 
enjoined him the strictest secrecy, they sent him immediately to 
Rome, in order to obtain confirmation of his election. The vanity 
of Reginald prevailed over his prudence. He had no sooner arrived 
in Flanders than he revealed the purpose of his journey, which 
was immediately made known in England. The king was 
enraged at the novelty and temerity of the attempt, in filling so 
important an office without his knowledge or consent. The suffra- 
gans of Canterbury, accustomed to concur in the choice of their 
primate, were no less displeased at their own exclusion; whilst 
the senior monks of Christchurch repudiated the irregular pro- 
ceedings of their juniors. The chapter, at the command of the 
king, now chose John de Grey, bishop of Norwich, for their primate, 
and the suffragans subsequently acquiesced in the choice. The 
king and the convent of Christchurch despatched twelve monks of 
that order to support, before the tribunal of Innocent, the election 
of the bishop. But Innocent, refusing to recognize their elec- 



A.D. 1204-1214. INTERDICT OF INNOCENT III. 135 

tion, compelled the twelve monks, under the penalty of excom- 
munication, to choose for their primate Stephen Langton, an 
Englishman by birth, but educated in France, and connected by 
interest and attachments with the see of Rome (1207). 

§ 5. Inflamed with rage when he heard of this attempt of the 
court of Rome, John immediately vented his passion on the monks 
of Christchurch for consenting to Langton's appointment, expelling 
them from the convent and taking possession of their revenues. 
Innocent, in return, placed the kingdom under an interdict (Marcb 
23, 1208). By this terrible sentence public worship and the ad- 
ministration of the sacraments, except private baptism, were sus- 
pended. Marriages were only celebrated outside the churches, and 
the dead were buried in ditches and waste places without funeral 
rites. John retaliated by seizing the property of such of the clergy 
as obeyed the interdict. It was followed up the next year (L209) 
by a threat of excommunication ; and, as the king still refused to 
yield, the pope in 1212 carried out the threat, absolved the king's 
subjects from their oaths of allegiance, and called upon Philip to 
carry the sentence of deposition into effect. The French monarch 
collected a large force for the purpose of invading England ; and 
John, finding that he could not rely upon his own subjects, agreed 
to submit to the requirements of the pope. He not only acknow- 
ledged Langton as primate, but he issued a charter, by which 
he resigned England and Ireland to God, to St. Peter and St. Paul, 
and to pope Innocent and his successors in the apostolic chair, and 
agreed to hold these dominions as feudatory of the church of 
Rome, by the annual payment of 1000 marks. In token of this 
submission he did homage to Pandulf, the papal nuncio, with all 
the ceremonies required by the feudal law of vassals to their liege 
lord and superior (May 15, 1213). 

§ 6. Returning to France, Pandulf congratulated Philip on the 
success of his pious enterprise; and informed him that, as John 
had now made his kingdom a part of St. Peter's patrimony, no 
Christian prince could attack him without manifest and flagrant 
impiety. Enraged at this intelligence, Philip resolved to continue 
his enterprise, although an English fleet assembled under William 
Longsword, earl of Salisbury, the king's natural brother, had 
attacked the French in their harbours, destroyed and captured a 
great number of their ships in the Flemish harbour of Damme, and 
Philip, to prevent the rest from falling into the hands of the 
enemy, set fire to them himself. 

§ 7. When the interdict was removed, John went over to 
Poitou (1214), to fulfil his part in a great alliance which he had 
formed against France, and carried war into Philip's dominions. At 



136 JOHN. Chap. viii. 

the same time his nephew, the emperor Otho IV., aided by English 
mercenaries, invaded France from the side of Flanders. The great 
and decisive victory gained by the king of France at Bouvines, 
in July, established for ever the glory of Philip, and gave full 
security to all his dominions. The earl of Salisbury was taken 
prisoner ; and John, baffled in his great scheme, and deserted by 
the nobles of Poitou, concluded a five years' truce at Chinon 
(September 18). 

Equally odious and contemptible in public and private life, 
he had affronted the barons by his insolence, dishonoured their 
families by his gallantries, enraged them by his tyranny, provoked 
the rising power of the towns, and given discontent to all ranks of 
men by his repeated exactions and impositions. This discontent 
was further aggravated by the king's demands of an unusual 
scutage from the disaffected barons ; and, after he had reconciled 
himself to the pope and betrayed the independence of the king- 
dom, all his subjects thought they might with safety and honour 
insist upon a redress of grievances. Nothing forwarded this 
confederacy so much as the concurrence of Langton, archbishop 
of Canterbury — a man whose memory, though he was obtruded 
on the nation by the encroachments of the see of Home, ought 
always to be respected by the English. The patriotic efforts of 
this prelate were warmly seconded by William Marshal, eldest 
son of the earl of Pembroke ; and to these two distinguished men 
the English nation are under the deepest obligations for the foun- 
dation of their liberties. In a meeting at St. Paul's, Langton 
showed to some of the principal barons a copy of Henry I.'s 
charter, which he said he had happily found in a monastery ; and 
he exhorted them to insist on its renewal and observance. Upon 
the defeat of John's continental alliance, the barons held a more 
solemn meeting at St. Edmundsbury, and swore before the high 
altar to obtain from the king a charter confirming the ancient 
liberties of England (November, 1214). Appearing in arms at his 
Christmas court in London, they presented their claims. He 
promised an answer at Easter, but in order to break up the con- 
federacy of the barons, and detach their clerical associates, he 
offered (January 15, 1215) to relinquish for ever that important 
prerogative for which his father and his ancestors had zealously 
contended, by yielding to the church freedom of election on all 
vacancies, reserving only to himself the conge d'elire and con- 
firmation of the election ; declaring, further, that, if either of these 
were withheld, the choice should nevertheless be deemed just and 
valid. Both parties had sent deputies to Eome, requesting the 
interference of Innocent. But the pope, preferring the cause of 



a.d. 1214, 1215. MAGNA CARTA. 137 

John, condemned Langton and the barons for the course they had 
taken, and ordered them to reconcile themselves with the king. 
The barons, who had advanced too far to recede, assembled at 
Stamford (May 19) ; and, as John still continued to temporize, 
choosing Robert Fitz-Walter for their general, whom they called 
the Marshal of the army of God and of Holy Church, they marched 
to London (Sunday, May 24 th). They were received without oppo- 
sition ; and finding the great superiority of their force, they issued 
proclamations requiring other barons to join them. After wandering 
to and fro between Winchester and Windsor, the king was left with 
only a few adherents, and was at last obliged to submit at discretion. 
§ 8. A conference between the king and the barons was appointed 
at Runnymede, near Staines, a place which has ever since been 
celebrated on account of this great event. The two parties 
encamped apart, like open enemies, the barons on the field of 
Runnymede, the king on the Buckinghamshire side of the river, 
and the conferences were held on a little island, still called " Magna 
Carta Island." After a debate, which lasted only a single day, 
the king, with a facility somewhat suspicious, granted the charter 
required of him (June 15, 1215). This famous deed, commonly 
called Magna Carta, or The Great Charter, either granted or 
secured very important liberties and privileges to every order of 
men in the kingdom — to the clergy, to the barons, and to the 
people. The privileges offered to the clergy in the preceding 
January are confirmed by the Great Charter, and have been already 
enumerated. The barons were relieved from the chief grievances 
to which they had been subjected by the crown. The " reliefs " of 
heirs of the tenants in chief, on succeeding to an inheritance, were 
limited to a certain sum, according to the rank of the tenant ; 
guardians were restrained from wasting the lands of their wards ; 
heirs were to be married without disparagement, and widows secured 
from wedding on compulsion. The next clause was still more 
important. It enacted that no " scutage " or " aid " should be im- 
posed without the consent of the Great Council of the kingdom, 
except in the three feudal cases of the king's ransom, the knighting 
of his eldest son, and the marriage of his eldest daughter; and. it 
provided that in all cases of aid the prelates, earls, and greater 
barons should be summoned to this great council, each by a par- 
ticular writ, and all other tenants in chief by a general summons of 
the sheriff. The privileges and immunities thus granted to the 
tenants in chief were extended to the inferior vassals. The fran- 
chises of the city of London, and of all other cities and boroughs, 
were declared inviolable; and no aids were to be required of London, 
except by the consent of the great council. One weight and one 



138 



JOHN. 



Chap. vm. 



measure were extended throughout the kingdom. The freedom of 
commerce was granted to alien merchants. The court of Common 
Pleas was to be stationary, instead of following the king's person. 
But " the essential clauses " of Magna Carta, as Mr. Hallam re- 
marks, are those " which protect the personal liberty and property 
of all freemen, by giving security from arbitrary imprisonment 
and arbitrary spoliation. No freeman shall be taken or 

IMPRISONED, OR BE DISPOSSESSED [OF HIS FREEHOLD, OR LIBERTIES, 
OR FREE CUSTOMS], OR BE OUTLAWED, OB EXILED, OR ANY OTHERWISE 
DESTROYED ; NOR WILL WE PASS UPON HIM, NOR LET PASS UPON HIM, 
BUT BY LAWFUL JUDGMENT OF HIS PEERS, OR BY THE LAW OF THE 
LAND. We WILL SELL TO NO MAN, WE WILL NOT DENY OR DELAY 

to any man justice or right." * " It is obvious," Mr. Hallam 
adds, " that these words, interpreted by any honest court of law, 
convey an ample security for the two main rights of civil society. 
From the era, therefore, of king John's charter, it must have been 
a clear principle of our constitution that no man can be detained in 
prison without trial. Whether courts of justice framed the writ of 
Habeas Corpus in conformity to the spirit of this clause, or found 
it already in their register, it became from that era the right of 
every subject to demand it." t 

Other clauses of the charter protected freemen and even villeins 
from excessive fines. The latter were not to be deprived of their 
carts, ploughs, and implements of industry.J 

The barons obliged the king to agree that London should remain 
in their hands, and the Tower be consigned to the custody of the 
primate, till the 15th of August ensuing, or till the execution of 
the several articles of the Great Charter. The better to insure the 
same end, John allowed them to choose five and twenty members 
from their own body, as conservators of the public liberties. The 
authority of these men was unbounded in extent and duration. 
Any four of them might claim redress for the infraction of the 
charter, and in event of refusal proceed to levy war on the king 
himself. All men throughout the kingdom were bound, under 
the penalty of confiscation, to swear obedience to them ; and the 
freeholders of each county were to choose twelve knights, who 
were to make report of such evil customs as required redress, con- 
formably to the tenor of the Great Charter. 



* These, however, are not the words of 
Magna Carta, but of the charter as re- 
issued with some alterations by Henry III., 
and called the Charter of Liberties. The 
words in brackets are not in the original. 

f Middle Ages, vol. ii. p. 324. 

J John's charter is in Rymer's Fcedera, 



in Stubbs's Select Charters, &c, and other 
places. Respecting the subsequent con- 
firmations of the charter, see Notes and 
Illustrations (B). The " Charter of the 
Forests," which was a supplement to the 
Great Charter, was not executed till the 
confirmation of the latter in 1217. 



a.d. 1215, 1216. CIVIL WAR. 139 

To all these regulations, however injurious to majesty, John 
seemed to submit passively ; but he only dissembled till he should 
"find a favourable opportunity for annulling all his concessions, and 
he was determined to throw off, at all hazards, so ignominious a 
slavery. He secretly sent abroad emissaries to enlist foreign 
soldiers, and he despatched a messenger to Eome, in order to lay 
before the pope the Great Charter, which he had been compelled 
to grant, and to complain, before that tribunal, of the violence 
which had been imposed upon him. Innocent, considering himself 
as feudal lord of the kingdom, was incensed at the temerity of the 
barons, and issued a bull, in which he annulled the charter, as 
obtained illegally, as a violation of the privileges pertaining to a 
champion of the Cross — for John had assumed the Cross some 
weeks before — and as derogatory to those rights which the pope 
now claimed as John's feudal superior (August 25). 

§ 9. As his foreign forces arrived along with this bull, the king 
now threw off the mask ; and, under sanction of the pope's sentence, 
he recalled all the liberties he had granted to his subjects, and had 
solemnly sworn to observe. The barons, after obtaining the Great 
Charter, seem to have been lulled into a fatal security. From the 
first, the king was master of the field, and immediately laid siege 
to the castle of Kochester, which was obstinately defended by 
William D'Aubigne, at the head of 140 knights with their re- 
tainers, but was at last reduced by famine. The capture of 
D'Aubigne, the best officer among the confederated barons, was an 
irreparable loss to their cause, and no regular opposition was thence- 
forth offered to the progress of the royal arms. The mercenaries, 
incited by a cruel and enraged prince, were let loose against the 
estates, tenants, manors, houses and parks of the barons, spreading 
devastation over the surface of the kingdom. Marching through 
the whole extent of England, from Dover to Berwick, John laid 
waste the provinces on each side of him, permitting his mercenary 
troops to carry fire and sword in all directions, sparing neither 
sex nor age, neither things sacred nor profane. 

Reduced to this desperate extremity, and menaced with the 
loss of their liberties, their properties, and their lives, the barons 
employed a remedy no less desperate ; and making application to 
the court of France, they offered to acknowledge Louis, the eldest 
son of Philip, for their sovereign, on condition that he would afford 
them protection from the violence of John. Philip was strongly 
tempted to lay hold on the rich prize thus offered him - v and, having 
exacted from the barons hostages of the most noble birth in the 
kingdom, he sent over an army with Louis himself at its head, 
who landed at Stonor (May 21, 1216). The king was assembling 



140 HENRY III Chap. vra. 

a considerable army, with a view of striking one great blow for 
his crown ; but passing from Lynn to Lincolnshire his road lay 
along the sea- shore, which was overflowed at high water, and, not 
choosing the proper time for his journey, he lost in the inundation 
all his carriages, treasure, baggage, and regalia. The anguish occa- 
sioned by this disaster, and vexation from the distracted state of 
his affairs, increased the sickness under which he then laboured ; 
and, though he reached the castle of Newark, he was obliged to halt 
there, and his distemper soon after put an end to his life, October 19, 
1216, in the 50th year of his age, and 18th of his reign. His 
tomb stands in the midst of the choir at Worcester. 

Though John was not without ability, his character is little else 
than a complication of vices, ruinous to himself and destructive to 
his people. Folly, levity, licentiousness, ingratitude, treachery, 
tyranny, and cruelty — all these qualities appear in the several inci- 
dents of his life. His continental dominions, when they devolved to 
him by the death of his brother, were more extensive than have 
ever, since his time, been ruled by an English monarch ; but he 
lost, by his misconduct, the flourishing provinces in Prance, the 
ancient patrimony of his family : he subjected his kingdom to a 
shameful vassalage under the see of Rome : he saw the prerogatives 
of his crown diminished by law, and still more reduced by faction : 
and he died at last when in danger of being totally expelled by a 
foreign power, and of either ending his life miserably in prison, or 
seeking shelter, as a fugitive, from the pursuit of his enemies. 

It was in this king's reign that a charter was granted to the city 
of London (1215), giving it the right of electing, annually, a mayor 
out of its own body, an office which was till now held for life.* The 
city also had power to elect and remove its sheriffs at pleasure, and 
its common councilmen annually. Old London Bridge was finished 
in this reign ; the former bridge was of wood. Queen Maud, it is 
said, was the first that built a stone bridge in England. 

HENRY III. 

§ 10. Henry III., b. 1207, r. 1216-1272.— The earl of Pembroke, 
who, at the time of John's death, was marshal of England, was, 
by his office, at the head of the army, and consequently, during a 
state of civil war and convulsion, at the head of the govern- 
ment. It happened fortunately for the young monarch and for the 
nation that the power could not have been intrusted to more able 
or more faithful hands. The earl carried young Henry, now nine 
years of age, immediately to Gloucester, where the ceremony of his 
coronation was performed (October 28, 12 16), as Westminster was 
* Stiibbs's Select Charters, with nine other charters to cities and towns. 



A.D. 1216, 1217. GENERAL PACIFICATION. 



141 



at that time in the hands of the hostile harons. Papal support 
was important to Henry in the weakness of his condition ; and 
Gualo, the papal legate, was joined in the administration. Henry 
swore fealty to the pope, and renewed the homage of his father. 
To enlarge the authority of Pembroke, a general council of the 
barons was summoned at Bristol (November 12), where that noble- 
man was chosen protector of the realm, and the Grand Charter, with 
some alterations, and with the more popular clauses omitted, was 
renewed and confirmed. This act was received with satisfaction. 
Many of the malcontent barons, most of whom had begun secretly 
to negotiate with him already, now openly returned to their 
allegiance. Louis soon found that the death of John, contrary to 
his expectations, had given an incurable wound to his cause. A 
short truce followed, his English adherents fell away, and when 
the war was renewed the French army was totally defeated at 
Lincoln, and driven from that city (May 20, 1217). A French 
fleet bringing over reinforcements, was attacked by the English 




Henry III. From his tomb iu Westminster Abbey. 

at Sandwich, and routed with considerable loss (August 24). Un- 
able to make head against these reverses, abandoned by his English 
allies, and threatened with excommunication from the pope, Louis 
concluded a peace with Pembroke, and promised to evacuate the 
kingdom (September, 1217). Thus happily ended a civil war which 
had threatened the kingdom with the most fatal consequences. 
§ 11. The earl of Pembroke did not long survive the pacification, 

R* 



142 HENRY III. Chap. viii. 

which had been cxiiefly owing to his wisdom and valour, and he 
was succeeded in the government by Peter des Eoches, bishop 
of Winchester, and Hubert de Burgh, the justiciary (1219). The 
counsels of the latter were chiefly followed ; and had he possessed 
equal authority in the kingdom with Pembroke, he seemed to be 
every way worthy of filling the place of that nobleman. But the 
powerful barons, who had once broken the reins of subjection to 
their prince, and obtained an enlargement of their liberties and 
independence, could ill be restrained by laws under a minority. 
They detained by force the royal castles, which they had seized 
during the past convulsions, or which had been committed to their 
custody by the protector ; and they usurped the king's demesnes. 

But notwithstanding these intestine commotions, and the pre- 
carious authority of his crown, Henry was obliged to carry on war 
with France. Louis VIII., who had succeeded to his father Philip, 
instead of complying with Henry's claim for the restitution of 
Normandy and the other provinces wrested from England, made 
an irruption into Poitou (1224), took Rochelle after a long siege, 
and seemed determined to expel the English from the few provinces 
which still remained to them. Henry sent over his uncle, the earl 
of Salisbury, who stopped the progress of Louis's arms ; but no 
military action of any moment was performed on either side. 

§ 12. As the king grew to man's estate, his character became 
every day better known; and he was found in every respect ill 
qualified for maintaining an efficient control over his turbulent 
barons. Gentle, humane, and merciful even to a fault, he seems to 
have been steady in no one circumstance of his character ; but 
to have received impressions from those who surrounded him, and 
whom he loved, for the time, with the most injudicious and unre- 
served affection. While Hubert de Burgh enjoyed his authority, 
he gained entire ascendancy over Henry, and was loaded with 
honours and favours beyond any other subject. Rewarded with 
many castles and manors, he married the eldest sister of the king 
of Scots, was created earl of Kent, and, by an unusual concession, 
was made chief justiciary of England for life; yet, in a sudden 
fit of caprice, Henry threw off this faithful minister (1232), and 
exposed him to the violence of his enemies.* He was succeeded in 
his post as justiciary by Stephen de Segrave ; but so much had he 
suffered in Henry's estimation, that, after many indignities, he 
was thrown into prison, and the king transferred his favour and 
affection to Peter des Roches, bishop of Winchester. Des Roches 
was a Poitevin by birth, who had been raised by the late king, 

* Archbishop Langton, who had opposed with unvarying firmness every attempt to 
neutralize the Great Charter, died in 122S. 



a.d. 1219-1253. HIS PARTIALITY TO FOREIGNERS. 143 

and was no less distinguished by his arbitrary principles and 
violent conduct than by his courage and abilities. He had been 
left by John justiciary and regent of the kingdom during an 
expedition which that prince made into France ; and his illegal ad- 
ministration was one chief cause of that great combination among 
the barons, which finally extorted from the crown the Magna 
Carta. Though incapable from his character of pursuing the 
violent maxims which had governed his father, Henry had imbibed 
the same arbitrary principles ; and, in prosecution of Peter's advice, 
he invited over a great number of Poitevins and other foreigners 
in whom he placed greater confidence than in his English subjects, 
and expected to find them useful in counterbalancing the great 
and independent power of the nobles. Offices and commands were 
bestowed on these strangers; they exhausted the revenues of the 
crown, already too much impoverished ; they invaded the rights of 
the people; and their insolence, or, at least, what appeared so, 
drew on them general hatred and envy. 

As the king had married Eleanor, daughter of the count of Pro- 
vence (January 14, 1236), he was surrounded by a number of 
strangers from that country also, whom he caressed with the fondest 
affection, and enriched by his imprudent generosity. The resentment 
of the English barons rose high at the preference given to foreigners, 
but no remonstrance or complaint could ever prevail on the king to 
abandon them, or even to moderate his attachment towards them. 
The king's conduct would have appeared more tolerable to his 
English subjects had anything been done meanwhile for the honour 
of the nation, or had Henry's enterprises in foreign countries been 
attended with success or glory to himself or the public. But though 
he declared war against Louis IX. in 1242, and made an expedition 
into Guienne, upon the invitation of his stepfather, the count de 
la Marche, who promised to join him with all his forces, he was 
worsted at Taillebourg; was deserted by his allies; abandoned Poitou, 
and was obliged to return, with loss of honour, into England. The 
people of Guienne attempted to throw off his obedience, but failed 
(1253). These wars involved Henry and his nobility in an enor- 
mous debt, which both increased their discontents and exposed 
him to greater danger from their opposition. 

§ 13. But the chief grievances of the reign were the usurpations 
and exactions of the court of Rome. The best benefices of the 
kingdom were conferred on Italians ; and non-residence and plurali- 
ties were carried to enormous lengths. It was estimated by Grostete 
that the benefices held by the Italian clergy in England amounted 
to 60,000 marks a year, a sum which equalled the annual revenues 
of the crown. Upon occasion of a Crusade for the Holy Lane} 



144 HENRY III. Chap. vm. 

(1245), Innocent IV. demanded a moiety of all ecclesiastical profits 
for three years ; a moiety of all impropriations and of all benefices 
where the incumbent was non-resident ; a twentieth of all incomes 
amounting to 100 marks, and a third of all beyond that sum. He 
attempted to claim the goods of intestate clergymen ; annulled 
usurious bonds , and when, backed by the church, the king, con- 
trary to his usual practice, prohibited these exactions, Innocent 
threatened him with excommunication. 

A more mischievous influence was exerted by Alexander IV., 
who involved Henry in a project for the conquest of Naples, or Sicily 
on this side the Fare or Straits of Messina, then held by Manfred as 
the representative of the Hohenstaufen (1255). He claimed to 
dispose of the Sicilian crown, both as superior lord of that parti- 
cular kingdom, and as vicar of Christ, to whom all kingdoms of the 
earth were subjected ; and he made a tender of it to Henry for his 
second son Edmund. Henry accepted the insidious proposal, gave 
the pope unlimited credit to expend whatever sums he thought 
necessary for completing the conquest, and, when Alexander pressed 
for payment, Henry was surprised to find himself on a sudden 
entangled in an immense debt of 135,500 marks, beside interest. 
He applied to the parliament for supplies, but the barons and 
prelates refused, determined not to lavish their money on such 
chimerical projects. In this extremity the clergy were his only 
resource, and they offered Henry 52,000 marks, a sum wholly in- 
adequate to his necessities (1257). 

§ 14. About the same time Eichard, earl of Cornwall, the brother 
of the king, was engaged in an enterprise no less ruinous. The 
immense opulence of Richard had made the German princes cast 
their eyes on him as a candidate for the empire, and he was 
tempted to expend vast sums of money on his election. He 
succeeded so far as to be chosen, by a double election, as king 
of the Romans, with Alfonso X. of Castile, and was crowned by 
his partisans (1257). But he never attained the imperial power, 
and found at last that he had lavished the frugality of a life on 
an empty title. 

The king was engaged in constant disputes with his barons, 
and was compelled to confirm the Great Charter ; on one occa- 
sion with extraordinary solemnity (1253). All the prelates and 
abbots were assembled ; they held burning tapers in their hands ; 
the Great Charter was read before them ; they denounced the sen- 
tence of excommunication against every one who should thenceforth 
violate that fundamental law ; then they threw their tapers on the 
ground, and exclaimed, May the soul of every one who incurs this 
sentence so stink and perish in hell! The king bore a part in 



a.d. 1255-1258. THE MAD PARLIAMENT. 145 

this ceremony, saying, " So help me God, I will keep all these 
articles inviolate, as I am a man, as I am a Christian, as I am 
a knight, and as I am a king crowned and anointed." Yet no 
sooner was this tremendous ceremony finished, than his favourites, 
abusing his weakness, made him return to the same arbitrary and 
irregular courses, and the reasonable expectations of his people 
were thus perpetually eluded and disappointed. These imprudent 
and illegal measures provoked an avenger in Simon de Montfort, earl 
of Leicester, a younger son of that Simon de Montfort who had 
conducted the crusade against the Albigenses. He had married 
the king's sister, Eleanor, widow of the earl of Pembroke; had 
governed Gascony for some years with vigour and success ; and he 
had now returned home dissatisfied with the little support he had 
received from the king, who wanted either the ability or inclination 
to aid him. To add to these causes of aggravation, he had been for 
some time engaged in a tedious litigation with the king touching 
his wife's jointure. De Montfort was supported by the clergy, 
and was the intimate friend of Adam de Marsh and Robert 
Grostete. He called a meeting of the most considerable barons, 
who embraced the resolution of redressing the public grievances 
by taking the administration into their own hands. Henry having 
summoned a parliament (April 9th — May 2, 1258) in expectation 
of receiving supplies for his Sicilian project, the barons appeared 
in the hall clad in complete armour, and with their swords by 
their sides. After a violent altercation, the king promised to 
summon another parliament at Oxford on June 11, in order to 
arrange a new plan of government. 

§ 15. This parliament, which the royalists, and even the nation, 
afterwards denominated the Mad Parliament, met on the day 
appointed. As the barons brought with them their military 
retainers, and appeared with an armed force, the king, who had 
taken no similar precautions, was in reality a prisoner, and was 
obliged to submit to any terms they were pleased to dictate. A 
council of state, consisting of 24 barons, was selected to make the 
necessary reforms. The king himself took an oath that he would 
maintain whatever ordinances they should think proper to enact 
for that purpose. Simon de Montfort was at the head of this 
supreme council, to which the legislative power was thus in reality 
transferred ; and all their measures were taken by his influence and 
direction. By their chief enactments, called the Provisions of 
Oxford, four knights were to be chosen by each county, to point 
out such grievances of their neighbourhood as required redress ; 
three sessions of parliament were to be regularly held every year, in 
the months of February, June, and October, at which twelve per- 



146 HENRY III. Chap. viii. 

sons chosen by the barons should act for the whole commonalty ; 
sheriffs were to hold office for one year only; the great officers 
of state were annually to give an account of their proceedings; 
no heirs were to be committed to the wardship of foreigners, and 
no castles intrusted to their custody. Soon after the king's eldest 
son, Edward, in his twentieth year, pledged his oath to observe these 
provisions, and the king publicly declared his assent to them. 

Opinions are divided as to the purity of De Montfort's intentions. 
It is certain that many among the barons had no other object than 
to secure the aggrandisement of their own order. At their head 
was Richard de Clare, earl of Gloucester. They formed an asso- 
ciation among themselves, and swore that they would stand by each 
other with their lives and fortunes ; they displaced all the chief minis- 
ters of the crown, the justiciary, the chancellor, the treasurer, and 
advanced either themselves or their creatures to the vacant offices. 
When they had thus transferred to themselves all powers of the 
state, they proceeded to impose an oath, by which all subjects 
were obliged to swear, under the penalty of being declared public 
enemies, that they would obey and execute all the regulations, 
both known and unknown, of the barons. Not content with this 
usurpation of the royal power, they introduced an innovation in 
the constitution of parliament, of the utmost importance. They 
ordained that this assembly should choose a committee of twelve 
persons, who should, in the intervals of the session, possess the 
authority of the whole parliament, and should, on a summons, 
attend the person of the king in all his movements. Thus the 
monarchy was totally subverted, without its being possible for the 
king to strike a single stroke in defence of the constitution against 
the newly elected oligarchy. 

§ 16. But, in proportion to their continuance in power, the 
barons began gradually to lose that popularity which had assisted 
them in obtaining it. The fears of the nation were roused by 
certain new edicts, obviously calculated to procure immunity to 
the barons in all their violences. They appointed that the cir- 
cuits of the itinerant justices, the sole check on their arbitrary 
conduct, should be held only once in seven years ; and men easily 
saw that a remedy which returned after such long intervals 
against an oppressive power which was perpetual, would prove 
totally insignificant and useless.* The cry became loud in the 
nation that the barons should produce their intended regulations. 
The current of popularity now turned to the side of the crown, and 
the rivalship between the earls of Leicester and Gloucester, the chief 
leaders among the barons, began to disunite the whole confederacy. 
* This is doubtful. See Prof. Pearson's History, ii. 22?. 



a.d. 1258-1264. THE BARONS' WAR. 147 

Louis IX., -who then governed France, used all his authority 
with the earl of Leicester, his native subject, to bend him to com- 
pliance with Henry. He made a treaty with England (20th May, 
L259) at a time when the distractions of that kingdom were at 
the greatest height, and when the king's authority was totally 
annihilated; and the terms which he granted might, in a more 
prosperous state of affairs, have been deemed reasonable and 
advantageous to the English. He invaded certain territories 
which had been conquered from Poitou and Guienne; he insured 
the peaceable possession of the latter province to Henry ; he agreed 
to pay him a large sum of money; and he only required that 
in return Henry should make a final cession of Normandy and 
the other provinces, which he could never entertain any hopes of 
recovering by force of arms. The cession thus made by the barons 
was ratified by Henry, his two sons and two daughters, and by 
the king of the Romans and his three sons. 

§ 17. The situation of Henry soon after wore a more favourable 
aspect, and the desertion of the earl of Gloucester to the crown 
seemed to promise him certain success in any attempt to recover 
his authority. The pope absolved him from his oath ; but his son 
Edward refused to accept the like dispensation. The king soon 
afterwards seized the Tower of London, resumed the government, 
and levied mercenary troops. Thus began the civil contest which 
is called " the Barons' War." Leicester retired to France, but the 
death of the earl of Gloucester, and the accession of his son Gilbert 
de Clare to Leicester's side, soon changed the scene (1262). The 
war was carried on with various success, till at length the king and 
the barons agreed to submit their differences to the arbitration of 
the king of France. At a congress at Amiens (January, 1264) Louis 
annulled the Provisions of Oxford, left the king free to appoint 
his own ministers, employ allies, and enjoy his royal authority as 
unrestricted as before. But this decision, instead of quenching 
the flames, only caused them to break forth with redoubled vehe- 
mence. Leicester, having summoned his partisans from all quarters, 
gained next year a decisive victory over the royal forces at Lewes 
(May 14), taking Henry and his brother, the king of the Romans, 
prisoners. Prince Edward, who commanded the right wing of the 
royal army, was obliged to assent to a treaty with the conqueror, 
called from an old French term the Mise of Lewes. In order to 
obtain the liberation of the English monarch, prince Edward, and 
Henry, son of the king of the Romans, surrendered themselves 
as hostages. Peace was declared (May 25), and was finally settled 
by a parliament at London (June 11, 1264) 

§ 18. Acting as sole regent, De Montfort now proceeded to sum- 



148 



HENRY III. 



Chap. vm. 



mon a parliament. Writs * were issued in the king's name from 
Worcester, summoning a new parliament in London (January 20, 
1265), which forms a memorable epoch in constitutional history. 
Besides the barons of Leicester's party, and 117 ecclesiastics (for 
the clergy in general sided with De Montfort), he ordered returns to 
be made of two knights from each shire, and of two representatives 
from each borough. This is usually regarded as the first meeting of 
the House of Commons, but Leicester only anticipated Edward I. 
in an institution for which the general state of things was now pre- 
paring the nation f Thus supported by a parliament of his own 
model, and trusting to the attachment of the populace of London, 
De Montfort seized the opportunity of crushing his rivals among 
the powerful barons. 

§ 19. But he soon found himself embarrassed by the opposition, 
as well as by the escape, of prince Edward. The royalists, secretly 
prepared for this latter event, immediately flew to arms ; and the 
joy of this gallant prince's deliverance, the expectation of a new 
scene of affairs, and the accession of the earl of Gloucester, procured 
Edward an army which Leicester was unable to withstand. He 
was defeated and killed at the battle of Evesham (August 4, 1265), 
with his eldest son Henry, and about 160 knights, and many other 
gentlemen of his party. The king, placed by the rebels in front, 
and disguised by his vizor, was wounded in the battle and in danger 
of his life ; but crying out, I am Henry of Winchester, your Icing, 
he was saved, and put in a place of safety by his son, who flew to his 
rescue. The lifeless body of Leicester was mangled by the victors, 
exasperated at this wanton exposure of the king's person, but he 
was long regarded as a martyr to the cause of liberty, and miracles 
were ascribed to his remains. The victory of Evesham proved 
decisive, and the king's authority was re-established in all parts of 
the kingdom. All further resistance was ended by the moderate 
terms granted by prince Edward in the " Dictum de Kenilworth " 
(October 15, 1266); and a parliament at Marlborough, a year after, 
confirmed the king's title, while binding him afresh to the observ- 
ance of the Great Charter. 



* Stubbs, Select Charters, p. 401. 

•f " Important as is this assembly in 
the history of the constitution, it was not 
primarily and essentially a constitutional 
assembly. It was not a general convoca- 
tion of tenants in capite, or of the three 
estates, but a parliamentary assembly of 
the supporters of the existing govern- 
ment." Only five earls were summoned 
and eighteen barons, ten of whom were 
friends of De Montfort. Stubbs, Const. 



Hist. ii. 92. If, in fact, this assembly be 
considered in its real character as a con- 
vention of De Montfort's supporters, the 
admission of representatives from the 
towns, who were not regularly summoned, 
affords less difficulty. In England, and 
still more in De Montfort's native land, 
the towns had now gained so much in 
wealth and political importance, that it 
was natural he should avail himself of 
their support. 



a.d. 1265-1272. 



HIS DEATH. 



149 



§ 20. Finding the state of the kingdom thus composed, Edward 
was led (1270) by his avidity for glory, and in fulfilment of a vow 
made during his captivity, as well as by the earnest solicitations 
of the king of France, to undertake an expedition against the 
infidels in the Holy Land. He sailed from England with an army, 
accompanied by his wife, Eleanor of Castile, and arrived in the camp 
of Louis IX. before Tunis in Africa, where he found that monarch 
already dead, from the sickliness of the climate and the fatigues of 
his enterprise. Undeterred by this event, he continued his voyage 
to the Holy Land, where he signalized himself (1271) by acts of 
valour, revived the glory of the English name, and struck such 
terror into the Saracens, that they employed an assassin to murder 
him, who wounded him in the arm, but perished in the attempt. 
In her heroic affection Eleanor sucked the poison from her husband's 
wound. During his absence the old king expired at Bury St. Ed- 
munds (November 16, 1272), in the 66th year of his age, and 57th 
of his reign, and was buried in the new abbey church of West- 
minster, which he had rebuilt. His brother, the king of the 
Komans, had died nearly a year before him. 

The most obvious feature of Henry's character is an incapacity 
for government, which rendered him as much a prisoner in the 
hands of his ministers and favourites, and as little at his own dis- 
posal, as when detained a captive in the hands of his enemies. 
From this source, rather than from insincerity and treachery, arose 
his negligence in observing his promises; and he was too easily 
induced, for the sake of present convenience, to sacrifice the lasting 
advantages arising from the trust and confidence of his people. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. ON THE AMALGAMATION OF 
THE ANGLO-SAXON AND NOR- 
MAN RACES. 

The period at which this event took 
place has given rise to much discussion. 
It was the favourite theory of Thierry 
that the disti action between the two 
races continued till a very late time. 
Lord Macaiilay supposes the amalga- 
mation to have taken place between the 
accession of John and the death of 
Edward I. But even this is too long. 
The distinction was greatly obliterated in 
the reign of Henry II., and more com- 



pletely so after the separation of Nor- 
mandy from England in the reign of John. 



B. 



CONFIRMATIONS OF THE 
GREAT CHARTER. 



The Great Charter had no fewer than 
thirty-eight solemn ratifications recorded : 
six by Henry III., three by Edward I., 
fifteen by Edward III., six by Richard 
II.. six by Henry IV., one by Henry 
V., and one by Henry VI. The most 
important change in the charter, as 
confirmed by Henry III., was the omis- 
sion of the clause which prohibited the 
levying of aids or escuages save by the 



150 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. viii. 



common council of the realm. Though 
this clause was omitted, it was generally 
observed during the reign of Henry, 
the barons constantly refusing him the 
aids or subsidies which his prodigality 
demanded. But he still retained the 
right of levying money upon towns 
under the name of tallage, and he also 
claimed other imposts, as upon the ex- 
port of wool. On Magna Carta, see Black- 
Btone's Introduction to the Cliarter ; 
Thomson's Essay on Magna Carta; 
Creasy, On the English Constitution, 
pp. 128, seq. 

C. TRIAL BY JURY. 

We have already adverted (p. IS) to the 
mistaken and now obsolete opinion, that 
trial by jury existed in England in the 
Anglo-Saxon times. The twelve thanes 
who sat in the sheriffs court have no 
analogy to a modern jury except in their 
number. Their function of presenting 
offenders gave them more the resem- 
blance of the present grand jury ; and 
they seem, like the scabini or echevins 
of the continent, to have formed a perma- 
nent magistracy. So also the Anglo- 
Saxon compurgators resembled the 
witnesses in a modern trial rather than 
jurymen. 

The first approach to trial by jury 
is the Grand Assize introduced in the 
reign of Henry II. By this custom, 
in a suit for the recovery of land, a 
tenant who was unwilling to risk a 
judicial combat might put himself on 
the assize — that is, refer the case to four 
knights chosen by the sheriff, who in 
their turn selected twelve more. The six- 
teen knights thus impanelled were then 
sworn, and decided the case by their ver- 
dict. In the assize of Novel Disseisin the 
twelve knights were chosen directly by the 
sheriff. Whether the words in the charter 
of John, that " a man is to be tried by 
the lawful judgment of his peers," really 
mean trial by jury may admit of dis- 
pute ; but at any rate they clearly re- 
cognize the great principle upon which 
trial by jury rests. 

In criminal cases, at all events, we 
find an approach to a jury under Henry 
III. Trial by ordeal had now grown 



out of fashion; and though the trial by 
combat still remained, it could not of 
course be practised unless some prose- 
cutor appeared. But as a person vehe- 
mently suspected of a crime might be 
committed to safe custody on the pre- 
sentment of a jury, he had the option of 
appealing to a second jury which was 
sometimes composed of twelve persons. 
Such a jury, however, still differed from 
a modern one in the essential principle, 
that it did not come to a decision upon 
the evidence of others. The jurors in 
fact continued to be witnesses, and 
founded their verdict on their own know- 
ledge of the prisoner and of the facts of 
the case. Hence they are often called 
recognitors, because they decided from 
previous knowledge or recognition, in- 
cluding what they had heard and be- 
lieved to be true. They seem to have 
admitted documentary evidence, but 
parole evidence seldom or never. 

The great distinction between a mo- 
dern and an ancient jury lies in the 
circumstance, that the former are not 
witnesses themselves, but merely judges 
of the testimony of others. A previous 
knowledge of the facts of the case, which 
would now be an objection to a juryman, 
constituted in former days his merit 
and eligibility. At what precise period 
witnesses distinct from the jury them- 
selves, and who had no voice in the 
verdict, first began to be regularly sum- 
moned, cannot be ascertained. The first 
trace of such a practice occurs in the 
23rd year of Edward III., and it had pro- 
bably been creeping in previously. That 
it was perfectly established by the middle 
of the 15th century, we have clear evi- 
dence from Fortescue's treatise Be Laudi- 
bus Legum Anglice (c. 26), written about 
that period. Personal knowledge of a 
case continued to be allowed in a juror, 
who was even required to act upon it ; 
and it was not till a comparatively re- 
cent period that the complete separation 
of the functions of juryman and witness 
was established. 

For further information on this sub- 
ject see Hallam's Middle Ages, vol. ii. 
ch. viii. pt. i. and note viii. ; Forsyth's 
History of Trial by Jury ; and Stubbs's 
Constitutional Hist, of England, i. 608. 




Edward I. From the Tower. 

CHAPTER IX. 
HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET— Continued. 

THE REIGNS OF EDWARD I. AND EDWARD II. A.D. 1272-1327. 

§ 1. Accession of Edward I. Civil administration. § 2. Conquest of 
Wales. § 3. Persecution of the Jews. § 4. Disputed succession to 
the Scottish crown. Award of Edward. § 5. WW with France. 
§ 6. Conquest of Scotland. § 7. War with France. Dissensions of 
the barons and confirmation of the charters. § 8. Peace with France. 
Revolt of Scotland. § 9. Battle of Falkirk. Death of Wallace. 
§ 10. Insurrection of Robert Bruce. § 11. Edward's last expedition 
against Scotland. His death and character. § 12. Accession of 
Edward II. Weakness of the king and discontent of the barons. 
§ 13. Banishment and murder of Gaveston. § 14. War with Scotland. 
§ 15. Hugh le Despenser. Civil commotions. Lancaster executed. 
§ 16. Truce with Scotland. Conspiracy against the king. He is 
dethroned and murdered. 

§ 1. Edward L, b. 1239 ; r. 1272-1307 .—For the first time since 
the Conquest the sovereign authority of the king was fully recog- 
nized before his coronation. As soon as Henry was laid in the 



152 EDWARD I. Chap. is. 

tomb, the assembled nobles, of their own free will, advanced to the 
great altar, took an oath of fealty to Edward, "though," says 
Matthew of Westminster,* "men were ignorant whether he was 
alive, for he had gone to distant countries beyond the sea, warring 
against the enemies of Christ " (November 20, 1272). They 
caused the " king's peace " to be proclaimed through England, and 
henceforth that proclamation marked the beginning of each new 
reign.f Edward had reached Sicily in his return from the Holy 
Land, when he received intelligence of his father's death ; but, as 
he soon learned the quiet settlement of the kingdom, under 
Walter Giffard, archbishop of York, keeper of the great seal, Eoger 
Mortimer, and Kobert Burnel, a clerk of great merit, as guardians of 
the realm, he was in no hurry to take possession of the throne, but 
spent more than a year in Italy and France before he made his 
appearance in England. After arranging the affairs of the province 
of Gtuienne, and settling a dispute between the countess of Flanders 
and his subjects, he landed at Dover (August 2, 1274), and was 
crowned at Westminster (August 19) by Eobert, archbishop of 
Canterbury. In a parliament which he summoned at Westminster, 
in the following April, he took care to enquire into the conduct of all 
his magistrates and judges, to provide them with sufficient force for 
the execution of justice, to displace such as were either negligent or 
corrupt, to extirpate all bands and confederacies of robbers, and to 
repress those more silent robberies which were committed either 
by the power of the nobles or under the countenance of public 
authority. 

Soon after, Edward issued commissions to enquire into all en- 
croachments on the royal demesne ; the value of escheats, 
forfeitures, and wardships ; and the means of improving every 
branch of the revenue. In the execution of their office (1278), 
the commissioners questioned titles to estates which had been 
transmitted from father to son for several generations. When 
earl Warrenne, who had done eminent service in the late reign, 
Avas required to show his titles, he produced a rusty sword. " See, 
my lords," he exclaimed, " here is my title deed. My ances- 
tors came over with William the Bastard, and conquered their lands 
with the sword, and with the sword will I defend them." Though 
the claim was unfounded— for the earl was descended only by the 
female line from an illegitimate half-brother of Henry L— it ex- 
pressed the feelings of the old feudatories. The king, sensible of 
the danger he was incurring, after a time desisted from making 

* Kishanger makes the New Temple j which was dated from the moment of his 
the scene of the oath. father's death, 

f Till the accession of Edward VI., [ 



A.D. 1272-1282. 



CONQUEST OF WALES. 



153 



further enquiries of this nature ; but he caused a strict in- 
vestigation to be instituted into his father's grants to the church, 
and in 1279 he passed the Statute Be Eeligiosis or of Mortmain 
(in mortud manu)* by which it was forbidden to bequeath lands 
and tenements to religious corporations without the king's licence. 
§ 2. In the year 1283 was completed the conquest of Wales, one 
of the most important events of this reign. Llewelyn, prince of 
Wales, had been deeply engaged with the party of De Montfort, and 
had been included in the general accommodation made with the 
vanquished ; but, as he had reason to dread the future effects of re- 
sentment and jealousy in the English monarch, he maintained a 
secret correspondence with his former associates, and was betrothed 
to Eleanor, daughter of the earl of Leicester, who was sent to him 
from France, but, being intercepted in her passage near the isles 
of Scilly, was detained in the court of England. This incident 
increased the mutual jealousy between Edward and Llewelyn. 
Edward sent him repeated summons to perform the duty of a vassal, 
and in 1276 levied an army to reduce him to obedience. The same 
intestine dissensions which had formerly weakened England now 
prevailed in Wales, and divided the reigning family. David and 
Roderic, brothers of Llewelyn, on some cause of discontent had 
recourse to Edward, and seconded with all their interest, which 
was extensive, his attempts to subdue their native country. 
Equally vigorous and cautious, Edward, entering by the north with 
a formidable army, pierced into the heart of the country; and 
having carefully explored every road before him, and secured every 
pass behind him, approached the Welsh army in its last retreat 
among the hills of Snowdon. Destitute of resources, cooped up in a 
narrow corner, they, as well as their cattle, suffered all the rigours 
of famine ; and Llewelyn, without being able to strike a blow for 
his independence, was at last obliged to submit at discretion, and 
accept the terms imposed upon him by the victor (1277). He 
returned with Edward to England, and did homage to the king at 
Westminster ; after which he received his bride, and was allowed 
to return to Wales. But complaints soon arose on the side of the 
vanquished. Prince David made peace with his brother, and on 
Palm Sunday, 1282, stormed Hawarden castle in his efforts for 



* As the members of religious or 
monastic bodies were reckoned dead in 
law, land holden by them might with 
great propriety be said to be held in 
mortud manu (Kerr's Blackstone, i. 509). 
It must not be overlooked that the act 
was directed not so much against the 
clergy as against the religiosi (religati), 



" bound," that is, by monastic vows. The 
encroachments of the great religious 
houses were as unfavourable to the bishops 
and clergy as to the crown. The identifi- 
cation of these bodies with the church 
of England by modern historians is a 
perpetual source of confusion. 



154 EDWARD I. Chap. ix. 

independence. The Welsh flew to arms ; and Edward, probably 
not displeased with the occasion of making his conquest final and 
absolute, assembled all his military tenants, and advanced into 
Wales with an army which the inhabitants could not reasonably 
hope to resist. The situation of the country gave the Welsh at first 
some advantage ; but Llewelyn was surprised and slain. His head 
was carried to London, and, in derision of a prophecy that he should 
wear a crown in Westcheap, it was borne on a pole, adorned with a 
diadem of silver ivy-leaves, and fixed upon the Tower (1282). David, 
who succeeded his brother, could never collect an army sufficient 
to face the English. Chased from hill to hill and hunted from one 
retreat to another, he was obliged to conceal himself under various 
disguises, and was at last betrayed to the enemy. Edward sent 
him in chains to Shrewsbury ; and brought him to a formal trial 
before the peers of England, who ordered him to be hanged, drawn, 
and quartered as a traitor (1283). The Welsh now laid down 
their arms ; the lords who had joined in the rebellion were deprived 
of their lands; Anglesey, Caernarvon, and Merionethshire, with 
Flint, Cardigan, and Caermarthenshire, were retained by the crown. 
Into these new districts the English laws, with English judges and 
sheriffs, were introduced by the Statute of Wales (1284) ; whilst 
in the rest of the country the marchers were permitted to retain 
their ancient privileges and customs. Many strong castles were 
built, and English people settled in several of the chief towns.* 
This important conquest, which it had required 800 years fully to 
effect, was at last, through the abilities of Edward, now com- 
pleted. It was long before national antipathies were extinguished. 
The principality was annexed to the crown of England; and 
Edward's second surviving son, who was born at Caernarvon 
(April 25, 1284), was, on the death of his elder brother Alfonso 
in August, invested with that dignity, which henceforth gave their 
title to the eldest sons of the kings of England. 

§ 3. The settlement of Wales appeared so complete that in 1286 
Edward visited Paris, to renew his homage (June 5) and make 
peace between Alfonso, king of Aragon, and Philip the Fair, who 
had lately succeeded his father, Philip the Hardy, on the throne of 
France. He had received powers from both princes to settle the 
terms, and he succeeded in his endeavours. He remained abroad 
above three years ; and on his return found many disorders arising 
from open violence and the corruption of justice. To remedy these 
abuses, he summoned a parliament (1290), and brought the judges to 
trial, when all of them, except two, who were ecclesiastics, were con- 

* Among these towns were Brecknock, Caermarthen, Montgomery, and Radnor, 
which the marchers were obliged to surrender to the crown. 



A.D. 1282-1290. PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS. 155 

victed of this crime, fined, and deposed. The same year was marked 
by the banishment of the Jews from England. Throughout Edward's 
reign the Jews had experienced both his anxiety for their con- 
version and the judicial rigour with which he visited their real or 
imputed offences. For the former purpose he built and endowed 
a hospital, now the Rolls' house in Chancery lane, for the support 
of his expected converts and their instruction in Christianity. 
Of his rigour the following are some examples : — Clipping the 
coin was in the early part of Edward's reign a crime of frequent 
occurrence, and its perpetration was facilitated by the custom, 
sanctioned by the laws, of cutting the silver penny into halves 
and quarters. In 1278, no less than 280 Jews were hanged for 
this crime in London alone, the mere possession of clipped money 
being deemed sufficient evidence of guilt. Many Christians, 
guilty of the same offence, were only heavily fined. About 
eight years afterwards all the Jews in England, including women 
and children, were thrown into prison for some imputed offence, 
and detained till they had paid a fine of 12,000Z. At last in 
July, 1290, the whole race was banished the kingdom, to the 
number of 16,511. This severe step is attributed to the persuasion 
of Eleanor, the king's mother. Their lands and dwellings were 
forfeited, but Edward allowed them to carry abroad their money 
and movables, which proved a temptation to the sailors and 
others to murder many of them; for which, however, the king 
inflicted capital punishment. Jews were not permitted to live in 
England till the time of the Commonwealth. 

§ 4. We turn to the affairs of Scotland, not the least important 
in this reign. Alexander III., who had espoused Margaret, 
the sister of Edward, died in 1286, without leaving any male 
issue, or any descendant, except a granddaughter, Margaret, born 
of Eric, king of Norway, and of Margaret, daughter of the Scottish 
monarch. This princess, commonly called The Maid of Norivay, 
had, through her grandfather's care, been recognized as his successor 
by the Scottish estates ; and on Alexander's death she was 
acknowledged queen of Scotland. , On this incident, Edward was 
led to build mighty projects ; and having lately, by force of 
arms, brought Wales into subjection, he proposed, by the marriage 
of Margaret with his eldest son, to unite the whole island under 
one monarchy. The estates of Scotland assented to the Eng- 
lish proposals ; but the project, so happily formed and so amicably 
conducted, failed of success by the sudden death of the Norwegian 
princess, who expired on her passage to Scotland (1290), and left a 
very dismal prospect to the kingdom. Numerous competitors 
sprung up ; but three only had any real claim to the crown. These 



156 



EDWARD I. 



Chap. ix. 



were the descendants of the three daughters of David, earl of Hunt- 
ingdon, and brother of William the Lion, king of Scotland, who 
was taken prisoner by Henry II. : John Balliol, lord of Galloway, 
grandson of Margaret, the eldest daughter; Eobert Bruce, lord of 
Annandale, son of Isabel, the second daughter ; and Hastings, 
lord of Abergavenny, grandson of Ada, the third daughter. Balliol 
and Bruce laid claim to the whole kingdom ; and Hastings main- 
tained that, in right of his mother, he was entitled to a third of it. 
The estates of Scotland, threatened with a civil war, agreed to 
refer the dispute to Edward ; and he used the present favourable 
opportunity for reviving the claim of the English kings to a 
feudal superiority over Scotland. He caused the records of the 
monasteries to be searched for precedents of homage rendered by 
Scottish kings to English sovereigns. Backed with a great army, 
he repaired to Norham, on the banks of the Tweed, and invited the 
Scottish estates, and all the competitors, to attend him "as 
sovereign lord of the land of Scotland," and have their claims 
determined (1291). Astonished at so new a pretension, the Scots 
preserved silence ; but were desired by Edward to return into their 
own country, deliberate upon his claim, and to inform him of their 
resolution. For this purpose he appointed a plain at Upsettleton, 
on the northern bank of the Tweed. 

When the Scots had assembled in the place appointed, though 
indignant at the claim thus preferred, and the situation into which 
they were betrayed, they found it impossible for them to make . 
any defence for their ancient liberty and independence. After 
some debate, Edward's claim was acknowledged by the nine com- 
petitors for the crown (June 5), and the next day the royal 
castles were put into his hands. Shortly after, a court, consisting 
of 80 Scots, and 24 Englishmen as their assessors, met at Berwick 
(August 2, 1292), and in the following November they reported 
in favour of Balliol. Edward gave sentence accordingly, and on 
the 26th December he received the homage of Balliol for the 
kingdom of Scotland. 

The conduct of Edward, however otherwise unexceptionable, was 
irksome to his royal vassal. Balliol was required to proceed to 
London, and obliged to appear at the bar of parliament.* Though a 
prince of a soft and gentle spirit, he returned into Scotland highly 



* Chiefly on complaints of a "denial of 
justice " in the Scottish courts. This was 
made particularly offensive to the vassal 
king in some cases, as in the suit of John 
Le Mason, a Gascon, who claimed a debt 
contracted by Alexander II., but which 
his executors satisfied the Scottish court 



had been paid. The English court over- 
ruled this decision, and, though Balliol 
was not pretended to have any personal 
interest in the matter, he was ordered to 
pay the money, under a threat of losing 
his English lands. 



A.D. 1290-1295. WAR WITH FRANCE. 157 

provoked at this usage, and determined at all hazards to recover 
his liberty. The war which soon after broke out between France 
and England gave him a favourable opportunity for executing his 
purpose. 

§ 5. In an accidental encounter between the crews of an English 
and a Norman vessel in a Norman port, one of the former was 
killed. A series of reprisals ensued on both sides, and the sea 
became a scene of piracy between both nations. At length a fleet of 
200 Norman vessels set sail to the south for wine. In their passage 
they captured all the English ships which they met with, seized 
the goods, and hanged the seamen. The inhabitants of the English 
seaports, informed of this incident, fitted out a fleet of 60 sail, 
stronger and better manned than the others, and awaited the enemy 
on their return. After an obstinate battle, the English put them 
to the rout, and sunk, destroyed, or took the greater part of them 
( 1 293). The affair was now become too important to be any longer 
neglected by either sovereign. Philip IV. cited the king, as duke 
of Guienne, to appear in his court at Paris, and answer for these 
offences ; and Edward, finding himself in immediate danger of 
war with the Scots, allowed himself to be deceived by an artifice 
of Philip, who proposed that, if Edward would consent to put 
Guienne into his hands, he should consider his honour was fully 
satisfied, would restore the province immediately, and be content, 
with a moderate reparation of all other injuries. But no sooner 
was Philip in possession of Guienne than the citation was renewed ; 
Edward was condemned for non-appearance, and Guienne, by a 
formal sentence, was declared to be forfeited and annexed to the 
crown (1294). Enraged at being thus overreached, Edward formed 
alliances with several princes on the continent, sent a powerful 
army into Guienne, met at first with some success, but was ulti- 
mately defeated in every quarter. To divide the English forces, 
and to engage Edward in dangerous wars, Philip now formed an 
alliance with Balliol, king of Scotland, who renounced his homage 
to Edward. This was the commencement of that strict union 
which during so many centuries was maintained by mutual interests 
and necessities between the French and Scottish nations. 

§ 6. The expenses attending these frequent wars of Edward, and 
his preparations for war, joined to alterations which had insensibly 
taken place in the general state of affairs, obliged him to have 
constant recourse to parliament for supplies. He became sensible 
that the most expeditious way of obtaining them was to assemble 
deputies from the boroughs, and to lay his necessities before them. 
In 1295 writs were first issued to the bishops and clergy; on the 
1st October to the barons ; on the 3rd to the sheriffs, stating that the 




158 



EDWAED I. 



Chap. ix. 



king intended to hold a conference or parliament, with his earls, 
barons, and nobles, to provide against the dangers of the realm. 
They were therefore commanded to see two knights elected from 
every shire, and two burgesses of the better sort from every borough 
and city, " to execute whatever should be ordained in the premises 
by common consent." * As a representation of the three estates, 
this parliament of Edward I. may be considered as the model 
of those that followed it, and the first step towards limiting the 
vaguer sense in which the word parliament had till then been 
employed. 

When Edward received intelligence of the treaty secretly con- 
cluded between John and Philip, he marched into Scotland with 
a numerous army, to chastise his rebellious vassal (1296). He 
gained a decisive victory over the Scots near Dunbar. All the 
southern parts of the country were instantly subdued by the 
English; and the feeble and timid Balliol hastened to make a 
solemn and irrevocable resignation of his crown to Edward (July 2). 
The English king marched to Aberdeen and Elgin, without 
meeting an enemy ; and having brought the whole kingdom to a 
seeming state of tranquillity, he returned to the south with his 
army, removing from Scone the stone on which the Scotch kings 
were inaugurated, and to which popular superstition paid the 
highest veneration.f Balliol was carried prisoner to London, and 
committed to the Tower. Three years after he was restored to 
liberty, and retired to France, where he died in voluntary exile 
(1314). John de Warrenne, earl of Surrey, was left governor of 
Scotland (September 29). 

§ 7. An attempt which Edward made about the same time for the 
recovery of Guienne was not equally successful. In order to carry 
on the war, the king stood in need of large sums of money, which 
he raised by arbitrary exactions both on the clergy and laity. 
Pressed by his necessities, he had seized, four years before, the 
wool of the merchants, and only released it after payment of four 
or five marks the sack. He had appropriated the treasure found in 
monasteries and cathedrals. In 1297 he had put the clergy out 
of his protection for refusing a new demand. After a violent 
struggle, they were obliged to submit, and to pay a fifth part of 



* " Ad faciendum quod tunc de com- 
muni consilio ordinabitur in prfemissis." 
The words are ambiguous ; but can 
scarcely mean anything more than that 
these new representatives of the com- 
mons were to take measures for raising 
the aids required in their several counties 
and boroughs. The writs contemplated 



no more than this ; and no legislative 
privilege is implied in them. For whilst 
the writs to the clergy and baronage 
contain a preamble, ad tractandum 
nobiscum, etc., no such clause is found in 
the writs to the commons. 

f Now in the shrine of Edward the 
Confessor, Westminster Abbey. 



a.d. 1297-1305. CONFIRMATION OF THE CHARTERS. 



159 



all their movables. But the nobles and the commons were more 
successful in their resistance, and they found intrepid leaders in 
Humphrey Bohun, earl of Hereford, the constable, and Boger Bigod, 
earl of Norfolk, the marshal of England. Edward, intending to 
attack France on both sides, purposed to send over an army to 
Guienne, while he himself should in person make an impression 
on the side of Flanders. These forces he intended to place under 
the command of the earls of Hereford and of Norfolk. But they 
refused, affirming that they were only obliged by their office to 
attend his person in the wars. A violent altercation ensued. The 
king, in the height of his passion, addressing himself to the earl mar- 
shal, exclaimed, Sir Earl, by God, you shall either go or hang. By 
God, Sir King, replied Norfolk, I will neither go nor hang. And 
he immediately departed with the constable, and above thirty 
other considerable barons. 

In the face of such an opposition the king laid aside the project 
of an expedition against Guienne, and crossed over into Flanders ; 
but the constable and marshal, with the barons of their party, resolved 
to take advantage of his absence, and obtain an explicit assent to 
their demands. Summoned to attend the parliament at London, 
they came with a great body of troops, but refused to enter the city 
until the gates should be put into their custody (October 10). 
They required that the two charters (the Great Charter and that 
of the Forests) should receive a solemn confirmation ; that clauses 
should be added to secure the nation against certain impositions and 
taxes without consent of " the magnates " (parliament) ; and that 
they themselves and their adherents, who had refused to go to 
Guienne, should be pardoned for the offence, and be again received 
into favour. The prince of Wales and his council assented to these 
terms, and the charters were sent over to the king at Ghent in 
Flanders, to be confirmed by him (November 5, 1297). Edward 
was at last obliged, after many struggles, to affix his seal to the 
charters, as also to the clauses that bereft him of the power he had 
hitherto assumed of imposing arbitrary aids and tolls. This took 
place in the 25th year of his reign. He attempted subsequently 
to evade these engagements, and in 1305 secretly applied to Borne, 
and procured from that mercenary court absolution from all the 
oaths and engagements which he had taken to observe both the 
charters ; but he soon after granted a new confirmation. Thus, 
the Great Charter was finally established.* 



* As to what was meant by the king 
and his opponents, the nobles, by the con- 
firmation of the Charters {Magna Carta 
and De Foresta), there is no doubt and no 



difficulty. But it is by no means so clear, 
as is sometimes represented, that Edward 
absolutely renounced all right of impos- 
ing taxation without the consent of the 



160 



EDWARD I. 



Chap. ix. 



In March. 1298, peace was concluded between France and Eng- 
land by the mediation of Boniface VIII: Philip agreed to restore 
Guienne ; Edward agreed to abandon his ally, the earl of Flanders. 
The treaty was cemented by the double betrothal of king Edward 
with Margaret, Philip's sister, and of the young prince of Wales 
with Philip's infant daughter. Edward had lost his devoted wife, 
Eleanor, at Hareby, near Lincoln, in 1290, and had buried her at 
Westminster with extraordinary honours. His second marriage 
took place in 1299. 

§ 8. But while Edward was still abroad, Scotland was the scene 
of a successful insurrection. William Wallace, of Ellerslie, near 
Paisley, descended from an ancient family in the west of Scotland, 
finding himself obnoxious to the government for murdering the 
sheriff of Lanark, had fled into the woods and collected a band of 
outlaws. Growing strong by the neglect of those in authority, he 
resolved to strike a decisive blow against the English government. 
With this view, he concerted a plan for attacking Ormesby, to 
whom as justiciary the government had been deputed by John 
de Warrenne. Ormesby, apprized of his intentions, fled hastily into 
England. De Warrenne, having collected an army of 40,000 men 
in the north of England, suddenly entered Scotland, but was 
defeated by Wallace with great slaughter at Cambuskenneth, near 
Stirling (September 11, 1297). Among the slain was Cressingham, 
the English treasurer, whose memory was so extremely odious to 
the Scots that they flayed his dead body, and made saddles and 
girths of his skin. Breaking into the northern frontiers during 
the winter season, Wallace exercised horrible atrocities. He laid 
every place waste with fire and sword ; and after extending the 
fury of his ravages as far as the bishopric of Durham, he returned, 
laden with spoils, into his own country. 

§ 9. Edward hastened over to England, and, putting himself at 
the head of an army, marched to the Forth without experiencing 
any opposition. He gained a decisive victory over the Scots at 
Falkirk (July 22, 1298). Wallace fled ; the Scottish army was 
broken, and chased off the field with great slaughter. But Scot- 
land was not yet completely subdued. The English army, after 
reducing the southern provinces, was obliged to retire for want of 



nation, or that the barons ever aVmanded 
as much. What the king really did grant 
was, (1) that the aids levied by him for 
his wars should not be drawn into a pre- 
cedent; and (2) that he would take no 
such aids henceforth, except by consent 
of the nation, saving the ancient and 
customary aids. These reservations are 



far more consonant with the spirit of the 
times and the gradual development of the 
constitution than the Latin abstract of 
the chronicler, which is not found on the 
Roll, or in any authorized form. (See 
Statutes of the Realm, i. 124, reprinted 
by Stubbs, Sdect Charters, 484. 



a.d. 1298-1306. DEATH OF WALLACE. 161 

provisions, and left the northern counties in the hands of the natives 
whose nobles formed a commission of regency under John Comyn, 
lord of Badenoch. In 1303 the French king abandoned the Scots, 
and Edward, again entering the frontiers of Scotland, appeared 
with a force which the enemy could not think of resisting in the 
open field. The English navy, which sailed along the coast, 
secured the army from danger of famine ; Edward's vigilance 
preserved it from surprises ; and by this prudent disposition he 
marched victorious from one extremity of the kingdom to the other, 
ravaging the open country, reducing the castles, and receiving 
the submissions of the nobles, and even that of the regent, Comyn 
(February, 1304). Wallace, now a fugitive, was captured by Sir 
John Monteith, governor of Dumbarton castle, and given up to 
the king.* Edward resolved to overawe the Scots by an example 
of severity. He ordered Wallace to be carried in chains to London, 
to be tried and executed as a rebel and traitor, and his head to be 
suspended on a pole over London Bridge (August 23, 1305). It was 
not long before a new and more fortunate leader presented himself. 

§ 10. By his grandfather's death in 1295, and his father's in 1305, 
Eobert Bruce, grandson of that Robert who had been one of the 
competitors for the crown, had succeeded to all their rights. The 
retirement of John Balliol, and of Edward, his eldest son, seemed 
to open a full career to his genius and ambition. Of English 
lineage, and born at Westminster (1274), Bruce was brought up in 
England at the court of Edward I. Incurring the anger of the 
king for remonstrating against the execution of Wallace, Bruce 
suddenly left the court of Edward (1 305). Halting at Dumfries, 
where the Scottish nobles were assembled, he met Comyn, the son 
of Balliol's sister, and nearest successor to the Scottish throne, in 
the cloisters of the Grey Friars. Having vainly tried to win over 
Comyn to his cause, Bruce ran him through the body, leaving him 
for dead. Coming forth to his attendants, who observed his agita- 
tion, he was asked, "What tidings?" "Bad," he replied. "I 
think I have slain Comyn ! " " Think ! " cried James Lindesay, 
and returning with Kilpatrick into the vestry, where Comyn lay, 
Lindesay stabbed him to the heart (February, 1306). 

§ 11. The murder of Comyn affixed the seal to the confederacy 
of the Scottish nobles: no resource was now left but to shake 
off the yoke of England, or perish in the attempt. Bruce was 
solemnly crowned and inaugurated, in the abbey of Scone, by the 
bishop of St. Andrews, whom Edward had made warden of Scotland, 
and who had zealously embraced the Scottish cause (March 27, 
1306). Not discouraged with these unexpected difficulties, Edward 
* Fordun xii. 8. 



1C2 EDWARD II. Chap. ix. 

sent Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, with a considerable force 
into Scotland to check the progress of the malcontents ; and that 
nobleman, falling upon Bruce at Methven in Perthshire, threw his 
army into such disorder as ended in a total defeat (July 22). 
Obliged to yield to superior fortune, Bruce took shelter, with a few 
followers, in the Western Isles. Edward, though sick to death, 
assembled a great army against the Scots, and was preparing to 
enter the frontiers, when he died at Burgh-on-the-Sands, three 
miles from Carlisle (July 7, 1307), enjoining with his last breath 
his son and successor to prosecute the enterprise, and never to 
desist till he had finally subdued the kingdom of Scotland. He 
expired in the 69th year of his age, and 35th of his reign, feared 
and hated by his neighbours, but revered by his own subjects. 

The enterprises of this prince, and the projects which he formed, 
were more advantageous to the solid interests of his kingdom than 
those of either his ancestors or his successors. However arbitrary 
he may have shown himself on occasions, he was politic and 
warlike. He possessed industry, penetration, courage, vigilance, 
and enterprise; he was frugal in all expenses that were not 
necessary ; he knew how to open the public treasures on a proper 
occasion ; he punished criminals with severity ; he was gracious 
and affable to his servants and courtiers ; and being of a majestic 
figure, expert in all military exercises, and i-n the main well- 
proportioned in his limbs, notwithstanding the great length and 
the smallness of his legs, which earned him the byname of 
Longshanks, he was as well qualified to captivate the populace 
by his exterior appearance as to gain the approbation of men of 
sense by his more solid virtues. But the chief advantage which 
England reaped, and still continues to reap, from his reign, was 
the correction, extension, amendment, and establishment of the 
laws. For this he is justly styled the English Justinian. 

EDWARD II. 
§ 12. Edward II., 6. 1284 ; r. 1307-1327.— This prince, called 
Edward of Caernarvon, from the place of his bir-th, was 23 years 
of ao-e when he was proclaimed at Carlisle on the day after his 
father's death (July 8, 1307). Bruce, though his army had been 
dispersed, remained no longer inactive. Before the death of the late 
king, he had sallied from his retreat, and, collecting his followers, 
had appeared in the field and obtained at Loudon Hill some ad- 
vantage over Aymer de Valence, who commanded the English 
forces. Edward, after receiving the homage of the Scots at Dumfries, 
returned and disbanded his army (1311). The nobles soon perceived 
that the authority of the crown had fallen into feebler hands ; and 



a.d. 1307-1312. CAKEER OF GAVESTON. 16H 

Edward's passion for favourites gave them a pretext for complaint. 
Piers Gaveston was the orphan son of Sir Arnold de Gaveston, 
a Gascon knight, who had been unjustly put to death in the English 
cause, and was by queen Eleanor placed in the household of the 
prince of Wales. He soon insinuated himself into the affections 
of his master by his agreeable behaviour. Banished by Edward I., 
he was now recalled by the young king, who, not content with 
conferring on him possessions which had sufficed as an appanage 
for a prince of the blood, daily loaded him with new honours 
and riches; married him to his own niece, sister of the earl of 
Gloucester ; granted him the earldom of Cornwall ; and seemed to 
enjoy no pleasure in his royal dignity but as it enabled him to 
exalt to the highest splendour this object of his affections. When 
he went to France, to do homage for the duchy of Guienne and 
espouse the princess Isabella, to whom he had long been affianced, 
Edward left Gaveston guardian of the realm (December 26, 
1307). 

§ 13. It would be useless to detail all the events which at last 
drew down his tragical fate upon the favourite. Thomas, earl of 
Lancaster, cousin-german to the king, and first prince of the blood, 
headed a confederacy of the nobles against Gaveston, and in a 
parliament held at Westminster, required the king to banish him 
(1308). Edward, however, converted even this circumstance into 
a mark of favour by making Gaveston lieutenant of Ireland, and 
shortly after contrived to procure his recall (1309). In 1311, 
the barons, besides extorting some measures of reform, obliged 
the king to assent to certain ordinances made in parliament for 
the removal of evil counsellors (October 10). Piers Gaveston him- 
self was for ever banished the king's dominions, under pain of ex- 
communication, if he ventured to return. These ordinances were 
drawn up by twenty-one bishops and barons, who were called " Lords 
Ordainers." But Edward, removing to York, freed himself from 
the immediate terror of the barons' power, invited back Gaveston, 
who had retired into Flanders, and declaring his banishment to be 
illegal, and, contrary to the laws and customs of the kingdom, 
openly reinstated him in his former credit and authority (January 
18, 1312). Highly provoked at this conduct, the earl of Lancaster, 
Guy, earl of Warwick, Humphrey Bohun, earl of Hereford, Aymer 
de Valence, earl of Pembroke, and others, renewed with double zeal 
their former confederacies against the king. Lancaster suddenly 
raised an army and marched to York, but found the king already 
removed to Newcastle. He hastened thither in pursuit of him ; 
and Edward had just time to escape to Tynemoutb, where he 
embarked, and sailed with Gaveston to Scarborough. He left his 



164 EDWARD II. Chap. ix. 

favourite in that fortress ; but Gaveston, sensible of the bad con- 
dition of his garrison, was obliged to capitulate, and surrendered 
himself a prisoner on condition that his life should be spared. The 
condition was violated, and Gaveston was executed on Blacklow 
Hill, near Warwick, in the presence of Lancaster and other nobles 
(June 19, 1312). 

§ 14. When the terror of the English power was thus abated by 
the unpopularity of the king, even the least sanguine of the Scots 
joined in efforts for recovering their independence; and by 1313 
the whole kingdom acknowledged the authority of Eobert Bruce, 
who invested the last English fortress at Stirling. Roused by the 
danger, Edward assembled a large army of men ; but some of the 
nobles refused to serve, and others treacherously fled from the field. 
The army collected by Bruce was posted at Bannockburn, about 
two miles from Stirling, and gained a great and decisive victory, 
thus securing the independence of Scotland, and fixing Bruce on 
the throne of that kingdom (June 24, 1314). Edward himself, 
betrayed by Aymer de Valence and others of the nobles, narrowly 
escaped by taking shelter in Dunbar, whose gates were opened to 
him by the earl of March, and thence he fled to Berwick. 

§ 15. Thomas, earl of Lancaster, who was suspected of holding 
treasonable correspondence with the Scots, now took advantage of the 
king's humiliation ; and in a parliament held at York (September 9, 
1314), Edward was compelled to dismiss his chancellor, treasurer, 
and other officers, whose places were immediately filled by the earl's 
nominees. Hugh le Despenser, the elder, and Walter Langton were 
removed from the council, and the king was reduced to an allowance 
of £10 a day. Lancaster did not fail to use these advantages to the 
prejudice of his unfortunate relative. In 1316 he entirely wrested 
the reins from Edward's hands, by procuring himself to be appointed 
president of the council, without whose consent nothing should 
be done. But the power thus gained he failed to exercise either 
with ability or with moderation. The son of Hugh le Despenser 
had succeeded Gaveston in the king's affections. The father was 
a nobleman venerable from his years, respected for his wisdom, 
valour, and integrity, and well fitted, by his talents and experience, 
to have supplied the defects both of the king and of his favourite. 
But no sooner was Edward's attachment declared for young 
Spenser than Lancaster and most of the great barons made him 
the object of their animosity, and formed plans for his ruin. They 
entered London with their troops (1321); and giving in to the 
parliament, which was then sitting, a charge against the Spensers, 
they procured a sentence of forfeiture and perpetual exile against 
these ministers. In the following year Edward hastened with his 



A.v. 1312-1325. TRUCE WITH SCOTLAND. 165 

army to the marches of Wales, the chief seat of the power of his 
enemies, whom he found totally unprepared for resistance. Lan- 
caster, to prevent the total ruin of his party, summoned together 
his vassals and retainers ; declared his alliance with Scotland, 
which had long been suspected ; and, being joined by the earl of 
Hereford, advanced with all his fori es against the king. Dis- 
appointed in this design, he fled with his army to the north, in 
expectation of being joined by his Scottish allies ; was pursued 
by the king ; and, with a diminished army, marched to Borough- 
bridge, where he was defeated and captured. Lancaster, as guilty 
of open rebellion, was condemned by a military court, and led to 
execution. He was clothed in a mean attire, placed on a lean 
jade without a bridle, conducted to an eminence near Pontefract, 
one of his own castles, and there beheaded (1322). 

§ 16. After one more fruitless attempt against Scotland, Edward 
retreated with dishonour — for he had traitors among his officers — 
and found it necessary to terminate hostilities with that kingdom 
by a truce of thirteen years (1323). This truce was the more 
seasonable for England, because the nation was at that juncture 
threatened with hostilities from France. Charles the Fair had 
some grounds of complaint against the king's ministers in Guienne : 
and queen Isabella, who had obtained permission to go over to 
Paris and endeavour to adjust the difference with her brother, pro- 
posed that Edward should resign the dominion of Guienne to his 
eldest son, now thirteen years of age; that the prince should 
come to Paris, and do the homage which every vassal owed to his 
superior lord. Spenser was charmed with the contrivance. Young 
Edward was sent to Paris : and the danger covered by this fatal 
snare was never perceived or suspected by any of the English council 
(September 12, 13-5). 

The queen, on her arrival in France, had found there a great 
number of English fugitives, the remains of the Lancastrian faction ; 
and their common hatred of Spenser soon begat a secret friendship 
and correspondence between them and Isabella. Among the rest 
was Roger Mortimer, lord of Wigmore, a potent baron in the Welsh 
marches, who was easily admitted to her court. Though he was 
married, the graces of his person and address advanced him quickly 
in Isabella's affections. He became' her confidant and counsellor, 
and engaged her to sacrifice at last to her passion all the sentiments 
of honour and of fidelity to her husband. Mortimer lived in the 
most declared intimacy with her ; a correspondence was secretly 
carried on with the malcontent party in England ; and when Edward, 
informed of those alarming circumstances, required her speedily to 
return with the prince, she publicly replied that she would never set 



1G6 EDWARD II. Chap. ix. 

foot in the kingdom till the Sponsors were for ever removed from his 
presence and councils — a declaration which procured her great popu- 
larity in England, and threw a decent veil over all her treasonable 
designs. She affianced young Edward to Philippa, daughter of the 
count of Holland and Hainault ; and having, by the assistance of this 
prince, enlisted in her service nearly 3000 men, she set sail from the 
harbour of Dort, and landed safely and without opposition on the 
coast of Suffolk (September 24, 1326). She was joined by Edward's 
half-brothers, the earls of Kent and Norfolk, and many of the 
nobility. Edward, deserted by his subjects, repaired to the west; 
but being disappointed in his expectations of loyalty in those 
parts, he passed over to Wales, where, he nattered himself, his 
name was still popular, and the natives less infected with the 
general contagion. The elder Spenser, created earl of Winchester, 
was left governor of the castle of Bristol ; but the garrison mutinied 
against him, and he was delivered into the hands of his enemies 
and executed. The king took shipping for Ireland; but being 
driven back by contrary winds, he endeavoured to conceal 
himself in Wales. He was soon discovered, was put under the 
custody of the earl of Lancaster, and was confined in the castle 
of Kenihvorth. The younger Spenser also fell into the hands of 
his enemies, and was hanged after a hasty trial. The queen then 
summoned a parliament at Westminster in the king's name 
(January 7, 1327). A charge was drawn up against the king, for 
whom no voice was raised. His deposition was voted : the young 
Edward, already declared regent by his party, was placed on the 
throne : and a deputation was sent to his father at Kenilworth, to 
require his resignation, which menaces and terror soon extorted 
from him (January 20). The unfortunate monarch, hurried from 
place to place, was at length transferred to Berkeley castle, and 
the impatient Mortimer secretly sent orders to his keepers to 
despatch him. It was believed that these ruffians threw him on a 
bed, held him down violently with a table which they flung over 
him, thrust into his intestines a red-hot iron, which they inserted 
through a horn; and though all outward marks of violence upon his 
person were prevented by this expedient, the horrid deed was 
discovered to all the guards and attendants by the screams with 
which the agonizing king filled the castle while his bowels were 
consuming (September 21). Thus miserably perished, in the 14th 
year of his age, Edward II., than Avhom it is not easy to imagine 
a prince less fitted for governing the fierce and turbulent barons 
subjected to his authority. 




Noble of Edward III. 

Obv. : edward . dei . gra . kex . angi.' z franc' . d . hyb'g. The king standing 
in a ship (type supposed to relate to the naval victory gained by him over the French 
fleet off Sluys, a.d. 1340). Rev. : ihc : transiens : per : medivm : illorvm : ibat +. 
Cross fleury, with a fleur-de-lis at each point, and a lion passant under a crown in 
each quarter. 



CHAPTER X. 
HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET— Continued. 

EDWARD III. AND RICHARD II. A.D. 1327-1399. 

§ 1. Accession of Edward III. War with Scotland. § 2. Fall of Mortimer. 
§ 3. King's administration. War with Scotland. Battle of Halidon 
Hill. § 4. Edward's claim to the crown of France. § 5. War with 
France. § 6. Domestic disturbances, .riiiairs of Brittany. § 7. Re- 
newal of the French war. Battle of Crecy. § 8. Captivity of the 
king of Scots. Calais taken. § 9. Institution of the Garter. War 
in Guienne and battle of Poitiers. § 10. Captivity of king John. 
Invasion of France and peace of Bretigny. § 11. The Black Prince in 
Castile. Rupture with France. § 12. Death of the prince of Wales. 
Death and character of the king. § 13. Miscellaneous transactions of 
this reign. § 14. Accession of Richard II. Insurrection. § IS. 
Discontents of the nobility. Expulsion or execution of the king's 
ministers. § 16. Counter-revolution. Ascendency of the duke of 
Lancaster. Cabals and murder of the duke of Gloucester. § 17. 
Death of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster. Revolt of his son Henry. 
Deposition, death, and character of the king. § 18. The Wickliffites. 

1. Edward IK., b. 1312; r. 1327-1377.— After the late king's 
deposition a council of regency was appointed by parliament, and 
Henry, earl of Lancaster, became guardian and protector of the king's 
person, who, at the age of 14, ascended the throne with the title 
of Edward III.* The real power, however, was in the hands of 
Isabella and Mortimer. 

The Pcots seized the opportunity offered by the unsettled state 
of the English government to make incursions into the northern 
counties. The young king, who had put himself at the head of 

* His reign is dated from the 25th of January, 1327. He was crowned January 29. 



168 EDWARD III. Chap. x. 

an army in order to repress them, narrowly escaped falling into 
the hands of the enemy. Douglas, having surveyed exactly the 
situation of the English camp, entered it secretly in the night- 
time, with a body of 200 determined soldiers, and advanced to the 
royal tent, with the view of killing or carrying off the king in the 
midst of his army. Bat some of Edward's attendants, awaking in 
that critical moment, resisted ; his chaplain and chamberlain sacri- 
ficed their lives to his safety ; and the king himself, after a valorous 
defence, escaped in the dark. Douglas, having lost the greater part 
of his followers, was glad to make a hasty retreat. Soon after, 
the Scottish army decamped in the dead of night; and having 
thus got the start of the English, returned without further loss 
into their own country. This inglorious campaign was followed 
by a disgraceful peace. As the claim of sovereignty by England, 
more than any other cause, had tended to inflame the animosities 
between the two nations, Mortimer, besides stipulating for a mar- 
riage between Joan, sister of Edward, and David, the son and 
heir of Kobert Bruce, consented to resign absolutely all claim of 
supremacy over Scotland, and to acknowledge Robert as an inde- 
pendent sovereign. The regalia were restored ; many Scottish 
prisoners were released, the Scots agreeing to pay the sum of 
30,000 marks in three years. This treaty was ratified by parlia- 
ment (May 4, 1328). 

§ 2. But the fall of Mortimer was now approaching. Having 
persuaded the earl of Kent that his brother, king Edward, was still 
alive and detained in some secret prison in England, he induced 
the unsuspicious earl to enter into a conspiracy for his restoration, 
and then caused him to be condemned on the charge by parliament, 
and executed (March 21, 1330). The earl of Lancaster was greatly 
alarmed, and feeling that he must himself be the next victim, he 
did his best to turn the young king against Mortimer. But Mortimer 
blindly persisted in his high-handed dealings; he was bent on 
sweeping from his path all who stood in the way of his ambition. 
He had, in 1328, been created earl of March, and he affected a state 
and dignity equal, if not superior, to the royal power. He 
became formidable to every one; and all parties, forgetting past 
animosities, agreed in detesting him. It was impossible that 
this could long escape the observation of a prince endowed with 
so much spirit and judgment as young Edward. He communi- 
cated to several nobles his intentions of humbling Mortimer ; and 
the castle of Nottingham was chosen for the scene of their 
enterprise. The queen-dowager and Mortimer lodged in that for- 
tress : the king also was admitted, though with a few only of his 
attendants ; and as the castle was strictly guarded, the gates locked 



a.d. 1327-1332. DEATH OF MORTIMER. 169 

every evening, and the keys carried to the queen, it became neces- 
sary to communicate the design to Sir William Eland, the governor, 
who zealously took part in it. By his direction the king's associates 
were admitted through a subterranean passage, which had formerly 
been contrived for a secret outlet from the castle, but was now 
buried in rubbish. Mortimer, without having it in his power to 
make resistance, was suddenly seized in an apartment adjoining 
to the queen's (October 19). In a parliament summoned at West- 
minster, Mortimer was arraigned on certain charges, assumed to 
be notorious ; was condemned unheard, and hanged on a gibbet 
at Tyburn (November '29, 1330). The queen was confined to her 
own house at Castle Rising ; and though the king paid her a 
visit of ceremony once or twice a year, she was never reinstated 
in any credit or authority. She died in 1357. 

§ 3. Edward, having now taken the reins of government into 
his own hands, applied himself with industry and judgment to 
redress all those grievances which had proceeded either from want 
of an authority in the crown, or from the late abuses of it. During 
the convulsions of the last reign, murder and theft had multiplied 
enormously, and malefactors were openly protected by the great 
barons, who made use of them against their enemies. Gangs of 
robbers had become so numerous as to require the king's own 
presence to disperse them ; and in executing this salutary office 
he exerted both courage and industry. For the next three or four 
years his attention was engaged with the affairs of Scotland. 
Robert Bruce, who had recovered the independence of his country, 
died (November 24, 1331) soon after the last treaty of peace with 
England, leaving David, his son, a young child, under the guardian- 
ship of Randolph, earl of Moray, the companion of all his victories. 
Great discontent had been excited among many of the English 
nobility by Brace's non-performance of that article of the treaty 
by which they were to be restored to their estates in Scotland. 
Under the influence of these feelings they resolved on setting up 
Edward, the son of John Balliol, then residing in Normandy, as 
a pretender to the Scottish crown. Edward secretly encouraged 
Balliol, and countenanced the nobles who were disposed to join 
in the attempt. The arms of Balliol were attended with sur- 
prising success; he was crowned at Scone (1332); and David, 
his competitor, was sent over to France with his betrothed wife, 
Joan, sister to Edward. But Balliol's imprudence, or his neces- 
sities, making him dismiss the greater part of his English followers, 
he was attacked on a sudden near Annan by the Scots, enraged at 
his ceding the town of Berwick to Edward (November 23, 1332), was 
put to the rout, and chased into England in a miserable condition. 



170 EDWARD III. Chap, x. 

Thus lie lost his kingdom in a few months by a revolution as 
sudden as that by which he had acquired it (December 12, 13o2). 

While Balliol enjoyed his short-lived and precarious royalty, he 
had offered to acknowledge Edward's claim of sovereignty, and to 
espouse the princess Joan, if the pope's consent could be obtained 
for dissolving her former marriage, which was not yet consummated. 
Edward willingly accepted the offer, and prepared to reinstate him 
in possession of the crown, for which the inroads of the Scots into 
the northern counties after the battle of Annan seemed to offer a 
reasonable pretext. At the head of a powerful army he advanced 
to lay siege to Berwick. Douglas was defeated and slain at Halidon 
Hill, a little north of that city. Berwick was surrendered (1333). 
Balliol was acknowledged king by a parliament held at Edinburgh 
(1334). The superiority of England was again recognized, and 
many of the Scottish nobility swore fealty to Edward. To com- 
plete the misfortunes of that nation, Berwick, Dunbar, Roxburgh, 
Edinburgh, and all the south-east counties of Scotland were ceded 
by the new king and declared to be for ever annexed to the English 
monarchy. But the Scots were still far from being subdued. In 
1335, and again in the following year, Edward was obliged to 
proceed thither with an army; and as a war was now likely to 
break out between France and England, the Scots had reason 
to expect a great diversion of that force which had so long oppressed 
and overwhelmed them. Edward Balliol fled to England, and 
spent most of his nominal eight years' reign at Edward's court. 
David II. was recalled from exile in 1341, though still to a pre- 
carious throne. 

§ 4. Upon the death of Charles IV. in 1328 without male issue, 
Philip of Valois, the cousin of Charles, succeeded as Philip VI., for 
by the Salic law all females were excluded from the crown. Edward 
III. claimed it as next male heir to Charles ; for, though Isabella 
was, on account of her sex, incapable of reigning, he maintained 
that a right to the crown could be transmitted through her to 
her male offspring. This point had never yet been determined by 
the Salic law. He had acquiesced at first in the succession of 
Philip, and had twice done homage in general terms for the pro- 
vince of Guienne (1329, 1331). It was not until 1337 that he 
renewed his claim, irritated by the aid afforded by Philip to the 
Scots. 

§ 5. Before preparing for invasion, Edward resolved to strengthen 
himself by various continental alliances. He assumed the title of 
king of France (October 7, 1337), and crossing over to Flanders, 
where he had obtained the adhesion of Jacob van Artevelde, 
the leader of the popular party among the Flemings (1338), he 



A.D 1332-1340. NAVAL VICTORY AT SLUYS. 



171 



invaded France in the following year, but was obliged to retreat 
without effecting anything, owing to the apathy of his allies. 
He was, however, a prince of too much spirit to be daunted by 
the first difficulties of an enterprise, and was anxious to retrieve 
his honour by more successful efforts. Philip, apprized by the 
preparations which were making both in England and the Low 
Countries that he must expect another invasion, fitted out a great 
fleet of 400 vessels, manned with 40,000 men, and stationed them 
off Sluys, with a view of intercepting the king in his passage to 
the continent. The English navy was much inferior in number, 
consisting only of 240 sail ; but, either by the superior abilities of 
Edward or the greater dexterity of his seamen, they gained the 
wind of the enemy, and had the sun on their backs, and with 
these advantages the action began. It lasted nine hours, and 
ended in favour of Edward. 230 French ships were taken ; 30,000 
Frenchmen were killed, with two of their admirals. On the side 
of the English, two ships only were sunk and 4000 men slain 
(June 24, 1340). Elated with his success, Edward advanced to the 
frontiers of France at the head of 100,000 men, consisting chiefly 
of foreigners. He laid siege to Tournay, but after a few weeks 
agreed to a truce, as his money was exhausted, and he suddenly 
returned to England. 

§ 6. It required all his genius and energy to extricate himself 
from his multiplied embarrassments. His claims on France and 
Scotland had engaged him in an implacable war with these two 
kingdoms : he had lost most of his foreign alliances by the irregu- 
larity of his payments : he was deeply involved in debts, and, 
except his naval victory, none of his military operations had been 
attended with glory. The animosity between him and the clergy, 
especially John Stratford, archbishop of Canterbury, to whom, as 
chancellor,* the charge of collecting the taxes had been chiefly in- 
trusted, was open and declared. The people were discontented; 
and, what was more dangerous, the nobles, taking advantage of the 
king's present necessities, were determined to retrench his power, 
and, by encroaching on the ancient prerogatives of the crown, to 
acquire a greater amount of independence and authority. In 1340 
parliament framed an act to confirm the Great Charter anew, and 
oblige all the chief officers of the law and of the state to swear to 
the regular observance of it. They petitioned that no peer should 
be punished but by the award of his peers in parliament ; that the 



* He and his brother Robert, bishop of 
Chichester, held the office of chancellor, 
alternately, for more than ten years. 
Robert, failing to furnish such liberal 



supplies as Edward required in his wars, 
was suddenly displaced, December, 1340, 
and was succeeded by sir Robert Bourchier, 
the first layman who held that post. 



172 EDWARD III. Chap. x. 

chief officers of state should be appointed by the king in parlia,- 
ment, and should answer before parliament to any accusation 
brought against them. In return for these important concessions, 
the commons offered the king a grant of 30,000 sacks of wool. 
His wants were so urgent, so clamorous the demands of his foreign 
allies, that Edward was obliged to accept the supply on these 
conditions, with one important modification — that the choice of 
his ministers should rest only with himself, " he taking therein the 
assent of his council." He ratified this statute in full parliament ; 
but he subsequently issued au edict to abrogate and annul it, and 
two years after it was formally repealed. 

A disputed claim to the succession of Brittany on the death of 
duke John III. opened the way to fresh attempts upon France. 
The dukedom was claimed by the count de Montfort, John's 
brother by a second marriage, and by Charles de Blois, nephew 
of the French king, who had married John's niece. Montfort 
offered to do homage to Edwaid as king of France for the duchy 
of Brittany, and proposed a strict alliance in support of their 
mutual pretensions. Edward saw immediately the advantages 
attending this treaty: Montfort, an active and valiant prince, 
closely united to him by interest, seemed likely to be far more 
serviceable than his allies on the side of Germany and the Low 
Countries. Montfort, however, fell into the hands of his enemies ; 
was conducted as a prisoner to Paris ; but Joan of Flanders, 
his countess, after she had put Brittany in a good posture of 
defence, shut herself up in Hennebon till she was relieved by the 
succours which Edward sent her under the command of sir Walter 
Manny, one of his ablest and bravest captains (1342). 

§ 7. In the autumn of the same year Edward undertook her 
defence in person ; and as the last truce with France had expired, 
the war, in which the English and French had hitherto embarked 
as allies to the competitors for Brittany, was now conducted in 
the name and under the standard of the two monarchs. This 
war, like the preceding, was carried on without any important 
advantages on either side till 1346, when the English gained the 
first of the two great victories which have shed such a lustre upon 
Edward's reign. The king had intended to sail to Guienne, which 
was threatened by a formidable French army, and embarked at 
Southampton, on board a fleet of nearly 1000 sail of all dimen- 
sions, carrying with him, besides all the chief nobility of England, 
his eldest son, Edward, prince of Wales, now 16 years of age. 
The winds long proved contrary ; and the king, in despair of arriv- 
ing in time in Guienne, at last ordered his fleet to sail to Normandy, 
and safely disembarked his army at La Hogue (July, 1346). 



a.d. 1340-1346. BATTLE OF CllECY. 173 

This army, which, during the course of the ensuing campaign, 
was crowned with the most splendid success, consisted of 4000 
men-at-arms, 10,000 archers, 12,000 Welsh infantry, and 6000 
Irish. After laying waste Normandy and advancing almost to 
the gates of Paris, Edward retreated towards Flanders, pursued 
by the French king. He had crossed the river Somme below 
Abbeville, when he was overtaken by the French army, consisting 
of 100,000 men. He took up his position near the village of 
Cbecy, about 15 miles east of Abbeville, and determined there 
to await the enemy. On the morning of August 26th, he drew up 
his army in three lines on a gentle ascent ; the first was commanded 
by the prince of Wales, with whom were the earls of Warwick 
and Oxford; the earls of Arundel and Northampton commanded 
the second ; and the king himself took his station on a hill with 
the third. In the front of each division stood the archers, arranged 
in the form of a portcullis. Having gained a day's respite, 
Edward had taken the precaution to throw up trenches on his 
flanks, in order to secure himself from the numerous bodies of 
the French, who might assail him from that quarter; and he 
placed all his baggage behind him in a wood, which was also 
secured by an intrenchment. Besides the resources which he found 
in his own genius and presence of mind, he is said to have employed 
a new invention against the enemy. He placed in the front some 
pieces of artillery. Artillery was at this time known in France as 
well as in England ; but Philip, in his hurry to overtake the enemy, 
had probably left his cannon behind him, which be regarded as a 
useless encumbrance. After a long day's march from Abbeville, the 
French army, imperfectly formed into three lines, arrived, already 
fatigued and disordered, in presence of the enemy. The first line, 
consisting of 15,000 Genoese crossbow men, was commanded by 
Anthony Doria and Charles Grimaldi ; the second was led by the 
count of Alencon, brother to the king ; Philip himself was at the 
head of the third. John of Luxembourg, king of Bohemia, and his 
son, the king of the Komans, were also present, with all the nobility 
and great vassals of the crown of France. Numerous as was 
the army, the prudence of one man counterbalanced all this force 
and splendour. 

A heavy storm, accompanied with incessant thunder and 
lightning, had further discomforted the French and wetted the 
strings of the Genoese bowmen. At five the weather cleared and 
the Genoese commenced the attack. Steady and immovable, the 
English received their fire ; then, after a brief interval, they drew 
their bows from their cases, and poured in such a shower of arrows 
that the Genoese fell back in disorder. The second line, under 



174 EDWARD III. Chap. x. 

the count of Alenqon, now advanced to the attack, supported 
by numerous cavalry ; but as they approached through the narrow- 
lanes flanked by the English archers, many fell and the rest were 
thrown into confusion. As the prince of Wales was now hard 
pressed by superior numbers, the second division advanced to his 
support. When the king was entreated by those about him to 
bring up his reserves to his son's assistance, " No," said he ; " let 
the boy win his spurs, and gain the glory of the day ! " Inspired 
with this proof of the king's confidence, the English fought with 
renewed courage. After a stout resistance the French cavalry 
gave way : the count of Alencon was slain : the Welsh and Irish 
infantry rushed into the throng, and with their long knives cut 
the throats of all who had fallen. No quarter was given that day 
by the victors. The king of France advanced in vain with the 
rear to sustain the line commanded by his brother. His horse was 
killed under him, and he was obliged to quit the field of battle. 
The whole French army took to flight, was followed and put to 
the sword, without mercy, till darkness put an end to the pursuit. 
On his return to the camp, Edward, embracing the prince of Wales, 
exclaimed, " Sweet son ! God give you good perseverance : you are 
my son; for most loyally have you acquitted yourself this day, and 
you are worthy of a crown." From this time the young prince 
became the terror of the French, by whom he was called the Black 
Prince, from the colour of the armour which he wore on that day 
(August 26, 1346). 

The dead found on the field included, on the French side, 11 
princes, 80 bannerets, 1200 knights, 1400 gentlemen, 4000 men-at- 
arms, besides about 30,000 of inferior rank. Among the slain was 
the old and blind king of Bohemia. Besolved to hazard his 
person and set an example to others, he ordered the reins of his 
bridle to be tied on each side to two gentlemen of his train ; and 
his dead body, and those of his attendants, were afterwards found 
among the slain, with their horses standing by them in that 
situation. It is said that the crest of the king of Bohemia was 
three ostrich feathers, and his motto Ich (lien, " I serve," which the 
prince of Wales and his successors adopted in memorial of this 
great victory.* The loss sustained by the English was very 
slight. But, notwithstanding his success, the king was compelled 
by his necessities to limit his ambition for the present to the con- 
quest of Calais ; to which, after an interval of a few days employed 
in interring the slain, he now turned his attention. 

§ 8. While Edward was engaged in this siege, which employed 

* There is, however, great doubt re- I the essay by sir H. Nicolas in the 
specting the truth of this tradition. See | Archaologia, vol. xxxii. 



ad. 1346-1347. SIEGE OF CALAIS. 175 

him exactly eleven months, other events occurred to the honour 
of the English arms. The earl of Lancaster, who commanded 
the English forces in Guienne, carried his incursions to the banks 
of the Vienne, and devastated all the southern provinces of France. 
The Scots, under the command of their king, David Bruce, entered 
Northumberland, but were completely defeated by Henry Percy, 
at Neville's Cross, near Durham (October 17, 1346) : the king him- 
self was taken prisoner, with many of the nobility. David Bruce 
was detained in captivity till 1357, when he was liberated for a 
ransom of 100,000 marks. 

The town of Calais was defended with remarkable vigilance, 
constancy, and bravery by the townsmen, during a siege of unusual 
length ; and Philip had in vain attempted to relieve it. At 
length, after enduring all the extremities of famine, John de 
Vienne, the governor, surrendered unconditionally (August 3, 1347). 
The .story runs that Edward had at first resolved to put all the 
garrison to death ; but that at last he only insisted that six of the 
most considerable citizens should be sent to him, to be disposed of 
as he thought proper ; that they should come to his camp, carrying 
the keys of the city in their hands, bareheaded and barefooted, 
with ropes about their necks ; and on these conditions he promised 
to spare the lives of the remainder. When this intelligence was 
conveyed to Calais, the inhabitants were struck with consternation. 
Whilst they found themselves incapable of coming to any resolution 
in so cruel and distressful a situation, at last one of the principal 
citizens, called Eustace de St. Pierre, stepped forth and declared 
himself willing to suffer death for the safety of his friends 
and companions ; another, animated by his example, made a like 
generous offer ; a third and a fourth presented themselves to the 
same fate ; and the whole number was soon completed. These six 
heroic burgesses appeared before Edward in the guise of malefactors, 
laid at his feet the keys of their city, and were ordered to be led out 
to execution. But the entreaties of his queen saved Edward's 
memory from this infamy : she threw herself on her knees before 
him, and, with tears in her eyes, begged the lives of these citizens. 
Having obtained her request, she carried them into her tent, 
ordered a repast to be set before them, and, after making them 
a present of money and clothes, dismissed them in safety. The 
king, after taking possession of Calais, removed the inhabitants to 
make way for English settlers ; a policy which probably preserved 
so long to his successors the possession of that important fortress. 
He made it the staple of wool, leather, tin, and lead; the four 
chief, if not the sole, commodities of the kingdom for which there 
was at that time any considerable demand in foreign markets. 



176 EDWARD III. Chap. x. 

Through the mediation of the pope's legates Edward concluded 
a truce with France ; but, even during this cessation of arms, an 
attempt was made to deprive him of Calais (1349). Being in- 
formed of the plot, he proceeded to Calais with 1000 men; and, 
when the French presented themselves to take possession of the 
town at the time appointed, Edward sallied forth to oppose them. 
On this occasion he fought hand to hand with a French knight, 
named Ribaumont. Twice he was struck to the ground, but con- 
trived at last to make his assailant prisoner. The French officers 
who had fallen into the hands of the English were admitted to sup 
with the prince of Wales and the English nobility. After supper 
the king entered the apartment, and conversed familiarly with 
his prisoners. On Ribaumont he openly bestowed the highest 
encomiums, admitting that he himseif had never been in greater 
danger. In token of his valour he presented Ribaumont with a 
chaplet of pearls which he wore about his own head (January, 
1349). 

§ 9. About the same time the king is said to have instituted 
the order of the Garter (1349). Its true origin is lost in obscurity. 
According to the popular account, the countess of Salisbury dropped 
her garter at a court-ball, when the king picked it up ; and ob- 
serving^some of the courtiers to smile, he exclaimed, Honi soit 
qui mul y pense, " Evil be to him that evil thinks ;" and gave 
these words as the motto of the order. 

A grievous calamity, called . the Black Death, more than the 
pacific disposition of the two princes, served to maintain and pro- 
long the truce between France and England. It invaded England 
as well as the rest of Europe; and is computed to have swept away 
nearly a third of the inhabitants in every country attacked by it 
(1349). Above 50,000 souls are said to have perished by it in 
London alone. Public business was interrupted; war was dis- 
continued until 1355 ; the legal and judicial work ceased for 
two years, and the population, especially among the lower 
orders, was greatly diminished. To augment the evils of the time, 
cattle and sheep were attacked by it, and the resources of the 
country were severely impaired. This malady first appeared in the 
north of Asia, spread over all that country, and made its progress 
from one end of Europe to the other, depopulating every state 
through which it passed. As labourers decreased in England, the 
survivors endeavoured by combination to obtain higher wages. 
The attempt was resented by parliament, and an act was passed, 
called the Statute of Labourers (23 Edw. III. c. 1), which ordered 
them to work at their accustomed wages. As they were little 
inclined to do this, another statute was passed a few years after, 



ad. 1349-1356. BATTLE OF POITIERS. 177 

making them liable to severe punishments if any wilfully remained 
idle, or quitted their usual place of abode. 

The truce between the two kingdoms expired in 1355. John 
the Good had succeeded to the French throne on the death of his 
father, Philip of Valois, in 1350 ; and France was distracted by the 
factions excited by Charles the Bad, king of Navarre. John had 
succeeded in seizing and imprisoning that prince ; but the cause 
of Charles was maintained by his brother Philip, and Geoffrey 
d'Harcourt, who had recourse to the protection of England. Well 
pleased that the factions in France had at length gained him 
partisans in that kingdom, which his pretensions to the crown 
had never been able to secure, Edward purposed to attack his 
enemy both on the side of Guienne, under the command of the 
prince of Wales, and on that of Calais, in his own person. Young 
Edward arrived in the Garonne with his army, overran Languedoc, 
advanced even as far as Narbonne, laying every place waste around 
him. After an incursion of six weeks, he returned with a vast 
booty and many prisoners to Guienne, where he took up his winter 
quarters. His father's incursion from Calais was of the same 
nature, and attended with the same results. After plundering 
and ravaging the open country, he retired to Calais, and, thence 
to England, in order to defend his kingdom against a threatened 
invasion of the Scots, who, taking advantage of the king's absence, 
had surprised Berwick. But on the approach of Edward they 
abandoned that place, which was not tenable while the castle was 
in the hands of the English ; and, retiring northwards, gave the 
enemy full liberty of burning and destroying the whole country 
from Berwick to Edinburgh. 

In the following year (1356) the prince of Wales, encouraged by 
the success of the preceding campaign, took the field from Bordeaux 
with an army of 12,000 men, of which not a third were English ; 
and with this small body he ventured to penetrate into the heart 
of France. His intentions were to march into Normandy, and to 
join his forces with those of the duke of Lancaster and the partisans 
of the king of Navarre ; but, finding all the bridges on the Loire 
broken _ down, and every pass carefully guarded, he was obliged to 
think of making his retreat into Guienne. The king of France, 
provoked at this insult, and entertaining hopes of punishing the 
young prince for his temerity, collected an army of 60,000 men, 
and advanced by hasty marches to intercept his enemy. They 
came within sight at Maupertuis, near Poitiers ; and Edward, 
sensible that his retreat had now become impracticable, prepared 
for battle with all the courage of a young hero, and with all the 
prudence of the oldest and most experienced commander. His 



178 EDWARD III. Chap. x. 

army was now reduced to 8000 men. At the instance of the 
cardinal of Perigord, John lost a day in negociation ; and thus the 
prince of Wales had leisure during the night to strengthen, by 
new intrenchments, the post he had before so judiciously chosen. 
He contrived an ambush of 300 men-at-arms and as many archers, 
wborn he ordered to make a circuit, that they might fall on the 
flank or rear of the French army during the engagement. The van 
of his army was commanded by the earl of Warwick, the rear by 
the earls of Salisbury and Suffolk, the main body by the prince 
himself. The king of France also arranged his forces in three 
divisions. The English position was surrounded by hedges, and 
was only accessible by a single road, flanked on each side by 
English archers. As the enemy advanced they were shot down 
with impunity, and the passage was choked by their dead. Dis- 
couraged by the unequal combat, and diminished in number, they 
arrived at the end of the lane, and were met on the open ground 
by the prince of Wales himself, at the head of a chosen body, 
ready for their reception. Discomfited and overthrown, and re- 
coiling upon their own men, the whole army was thrown into 
disorder. In that critical moment the men placed in ambush 
appeared and attacked the dauphin's line in flank. The duke of 
Orleans and several other French commanders fled with their 
divisions. King John made the utmost efforts to retrieve by his 
valour what his imprudence had betrayed, till, spent with fatigue 
and overwhelmed by numbers, he and his son yielded themselves 
prisoners. Young Edward received the captive king with every 
mark of regard and sympathy; administered comfort to him 
amidst his misfortunes ; paid him the tribute of praise due to his 
valour ; and ascribed his own victory merely to the blind chance 
of war, or to a superior Providence which controls all the efforts 
of human force and prudence. The behaviour of John showed him 
not unworthy of this courteous treatment; his present abject fortune 
never made him forget for a moment that he was a king. More 
touched by Edward's generosity than by his own calamities, he 
confessed that, notwithstanding his defeat and captivity, his 
honour was still unimpaired ; and that, if he yielded the victory, 
it was at least gained by a prince of consummate valour and 
humanity. Edward ordered a repast to be prepared in his tent for 
the prisoner, and he himself served at the royal captive's table, as if 
he had been one of his retinue. He stood at the king's back during 
the meal ; constantly refused to take a place at table ; and declared 
that, being a subject, he was too well acquainted with the distance 
between his own rank and that of royalty to assume such freedom. 
The battle of Poitiers was fought September 19, 1356. 



A.D. 1356-1360. TREATY OF BRETIGNY. 179 

The prince of Wales conducted his prisoner to Bordeaux ; and, 
not being provided with forces numerous enough to enable him to 
push his present advantages further, he concluded a truce for two 
years with France, and returned with his royal prisoner to England. 
On entering London (May 24, 1357), he was met by a great con- 
course of people of all ranks and stations. The prisoner was clad 
in royal apparel, and mounted on a white steed, distinguished by 
its size and beauty and by the richness of its furniture. The 
conqueror, in meaner attire, rode by his side on a black palfrey. 
In this situation, more glorious than all the insolent parade of a 
Eoman triumph, he passed through the streets of London, and 
presented the king of France to his father, who advanced to meet 
him, and received him with as much courtesy as if he had been 
a neighbouring potentate that had voluntarily come to pay him a 
friendly visit. 

§ 10. During the captivity of John, France was thrown into the 
greatest confusion by domestic factions and disorders. Edward 
employed himself during a conjuncture so inviting chiefly in nego- 
ciations with his prisoner ; and John had the weakness to sign terms 
of peace, by which he agreed to restore all the provinces formerly 
possessed by Henry II. and his two sons, and to annex them for 
ever to England, without any obligation of homage or fealty on the 
part of the English monarch. But the dauphin and the states of 
France rejected a treaty so dishonourable and pernicious to the 
kingdom ; and Edward, on the expiration of the truce, having now, 
by subsidies and frugality, collected sufficient treasure, prepared 
for a new invasion of France (1359). It is unnecessary to follow 
the ravages of the English during this invasion, in which many of 
the French provinces were laid waste with fire and sword, and the 
people suffered incredible miseries. At length Charles, the dauphin, 
agreed to the terms of a peace, which was concluded at Bretigny 
near Chartres, on the following conditions : — It was stipulated that 
John should be restored to his liberty, and should pay for his 
ransom three millions of crowns of gold (about 1,500,000 pounds 
of our present money) in successive instalments; that Edward 
should for ever renounce all claim to the crown of France, and 
to the provinces of Normandy, Maine, Touraine, and Anjou, 
possessed by his ancestors ; and should receive in exchange the 
full sovereignty of the duchy of Aquitaine, including, besides 
Guienne and Gascony, the provinces of Poitou, Saintonge, l'Agenois, 
Perigord, the Limousin, Quercy, Eouergue, l'Angoumois, and other 
districts in that quarter, and also Calais, Guisnes, Montreiiil, and 
the county of Ponthieu, on the other side of France ; that France 
should renounce all title to feudal jurisdiction, homage, or appeal 



180 EDWARD III. Chap. x. 

on their behalf; that the king of Navarre should be restored to 
all his honours and possessions ; that Edward should renounce 
his confederacy with the Flemings, and John his connections with 
the Scots ; that the disputes concerning the succession of Brittany 
between the family of Blois and Montfort should be decided by 
arbiters appointed by the two kings ; and that forty hostages, to be 
agreed on, should be sent to England as security for the execution 
of allsthese conditions (May 8, 1360). In consequence of this 
arrangement the king of France was brought over to Calais, whither 
Edward also soon after repaired ; and there both princes solemnly 
ratified the treaty. John was sent to Boulogne; the king accom- 
panied him a mile on his journey, and the two monarchs parted 
with many professions of mutual amity. As he was unable to 
fulfil the terms of his release, John returned to England (January 4, 
1364). He soon after sickened and died in the palace of the 
Savoy, where he had resided during his captivity. He was suc- 
ceeded on the throne by his son Charles V., a prince educated in 
the school of adversity, and well qualified, by his consummate 
prudence and experience, to repair the losses which France had 
sustained from the errors of his two predecessors. 

§ 11. In 1367 the Black Prince marched into Castile, in order to 
restore Peter, surnamed the Cruel, who had been driven from the 
throne of that country by his natural brother, Henry, count of 
Transtamare, with the assistance of the French. Henry was defeated 
by the English prince at Navarrete, and was chased off the field, 
with the loss of above 20,000 men. Peter, who well merited the 
infamous epithet which he bore, proposed to murder all his prisoners 
in cold blood, but was restrained from this barbarity by the remon- 
strances of the prince of Wales. All Castile now submitted to the 
victor ; Peter was restored to the throne ; and Edward finished this 
perilous enterprise with his usual glory. But the barbarities exer- 
cised by Peter over his helpless subjects, whom he now regarded 
as vanquished rebels, revived all the animosity of the Castilians 
against him. On the return of Henry of Transtamare, with rein- 
forcements levied in France, the tyrant was again dethroned and 
was taken prisoner. His brother, in resentment of his cruelties, 
slew him with his own hand; and was placed on the throne of 
Castile, which he transmitted to his posterity. The duke of Lan- 
caster, John of Gaunt, who espoused in second marriage the eldest 
daughter of Peter, inherited only the empty title of sovereignty, 
and, by claiming the succession, increased the animosity of the new 
king of Castile against England. 

But the prejudice which the affairs of prince Edward received 
from this splendid though imprudent expedition ended not with it. 



A.D. 1360-1376. DEATH OF THE BLACK PRINCE. 181 

He had involved himself so much in debt by his preparations and 
the pay of his troops, that he found it necessary, on his return, to 
impose a new tax on his French subjects. This incident revived 
the animosity of the Gascons, who were encouraged to carry their 
complaints to Charles, as to their lord paramount, against these 
oppressions of the English government. Charles, in open breach of 
the treaty of Bretigny, sent to the prince of Wales a summons to 
appear in his court at Paris, and there to justify his conduct towards 
his vassals. The prince replied that he would come to Paris, but it 
should be at the head of 00,000 men. War between the French 
and English broke out afresh ; and Edward, by advice of parlia- 
ment, resumed the title of king of France (1369). The French 
invaded the southern provinces ; and by means of their good con- 
duct, the favourable disposition of the people, and the ardour of 
the French nobility, made every day considerable progress. The 
state of the prince of Wales's health did not permit him to mount 
on horseback, or exert his usual activity ; and when he was obliged 
by his increasing infirmities to throw up the command and return 
to his native country, the affairs of the English in the south of 
France seemed to be menaced with total ruin. Shortly before his 
departure the prince perpetrated an act of cruelty which is a foul 
blot upon his fair name. Having retaken the town of Limoges, 
which had revolted from him, he oidered the inhabitants to be 
butchered in cold blood (1370). This was Irs last conquest; for 
sickness forced him to return home. After his departure the kinc 
endeavoured to send succours into Gascony ; but all his attempts, 
both by sea and land, proved unsuccessful. He was at last obliged, 
from the necessity of his affairs, to conclude a truce with the enemy 
(1374), after most of his ancient possessions in France had been 
ravished from him, except Bordeaux and Bayonne, and all his 
conquests except Calais. 

§ 12. The decline of the king's life was thus exposed to many 
mortifications, and corrresponded not to the splendid scenes which 
had filled the beginning and the middle of it. This prince, who 
during the vigour of his age had been chiefly occupied in the 
pursuits of war and ambition, being now a widower, attached him- 
self to one Alice Perrers, who acquired a great ascendancy over 
him. Her influence caused such general disgust, that, in order 
to satisfy the parliament, he was obliged to remove her from 
court. In its measures for redress, this parliament, called The 
Good, was supported by the Black Prince, in opposition to his 
brother, John of Gaunt, whose influence was distasteful to the 
commons. The prince of Wales died soon after of a lingering 
illness, in the 46th year of his age (June 8, 1376). His valour 
10 



182 EDWARD III. Chap. x. 

and military talents formed the smallest part of his merit. His 
generosity, affability, and moderation gained him the affections 
of all men ; and he was qualified to throw a lustre, not only 
on the rude age in which he lived, but on the most shining period 
of ancient or modern history. He was buried in the cathedral 
of Canterbury, where his tomb is still shown. The king survived 
him about a year, and expired in the 65th year of his age and the 
51st of his reign (June 21, 1377), and was buried at Westminster. 
The ascendancy which the English then began to acquire over 
France, their rival and supposed national enemy, made them cast 
their eyes on this period with great complacency. But the domestic 
government of this prince is really more admirable than his foreign 
victories ; and England enjoyed, by the prudence and vigour of his 
administration, a longer interval of domestic peace and tranquillity 
than she had been blest with in any former period, or than she 
experienced for many ages after. Edward gained the affections of the 
great, yet curbed their licentiousness : he made them feel his power 
without their daring or even being inclined to murmur at it. His 
affable and obliging behaviour, his munificence and generosity, 
made them submit with pleasure to his dominion. His valour and 
conduct made them successful in most of their enterprises ; and 
their unquiet spirits, directed against a public enemy, had no 
leisure to breed domestic disturbances. This was the chief benefit 
which resulted from Edward's victories and conquests. 

§ 13. Conquerors, though often the bane of human kind, proved 
in those times the most indulgent of sovereigns. They stood 
most in need of supplies from their people ; and, not being able 
to compel them by force to submit to the exactions required, they 
were obliged to make compensation by equitable laws and popular 
concessions. So was it with Edward III. He took no steps of 
any moment without consulting his parliament and obtaining their 
approbation, which he afterwards pleaded as a reason for their 
supporting his measures. Parliament, therefore, rose into greater 
consideration during his reign, and acquired more regular authority, 
than in any former time.* 

One of the most popular laws enacted by any prince was the 
Statute of Treasons, which limited the cases of high treason, before 
vague and uncertain, to three principal heads, namely, conspiring 
the death of the king, levying war against him, and adhering to 
his enemies (25 Edward III. st. 5, c. 2, 1351). 

The magnificent castle of Windsor was rebuilt by Edward III., 
and his method of conducting the work may serve as a specimen of 
the condition of the people in that age. Instead of engaging work- 
* See Notes and Illustrations to chap. xii. : On the Parliament. 



a.d. 1377. 



STATUTE OF PROVISOES. 



183 



men by contracts and wages, he assessed every county in England 
to send him a certain number of masons, tilers, and carpenters, as 
if he had been. raising an army. 

It is easy to imagine that a prince of so much sense and spirit as 
Edward would be no slave to the court of Eome. Though the 
tribute granted by John was paid during some years of Edward's 
minority, it was afterwards withheld ; and when the pope, in 1366, 
threatened to cite him to the court of Rome for default of payment, 
he laid the matter before his parliament. That assembly unani- 
mously declared that king John could not, without consent of the 
nation, subject his kingdom to a foreign power ; and that they were 
therefore determined to support their sovereign against this unjust 
pretension.* During this reign the Statute of Provisors was 
enacted,f rendering it penal to procure any presentations to benefices 
from the court of Rome, and securing the rights of the patrons, 
which had been extremely encroached on by the pope. By a sub- 
sequent statute, every person was outlawed who carried any cause 
by appeal to the court of Rome.J 

Edward III. may be called the father of English commerce. He 
encouraged Flemish weavers to settle in his kingdom, and protected 
them against the violence of the English weavers. Wool was the 
chief article of export and source of revenue. The merchants carried 
on an extensive trade with the Baltic. The use of the French 
language in pleadings was abolished in this reign. The first docu- 
ment in English dates as far back as 1258. 

Edward had seven sons and five daughters by his queen Philippa 
of Hainault. His sons were : 1. Edward, the Black Prince, who 
married Joan, daughter of his great-uncle the earl of Kent, who 
was beheaded in the beginning of this reign. She was first married 
to Sir Thomas Holland, by whom she had children. By the prince 
of Wales she had a son Richard, who survived his father. 2. 
William of Hatfield, who died young. 3. Lionel, duke of Clarence, 
who left one daughter, Philippa, married to Edmund Mortimer, 
earl of March. 4. John of Gaunt, so called from being born at 
Ghent, duke of Lancaster, and father of Henry IV. 5. Edmund, 
duke of York. 6. William of Windsor, who died young. 7. Thomas, 
duke of Gloucester. 

RICHARD II. 

§ 14. Richard ll., b. 1366 ; r. 1377-1399.— As Richard II., son 
of the Black Prince, upon whom the crown devolved by the death 



* This was not the real reason. The 
tribute had been paid by Henry III. and 
Edward I ; but when the papacy was 
transferred to Avignon in 1309, the tribute 



was withheld, as the pope had now become 
a mere instrument in the hands of France. 

f 25 Edward III., St. 6, 1351. 

J 27 Edward III., c. 1, 1353. 



184 KICHARD II. . Chap. x. 

of his grandfather, was horn at Bordeaux in 1366, and was now 
only 11 years of age, the House of Commons, who were now begin- 
ning to take a greater share in public affairs, petitioned the king 
and lords, to elect a council of eight to assist "the king's other 
state officers" in the affairs of the realm (October 13). Richard 
was crowned at Westminster July 16. 

The first three or four years of Richard's reign passed without 
anything memorable, except some fruitless expeditions against 
France, which increased the unpopularity of John of Gaunt. The 
expenses of these armaments, and the usual want of economy attend- 
ing a minority, exhausted the English treasury, and obliged the par- 
liament, besides making some alterations in the councils, to impose 
a new tax of three groats, or twelve pence, on every person, male and 
female, above fifteen years of age ; and though they ordained that, 
in levying the tax, " the richer should aid the poorer sort," the 
injustice of taxing all alike provoked resistance (1380). The first 
disorder commenced among the bondmen of Essex, and Kent soon 
followed the example. The tax-gatherers came to the house of a 
tiler in Dartford, and demanded payment for his daughter, whom 
her mother asserted to be below the age assigned by the statute. 
When one of these fellows laid hold of the maid in a scandalous 
manner, her father, hearing her cries, rushed in from his work, and 
knocked out the ruffian's brains with his hammer. The bystanders 
applauded the action, and exclaimed that it was full time for the 
people to take vengance on their tyrants, and to vindicate their 
native liberty. They immediately flew to arms : the whole 
neighbourhood joined them : the flame spread in an instant over 
the surrounding district ; and, faster than the news could fly, the 
people rose in Kent, Hertford, Surrey, Sussex, Suffolk, Norfolk, 
Cambridge and Somersetshires. The disorder soon grew beyond 
control. Under leaders who assumed such names as Wat Tyler, 
Jack Straw, Jack Carter, and Jack Miller, they committed every- 
where the most outrageous violence on such of the gentry or nobility 
as had the misfortune to fall into their hands. 

The insurgents, amounting to 100,000 men, assembled on Black- 
heath (June 12, 1381), under their leaders Tyler and Straw, and 
were addressed by an itinerant priest, John Ball, whom they had 
released from Maidstone gaol. Ball took for his text a rude 
couplet — 

" Whanne Adam dalfe and Eve span, ' 
Who was thanne a gentil man ? " 

The rioters broke into the city, and burned the Savoy, the palace 
of the duke of Lancaster, who was then in Scotland ; cut off the 
heads of the gentlemen who fell into their hands, and pillaged the 



A.D. 1377-1381. REBELLION OP WAT TYLER. 185 

merchants' warehouses. Another body quartered themselves at 
Mile End ; and, as they insisted on laying their grievances before 
the king, Richard, who was then in the Tower, consented to hear 
their demands. They required a general pardon, the abolition of 
bondage, freedom of commerce in market towns without toll or 
impost, and a fixed rent on lands, instead of the services due by 
villeinage. These requests were complied with; charters to that 
purpose were granted them, and they immediately dispersed and 
returned to their several homes. 

During the king's absence another body of the rebels, breaking 
into the Tower, had murdered Simon Sudbury, the archbishop 
of Canterbury and chancellor, Sir Robert Hales, the treasurer, 
and other persons of distinction, and continued their ravages in 
the city. The next morning, as the king was passing along Smith- 
field, very slenderly guarded, he was met by Wat Tyler, at the 
head of his followers, and entered into a conference with him. 
Tyler, having ordered his companions to retire until he gave the 
signal for an attack, drew near the royal retinue. He behaved 
himself with so much insolence that Sir William Walworth, then 
mayor of London, thinking the king was in danger, drew his 
sword and struck the rebel a violent blow, which brought him to 
the ground, where he was instantly despatched by the king's atten- 
dants. Seeing their leader fall, the mutineers prepared themselves 
for revenge ; and the whole company, with the king himself, 
would undoubtedly have perished on the spot, had it not been for 
an extraordinary presence of mind which Richard discovered on the 
occasion. Putting spurs to his horse, he rode into the very midst 
of the enraged multitude ; and accosting them with an affable and 
intrepid countenance, as they bent their bows, " What, my 
friends," he exclaimed, " would you shoot your king ? Are ye 
angry that ye have lost your leader? Follow me; I am your 
king: I will be your leader." Overawed by his presence, the 
populace implicitly obeyed, and were led by him into the fields, to 
prevent any disorder which might have arisen by their continuing 
in the city. Being joined there by Sir Robert Knollys, and a body 
of veteran soldiers, who had been secretly drawn together, Richard 
strictly prohibited that officer from falling on the rioters and com- 
mitting an indiscriminate slaughter, and then peaceably dismissed 
them with the same charters which had been granted to their 
fellows. Soon after the nobility and gentry, in obedience to the 
royal summons, flocked to London with their adherents and re- 
tainers, and Richard took the field at the head of an army 40,000 
strong. The rebels had no alternative but to submit. Many were 
executed by the judges on circuit, and among them John Ball. 



186 



RICHARD II. 



Chap. x. 



The charters of enfranchisement and pardon were revoked by- 
parliament. But it afterwards passed an act of general pardon, 
refusing, however, the king's proposal to enfranchise the serfs.* 

§ 15. A youth of sixteen (for that was the king's age), who 
had discovered so much courage and address, raised great expecta- 
tions. But with advancing years these hopes vanished, and his 
want of judgment appeared in all his enterprises. In 1385 he 
undertook a fruitless expedition against the Scots ; advanced as far 
as the Forth and burned Edinburgh, ravaging all the towns and 
villages in his way. But provisions failing him, or suspicious of the 
designs of his uncle, the duke of Lancaster, he returned to England. 

The subjection in which Bichard was held by his uncles, and 
more particularly by Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, 
was extremely disagreeable to the king, and he attempted to shake 
off the yoke. Bobert de Vere, earl of Oxford, a young man of 
noble family, of an agreeable figure, but of dissolute manners, had 
acquired great influence over him. This partiality on the king's 
part excited the jealousy of the princes of the blood and of the 
chief nobility ; and the usual complaints against the insolence of 
favourites were loudly echoed and greedily received in every part of 
the kingdom. Their first attempts were directed against the king's 
ministers ; and Michael de la Bole, the chancellor, a man of low 
descent, lately created earl of Suffolk, was, at the instigation of the 
duke of Gloucester, impeached and condemned by the parliament on 
questionable charges of corruption (1386). Gloucester and his 
associates next attacked the king himself, and framed a commission, 
ratified by parliament, by which a council of regency was formed 
with Gloucester at the head, thus virtually depriving the king 
of all authority. In the following year, Bichard, having obtained 
from five of the judges, whom he met at Nottingham, a declaration 
that the commission was derogatory to the royal prerogative, 
attempted to recover his power ; but Gloucester and his adherents 
took up arms, defeated the forces of the king, and executed or 
banished his adherents. Bobert de Vere, whom the king had created 
duke of Ireland, fled into the Low Countries, where he died in exile 
a few years after (1387). 

§ 16. In little more than a twelvemonth, however, Bichard, now 
in his twenty-third year, declared in council that, as he had now at- 



* The causes and motives of this in- 
surrection, which spread dismay through 
all ranks of society, have never been 
precisely ascertained. It is probable 
that they varied according to place and 
circumstances. Originating, perhaps, in a 
desire for emancipation an4 social equality, 



as the passions of the insurgents rose 
•with success, nothing less than the sub- 
version of the laws and of the whole fabric 
of society would have contented them. 
It is the only instance in our history of a 
war of class against class. 



a.d. 1385-1397. ARREST OF GLOUCESTER. 187 

tained the full age which entitled him to govern by his own authority, 
he was resolved to exercise his right of sovereignty (1389). Gloucester 
and some others were removed from the council ; and no oppo- 
sition was made to these changes. Soon after the duke of Lancaster, 
who had returned from Spain, having resigned his pretensions to 
the crown of Castile for a large sum of money, effected a recon- 
ciliation between Gloucester and the king. 

The wars, meanwhile, which Eichard had inherited with his 
crown, were conducted with little vigour, by reason of the weak- 
ness of all parties. The French war was scarcely heard of; the 
tranquillity of the northern borders was only interrupted by one 
inroad of the Scots, which proceeded more from a rivalry between 
the two martial families of Percy and Douglas than from any 
national quarrel. A fierce battle or skirmish, celebrated in the 
ballad of " Chevy Chase," was fought at Otterbourne (August 19, 
1388), in which young Percy, surnamed Hotspur, from his im- 
petuous valour, was taken prisoner, and Douglas was slain. Insur- 
rections among the Irish obliged the king to make an expedition 
into that country, which he reduced to obedience (1394) ; and he re- 
covered, in some degree, by this enterprise, his character for courage. 
At last the English and French courts began to think in earnest 
of a lasting peace, but found it so difficult to adjust their opposite 
pretensions, that they were content to establish a truce of twenty- 
five years. To render the amity between the two crowns more 
durable, Eichard, who had lost his first consort, Anne of Bohemia, 
was married to Isabella, the daughter of Charles VI., a child of 
eight years old (1396). Meanwhile the duke of Gloucester, taking 
advantage of this incident, and appealing to the national antipathy 
against France, resumed his plots and cabals. The king, seeing that 
either his own or his uncle's ruin was inevitable, caused Gloucester, 
then living at Pleshy, to be suddenly arrested. He was hurried on 
board a ship lying in the river, and conveyed to Calais. The earls 
of Arundel and Warwick were seized at the same time. Thus 
suddenly deprived of their leaders, the malcontents were overawed ; 
and the concurrence of the dukes of Lancaster and York in those 
measures deprived them of all possibility of resistance. A parlia- 
ment was summoned; charges were preferred against Gloucester 
and his associates ; the commission which usurped the royal au- 
thority was annulled, and it was declared treasonable to attempt, 
in any future period, the revival of any similar body (1397). The 
commons then preferred an impeachment against Thomas, arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, brother to the earl of Arundel, and accused 
him for his concurrence in procuring the illegal commission, and 
in attainting the king's ministers. The primate pleaded guilty, 



188 RICHARD II. Chap. x. 

was banished the kingdom, and his temporalities were sequestered. 
His brother was condemned and executed (September 21). The life 
of the earl of Warwick was spared for his submissive behaviour, 
but he was doomed to perpetual banishment in the Isle of Man. 
A warrant was next issued to bring over the duke of Gloucester 
from Calais, to take his trial; but the earl marshal returned for 
answer that the duke had died. In the subsequent reign attesta- 
tions were produced in parliament that he had been suffocated by his 
keepers. But these proceedings in Henry's reign may have been 
nothing more than an unworthy attempt to blacken the memory 
of Richard. Gloucester left a written acknowledgment of his guilt ; 
and his acts when in power give him little claim to compassion. 

§ 17. In 1398 Henry, duke of Hereford, son and heir of the 
duke of Lancaster, had accused Thomas Mowbray, duke of Norfolk, 
of slandering the king. On Norfolk's denial, it was agreed that 
the dispute should be settled by wager of battle. The parties met 
at Coventry, but the combat was suspended by Richard. To 
preserve the peace of the realm, he banished Hereford for ten 
years and Norfolk for life. Next year Lancaster died, and Richard 
seized his estates. Hereford had acquired, by his conduct and 
abilities, the esteem of the people; he was connected with the 
principal nobility by blood, alliance, or friendship; and as the 
injury done him by the king might in its consequences affect them 
all, he easily brought them, by a sense of common interest, to 
take part in his resentment. Embarking from Brittany with a 
retinue of sixty persons, among whom were the archbishop of 
Canterbury and the young earl of Arundel, nephew to that prelate, 
he landed at Raven spur in Yorkshire (July 4, 1399). He was im- 
mediately joined by the earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, 
two of the most potent nobles in England. The malcontents in all 
quarters flew to arms : London discovered the strongest symptoms 
of its disposition to mutiny: and Henry's army, increasing on 
every day's march, soon amounted to the number of 60,000 com- 
batants. Richard was at this time absent in Ireland, to avenge 
the death of the lord lieutenant, Roger Mortimer, earl of March, 
his cousin. His uncle, the duke of York, whom he had left guardian 
of the realm, assembled an army of 40,000 men, but found them 
entirely destitute of zeal and attachment to the royal cause, and 
soon after openly joined the duke of Lancaster, who was now 
entirely master of the kingdom. Receiving intelligence of this in- 
vasion and insurrection, Richard hastened from Ireland and landed 
at Milford Haven; but being deserted by his troops, was taken 
prisoner and carried first to Flint castle and afterwards to London 
(September 1). The duke of Lancaster now extended his designs 



A.D. 1397-1399. HIS DEPOSITION. 189 

to the crown itself. He first extorted a resignation from Kichard 
(September 29); but as he knew that this deed would plainly 
appear the result of force and fear, he resolved, notwithstanding 
the danger of the precedent, to have him solemnly deposed in 
parliament for tyranny and misconduct. A charge, consisting of 33 
articles, was accordingly drawn up against Richard and presented 
to parliament. He was accused of infringing the constitution, 
alienating the crown estates, levying excessive purveyance, extort- 
ing loans, granting protections from lawsuits, &c. The charge was 
not canvassed, nor examined, nor disputed in either house, and 
appears to have been received at once with almost universal appro- 
bation. Richard was deposed by the suffrages of both houses (Sep- 
tember 30) ; and, the throne being now vacant, the duke of Lancaster 
stepped forth, and having crossed himself on the forehead and on 
the breast, and called upon the name of Christ, he pronounced 
these words : — " In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
I, Henry of Lancaster, challenge this realm of England, and the 
crown, with all the members and appurtenances ; als (as) I that 
am descended by right line of the blood, coming fro the good 
lord king Henry III.; and through that right that God of His 
grace hath sent me, with help of kin and of my friends, to recover 
it ; the which realm was in point to be undone by default of 
governance and undoing of the good laws." 

In order to understand this speech, it must be observed that a 
story was circulated among the Lancastrians, that Edmund Crouch- 
back, earl of Lancaster, son of Henry III., was really the elder 
brother of Edward I. ; but that, by reason of the deformity of his 
person, he had been postponed in the succession, and his younger 
brother imposed on the nation in his stead. As the present duke 
of Lancaster inherited from Edmund by his mother, this genealogy 
made him the true heir of the monarchy.* It is therefore in- 
sinuated in Henry's speech, but was too gross an absurdity to be 

* He was descended from Henry III. both by father and mother. 
Henry III. 



Edward I. king. Edmund, earl of Lancaster. 

Edward II. king. Henry, earl of Lancaster. 

Edward III. king. Henry, duke of Lancaster. 

John of Gaunt. = Blanche, duchess of Lancaster. 

I 
Henry TV. 
The rightful heir to the crown, on the deposition of Richard, was Edmund Mortimer, 
earl of March, then a child of seven years old, son of Roger Mortimer, who had lately 
been killed in Ireland, and great-grandson of Lionel, duke of Clarence. See Genea- 
logical Table H. 

10* 



190 RICHARD II. Chap. x. 

openly avowed either by him or by the parliament. The case is 
the same with regard to his right of conquest : he was a subject 
who rebelled against his sovereign ; he entered the kingdom with a 
retinue of no more than sixty persons ; he could not therefore be 
the conqueror of England ; and this right is accordingly insinuated, 
not avowed. But no objection was taken to his claims, and by 
the voice of lords and commons he was placed on the throne (Sep- 
tember 30).* Six days after, Henry called together, without any 
new election, the same members ; and this assembly he denominated 
a new parliament. They were employed in the usual task of 
reversing every deed of the opposite party. On the motion of the 
earl of Northumberland, the House of Peers resolved unanimously 
that Richard should be imprisoned under a secure guard in some 
secret place, and should be deprived of all commerce with his friends 
or partisans. It was easy to foresee that he would not long remain 
alive in the hands of his enemies. The manner of his death is 
unknown, for the common account that he was murdered at Ponte- 
fract by sir Piers Exton rests on no sufficient evidence. A corpse 
said to be his, but so muffled as not to be recognized, was exhibited 
at St. Paul's in March, 1400, and buried at King's Langley, but 
removed by Henry V. to Westminster. Richard left no posterity. 
His government was arbitrary, especially during the latter years 
of his reign. He had, however, succeeded to a kingdom greatly 
disorganized by the wars of his grandfather. As a child he had 
to rule over nobles demoralized by long periods of military licence, 
and he lost the support of the clergy from his indifference to 
L^llardy. The charges against him must be received with caution, 
for a parliament surrounded by a victorious army can never be 
regarded as a just or independent tribunal, or its judgments of 
any value in determining the verdict of history. 

§ 18. In this and the previous reign John Wickliffe, a secular 
priest educated at Oxford, began his attack on the papal claims 
and the friars who supported them. He made many disciples 
among men of all ranks and stations. Denying the supremacy of 
the popes, he held that kings were their superiors, and that it was 
lawful to appeal from a spiritual to a secular tribunal. His cardinal 
principle, that dominion is founded in grace, was taken up by his 
followers, the Lollards, and carried by them to practical conclusions 
which Wickliffe himself perhaps never anticipated. His greatest 
service to the Reformation was his translation of the Bible. He 
was patronized by John of Gaunt, who made no scruple, as well as 
lord Percy, the marshal, to appear openly in court with him, when 

* This scene was acted in the new hall of the palace of Westminster, the present 
" Westminster Hall," which Richard had just rebuilt. 



Chap. x. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



191 



he was cited before the tribunal of the bishop of London (1377). 
Wickliffe died of a palsy, December 31, 1384, at his rectory at 
Lutterworth, in the county of Leicester. Geoffrey Chaucer, 
who flourished at this period, may be regarded as the father of 
English poetry. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. DEATH OF RICHARD II. 

Many contemporary English authori- 
ties agree that Richard died of starvation, 
after a few months' imprisonment. The 
French chroniclers assert that he was 
violently murdered. On the other hand, 
three or four Scotch writers, of whom the 
principal are Winton and Bower, assert 
that he escaped from Pontefract to the 
Western Isles of Scotland ; that he was 
there recognized and carried to the court 
of Robert III. ; and that he lived under 
that monarch and the regent Albany till 
1419, when he died at Stirling. 

The truth of the Scotch account has 
been maintained at great length by Mr. 
Tytler (fltst. of Scotland, vol. iii. A pp.), 
who has been followed by Mr. Williams 
(Preface to the Chronique de la Traison 
et Mort de Richart II., published by the 
English Historical Society, 1846) and a few 
others. That a person pretending to be 
Richard was maintained in Scotland is 
sufficiently clear ; but an examination 
of the evidence has failed to convince 
us that he was the deposed English 
monarch. 

B. STATUTE OF PRAEMUNIRE. 

This statute, passed 16 Ric. II. c. 5 
(a.d. 1393), was enacted to check the 
exorbitant power claimed and exercised 
by the pope in England. It was so 
called from the words of the writ used 
for the citation of a party who had 
broken the statute : Praemunire facias 
A.B., "Cause A. B. to be forewarned" that 
he appear before us to answer the con- 
tempt with which he stands charged. 
Hence the word praemunire denominated, 



in common speech, not only the writ, but 
also the offence of maintaining the papal 
power. "The original meaning," says 
Blackstone, " of the offence which we call 
praemunire, is introducing a foreign power 
into this land, and creating an imperium 
in imperio, by paying that obedience to 
papal process which constitutionally be- 
longed to the king alone, long before the 
Reformation in the reign of Henry VIII." 
Though the statute of 16 Ric. II. c. 5, is 
usually called the Statute of Praemunire, 
several others of a similar kind had been 
enacted in preceding reigns. The 25 
Edw. III. was the first statute made 
against papal provisions, the name ap- 
plied to a previous nomination to certain 
benefices, of which the pope claimed the 
patronage, by a kind of anticipation, 
before they became actually void, though 
afterwards indiscriminately applied to 
any kind of patronage exerted or usurped 
by the pope. In the reign of Edward III. 
more stringent laws were enacted against 
papal provisions. By 16 Ric. II., c. 5, 
" whoever procures at Rome, or elsewhere, 
any translations, processes, excommunica- 
tions, bulls, instruments, or other things, 
which touch the king, against him, his 
crown, and realm, and all persons aiding 
and assisting therein, shall be put out of 
the king's protection, their lands and goods 
forfeited to the king's use, and they shall 
be attached by their bodies to answer to 
the king and his council : or process of 
praemunire facias shall be made out 
against them, as in any other cases of 
provisors." In the reign of Henry VIII. 
the penalties of praemunire were extended 
still further against the authority of the 
pope. 




Henry IV. und his queen, Joan of Navarre. From their monument at Canterbury. 



CHAPTER XL 
THE HOUSE OF LANCASTEE. 

HENRY IV., HENRY V., HENRY VI. A.D. 1399-1461. 

§ 1. Accession of Henry IV. Insurrections. Persecution of the Lollards. 
§ 2. Rebellions of the earl of Northumberland. Battle of Shrewsbury. 
§ 3. Foreign transactions. Captivity of prince James of Scotland. 
Death and character of the king. § 4. Accession of Henry V. His 
reformation. § 5. Proceedings against the Lollards. Sir John Old- 
eastle. § 6. Invasion of France. Battle of Agincourt. § 7. New- 
invasion of France. Conquest of Normandy. Treaty of Troyes and 
marriage of Henry with Katharine of France. § 8. Further conquests 
of Henry V. His death and character. § 9. Henry VI. Settlement 
of the government. Fi-ench affairs. § 10. Siege of Orleans. Joan of 
Arc. § 11. Charles VII. crowned at Rheims. Henry VI. crowned at 
Paris. § 12. Capture, trial, and execution of the Maid of Orleans. § 13. 
Treaty of Arras. Death of Bedford. § 14. Marriage of Henry VI. 
Death of the duke of Gloucester. The English expelled from France. 
§ 15. Claim of the duke of York to the crown. His powerful connec- 
tions. § 16. Unpopularity of the government. Suffolk accused and 
executed. § 17. Insurrection of Jack Cade. Disaffection of the com- 
mons. Rising of the duke of York. §18 The duke of York protector. 
First battle of St. Albans. § 19. Civil war. Decision of the House of 
Peers. Battle of Wakefield and death of the duke of York. § 20. 
Second battle of St. Albans. Edward IV. saluted king by the citizens 
of London. 

§ 1. Henry IV., 6. 1366 ; r. 1399-1413.— This monarch was born 
at Bolingbroke in Lincolnshire, in 1366, and was of the same age 



a.d. 1399-1402. INSURRECTION IN WALES. 



193 



as his deposed cousin. He was declared king, as we have already 
seen, September 30, 1399. The rightful heir to the crown, Edmund 
Mortimer, earl of March, was a child of only seven years old, and 
was detained by Henry in honourable custody at Windsor castle. 

Henry was hardly seated upon the throne before several nobles 
favourable to Richard's cause formed a conspiracy for seizing the 
king's person. The plot was betrayed to the king by the earl of 
Rutland, the elder son of the duke of York (January 4, 1400), and 
the conspirators perished either in the field or on the scaffold. 
This unsuccessful attempt hastened the death of Richard, who 
was shortly afterwards murdered, as narrated in the preceding 
chapter. 

Henry, finding himself possessed of the throne by so precarious a 
title, resolved, by every expedient, to pay court to the clergy. Till 
now there were no penal laws against heresy ; but he engaged the 
parliament to pass a law that, when any heretic who relapsed, or 
refused to abjure his opinions, was delivered over to the secular arm 
by the bishop or his commissaries, he should be committed to the 
flames by the civil magistrates. This weapon did not long remain 
unemployed; and William Sautre, a secular priest in London, was 
burned for his erroneous opinions (1401). 

The revolution in England proved likewise the occasion of an 
insurrection in Wales. Owen Glendower (properly Olyndwr), who 
was descended from the ancient princes of that country,* and 
part of whose estates had been seized by lord Grey of Ruthyn, 
recovered possession by ^he sword. He ravaged the English 
marches, captured Radnor, and beheaded the garrison. In an 
engagement with the English forces he took prisoner sir Edmund 
Mortimer, uncle of the earl of March, the true heir to the crown. 
The English were defeated with great loss, and their bodies brutally 
mutilated by the Welsh women. As Henry dreaded and hated all 
the family of March, he allowed Mortimer to remain in captivity ; 
and though that nobleman was nearly allied to the Percys, to 
whose assistance he himself had owed his crown, he refused per- 
mission to the earl of Northumberland to treat with Glendower 
for his ransom. To this disgust another was soon added. The 
Percys, in repulsing an inroad of the Scots, in 1402, at Homildon 
Hill, captured earl Douglas and several others of the Scotch nobility. 
Henry sent Northumberland orders not to ransom his prisoners, 



* He was on his father's side descended 
from Griffith ap Madoc, the last Welsh 
owner of the castle of Dinas Bran, and by 
his mother was the sixth in descent from 
Llewelyn. He had a large estate in 
Merionethshire, and married Margaret 



the daughter of sir David Hanmer, a 
judge of the King's Bench in the time of 
Richard II. He was in attendance on 
Richard when captured at Flint, and 
being thus compromised, the neighbouring 
marchers attempted to seize his lands. 



194 HENRY IV. Chap. xi. 

which that nobleman regarded as his right by the laws of war. 
The king intended to detain them, that he might be able, by 
their means, to make an advantageous peace with Scotland. The 
Percys were farther discontented by the withholding from them 
of large sums due to them as warders of the marches. 

§ 2. The factious disposition of the earl of Worcester, younger 
brother of Northumberland, and the impatient spirit of his son 
Harry Percy, surnamed Hotspur, inflamed the discontents of that 
nobleman. Tempted by revenge, and the precarious title of Henry, 
to overturn that throne he had so gr eatly contributed to establish, 
he entered into a correspondence with Glendower. He gave Douglas 
his liberty, and made an alliance with him; roused up all his 
partisans to arms ; and such was the authority at that time of the 
feudal lords, that the same men, whom a few years before he had 
conducted against Kichard, now followed his standard in opposition 
to Henry. When war was ready to break out, Northumberland 
was seized with a sudden illness at Berwick; and young Percy, 
taking the command of the troops, about 12,000 in number, 
marched towards Shrewsbury, in order to join his forces with those 
of Glendower. The king, however, who had aja army of about the 
same force on foot, attacked him before the junction could be 
effected (July 23, 1403). No battle was ever more hotly contested. 
Henry exposed his person in the thickest of the fight ; his gallant 
son, afterwards so renowned for his military achievements, here 
performed his noviciate in arms, and even when he had received a 
wound in the face, he could not be induced to quit the field. Percy 
fell by an unknown hand, and the royalists prevailed. The loss 
was great on both sides. The earls of Worcester and Douglas 
wefe taken prisoners. The former was- beheaded at Shrewsbury 
(July 25) ; the latter was treated with the courtesy due to his 
rank and merit. The earl of Northumberland was condemned 
to imprisonment, but a few months after obtained a full pardon, 
and his attainder was reversed. 

Two years afterwards Northumberland again rose in rebellion, 
was joined by Thomas Mowbray, earl of Nottingham, tmd Eichard 
Scrope, archbishop of York. The archbishop and Nottingham 
were entrapped into a conference by Ealph Neville, earl of West- 
moreland, were seized, condemned, and executed. This was the 
first instance in English history in which an archbishop perished 
by the hands of the executioner (1405). Northumberland escaped 
into Scotland ; but in 1408, having entered the northern counties 
in hopes of raising the people, he was defeated and slain at 
Bramham Moor by sir Thomas Eokeby, sheriff of Yorkshire. The 
only domestic enemy now remaining was Glendower, over whom 



A.D. 1403-1413. HIS DEATH. 



195 



the prince of Wales obtained some advantages; but the Welsh 
leader continued the struggle for some years after Henry's death. 

§ 3. The remaining transactions of this reign are not of much 
interest. In 1405 fortune gave Henry an advantage over that 
neighbour who, by his situation, was most able to disturb his 
government. Kobert III., king of Scots, was a prince of slender 
capacity ; and Scotland, at that time, was little fitted for enduring 
sovereigns of that character. The duke of Albany, his brother, 
governor of Scotland, on whom Robert relied with unsuspecting 
confidence, secretly aspired to the throne. As David, duke ol 
Rothsay, was a dissolute prince, Albany had him thrown into 
prison at Falkland, in Fife, where he perished by hunger. James 
alone, the younger brother of David, now stood between the duke's 
ambition and the throne ; and Robert, sensible of his son's danger, 
embarked him on board ship, with a view of sending him to France, 
and intrusting him to the protection of that friendly power. Un- 
fortunately, the vessel was taken by the English; James, a boy 
about nine years of age, was carried to London ; and though there 
was at that time a truce between the two kingdoms, Henry refused 
to restore the young prince to his liberty. Worn out by this last 
misfortune, Robert soon after died, leaving the government in the 
hands of Albany (1406). But though Henry, by detaining James 
in the English court, had shown himself deficient in generosity, he 
made amends by giving that prince an excellent education, which 
afterwards qualified him, when he mounted the throne, to reform, 
in some measure, the barbarous manners of his native country. 

Throughout this reign an unfriendly feeling prevailed between 
England and France; but the civil disturbances in both nations 
prevented it from breaking out into serious hostilities. The cause 
of the murdered Richard was warmly espoused by the French court, 
but their zeal evaporated in menaces. Soon after his accession, 
Henry, at the demand of Charles, had restored Isabella, the widow 
of the late king, but had retained her dowry on the pretence of 
setting it off against the unpaid ransom of the French king John. 

The king's health declined some months before his death. He 
was subject to fits, which bereaved him, for the time, of his senses ; 
and, though he was yet in the flower of his age, his end was visibly 
approaching. He expired at Westminster (March 20, 1413), in 
the 46th year of his age, and the 13th of his reign. The great 
popularity which Henry enjoyed before he attained the crown, and 
by which he had been so much aided in the acquisition of it, 
was entirely lost before the end of his reign ; and he governed his 
people more by terror than by affection, more by his own policy than 
by their sense of duty or allegiance. His prudence and vigilance 



196 HENRY V. Chap. xi. 

in maintaining his power were admirable; his courage, both military 
and political, without blemish ; and he possessed many qualities 
which fitted him for his high station, and rendered his usurpation 
rather salutary than otherwise to his people. The augmentation 
of the power of the commons during this reign was chiefly shown 
by the punishment which they awarded to sheriffs for making 
false returns, by the increased freedom of debate, and by the control 
which they exercised over the supplies. 

Henry was twice married: by his first wife, Mary de Bohun, 
daughter and co-heir of the earl of Hereford, he had four sons, 
Henry, his successor in the throne, Thomas duke of Clarence, 
John duke of Bedford, and Humphrey duke of Gloucester; two 
daughters, Blanche and Philippa, the former married to the duke 
of Bavaria, the latter to the king of Denmark. His second wife, 
Joan, whom he married after he was king, and who was daughter 
of the king of Navarre, and widow of the duke of Brittany, brought 
him no issue. 

HENRY V. 

§ 4. Henry V., b. 1388 ; r. 1413-1422, was born at Monmouth, 
August 9. His father, naturally exposed to many jealousies, had 
entertained suspicions with regard to the fidelity of his eldest son ; 
and, during the latter years of his life, he had excluded the prince 
from all share of public business. He was even displeased to see 
him at the head of armies, where his martial talents, though useful 
to the support of government, acquired him a renown which his 
father thought might prove dangerous to his own authority. Shut 
out from more serious occupations, the active spirit of young Henry 
found employment, during his father's life, in pleasure and amuse- 
ment away from the court. Though the stories told of his riots and 
excesses are doubtless exaggerated, he inherited his father's love of 
popularity and courted the good opinions of those beneath him. 
On one occasion it is said that a riotous companion of the prince's 
had been indicted before Gascoigne, the chief justice, for felony, and 
Henry was not ashamed to appear at the bar with the criminal, 
and afford him countenance and protection. He demanded the 
liberation of the prisoner, and would have proceeded to violence. 
But Gascoigne, mindful of the character which he then bore, and 
the nlajesty of the laws which he sustained, ordered the prince to 
be carried to prison. The spectators were agreeably disappointed 
when they saw the heir of the crown submit peaceably to the 
sentence, make reparation for his error, and check his impetuous 
nature in the midst of its extravagant career. The memory of this 
incident, and of others of a like nature, rendered the prospect of 



a.d 1413-1418. THE LOLLARDS. 197 

the future reign nowise disagreeable to the nation, and increased 
the joy which the death of so unpopular a prince as the late king 
naturally occasioned. At his accession he dismissed his former 
companions, and retained in office the wise ministers of his father, 
with the exception of the archbishop, Thomas Arundel, and the 
chief justice.* 

§ 5. One party only in the nation seemed likely to trouble him. 
The Lollards were every day increasing, and the attitude now 
assumed by them appeared dangerous to the church, and formidable 
to the civil authority. The head of this sect was sir John Oldcastle 
(lord Cobham by marriage), a nobleman who had distinguished 
himself on many occasions, and acquired the esteem both of the 
late and of the present king. Presuming on his supposed influence 
with the king, the Lollards fixed seditious papers on the doors of 
the London churches, intimating that 100,000 men were ready to 
rise and espouse their principles. Roused by the danger, the clergy 
assembled in convocation, and called upon the archbishop to take 
proceedings against Oldcastle for heresy. After Henry had vainly 
endeavoured to induce Oldcastle to submit, he was brought before 
the primate, was condemned for heresy, and delivered to the secular 
arm (1413). Before the day appointed for his execution, he con- 
trived to escape from the Tower, and assembled his followers in 
St. Giles's Fields, with the design of seizing the king. They were 
defeated by Henry's vigilance ; many of the Lollards were seized, 
and some executed (1414). Cobham, who saved himself by flight, 
was not brought to justice till four years after, when, in execution 
of the double sentence pronounced against him, he was hanged in 
chains as a traitor and burnt as a heretic (1418). 

§ 6. The disorders into which France was plunged through the 
lunacy of its monarch, Charles VI., and the consequent struggle 
for the regency between his brother the duke of Orleans, and his 
cousin the duke of Burgundy,f had resulted in open warfare. 
Impelled by the vigour of youth and the ardour of ambition, Henry 

* Sir William Hankford was appointed in his place on March 29, 1413, only nine 
days after Henry's accession. 
-j- The following genealogical table shows the relationship of these princes : — 

JOHN II. king of France. 
(Taken prisoner by Edward III.) 

CHARLES V. Philip, duke of Burgundy, 

I d. 1404. 



CHARLES VI. Louis, duke of Orleans, John, duke of Burgundy, 

killed 1407. killed 1419. 

CHARLES VII. Charles, duke of Orleans, Philip the Good, 

taken at Agincourt. duke of Burgundy. 



198 HENRY V. Chap. xi. 

determined to carry war into that distracted kingdom (April, 1415), 
but was detained for a while by a conspiracy to place the earl of 
March upon the throne. The chief conspirators, Richard earl of 
Cambridge, younger son of the late duke of York,* Henry lord 
Scrope, and sir Thomas Grey, were arrested, summarily condemned, 
and executed in August. The earl of March, who had revealed the 
plot, was taken into favour. Trusting to the assistance of the duke of 
Burgundy, who had been secretly soliciting the alliance of England, 
Henry put to sea, and landed near Harfleur, at the head of an army 
of 6000 men at arms and 24,000 foot, mostly archers. Harfleur 
was obliged to capitulate after a siege of five weeks (September 
22) ; but his troops were so wasted by fatigue and dysentery that 
Henry was advised to return to England. He dismissed his trans- 
ports, and determined on marching by land to Calais, although a 
French army of 14,000 men at arms and 40,000 foot was by this 
time assembled in Normandy. Not to discourage his troops, now 
reduced to 6000, by the appearance of flight, or expose them to 
the hazards which naturally attend precipitate marches, he made 
slow and deliberate journeys till he reached the Somme, and, after 
encountering many difficulties and hardships, was dexterous or 
fortunate enough to surprise a passage near St. Quentin, which 
had not been sufficiently guarded, and thus transport his army 
in safety. He then bent his march northwards to Calais, exposed 
to great and imminent danger from the enemy, who had also passed 
the Somme, and threw themselves in his way, intending to inter- 
cept his retreat. Passing the small river of Ternois, at Blangi, 
he was surprised to observe from the heights the whole French army 
drawn up in the plains of Agincourt, and so posted that it was 
impossible for him to decline an engagement. The enemy was 
four times more numerous than the English ; was headed by the 
dauphin and all the princes of the blood ; and was plentifully 
supplied with provisions. Henry's situation was exactly similar 
to that of Edward at Crecy, and that of the Black Prince at 
Poitiers, and he observed the same manoeuvres. Seeing the 
French army cooped up between two woods, where their narrow 
front and crowded masses neutralized the advantage of numbers, 
Henry patiently expected the attack of the enemy (October 25, 
1415). The French archers on horseback and their men at 
arms, crowded in their ranks, advanced upon the English archers, 
who had fixed palisadoes in their front to break the charge of 
the enemy, and safely plied them from behind that defence 
with a shower of arrows which nothing could resist. The 
clay soil, moistened by rain which had lately fallen, proved 
* Edmund Langley, son of Edward III., died in 1402. 



a.d. 1415-1419. CONQUEST OF NORMANDY. 199 

another obstacle to the force of the French cavalry: the wounded 
men and horses discomposed their ranks: the narrow compass in 
which they were pent up hindered them from recovering any order : 
the whole army was a scene of confusion, terror, and dismay. 
Perceiving his advantage, Henry led an impetuous charge of his 
men at arms, and ordered the archers to advance and gall the 
enemy's flanks. These falling on the foe, who, in their present 
posture, were incapable either of flight or of defence, hewed 
them in pieces without resistance, and covered the field with the 
killed, wounded, dismounted, and overthrown. No battle was ever 
more fatal to Prance for the number of princes and nobility slain 
or taken prisoners. Among the latter were the dukes of Orleans 
and Bourbon. The killed are computed, on the whole, to have 
amounted to 10,000 men; and Henry was master of 14,000 
prisoners. The loss of the English was very small, being only 
about 1600, including, however, the dake of York and the earl of 
Suffolk. Henry, not being in a condition to pursue his victory, 
carried his prisoners to Calais, and thence to England, and con- 
cluded a truce with the enemy. 

§ 7. During this brief interruption of hostilities, France was ex- 
posed to all the furies of civil war ; and the several parties became 
every day more exasperated against each other. In consequence 
of the capture of the duke of Orleans at Agincourt, the count of 
Armagnac, his father-in-law, became the head of his party (hence 
called the Armagnacs), and was created constable of France. The 
duke of Burgundy, who had aspired to this dignity, formed an 
alliance with the English, promising to do homage to Henry. 
His power was strengthened by the accession of Isabella, the 
queen, who had formerly been his enemy, but had now quarrelled 
with the Armagnacs. The dauphin sided with the latter; and 
open war broke out between the two factions. Whilst the 
country was ill prepared to resist a foreign enemy, Henry landed 
again at Toucques on the Seine, with 25,000 men (August 1, 1417), 
and met with no considerable opposition from any quarter. He 
made himself master of Caen; Bayeux and Falaise submitted to 
him; and having subdued all lower Normandy, and received a 
reinforcement of 15,000 men from England, he formed the siege of 
Rouen, which he took after an obstinate defence (January 19, 
1419). Henry still continued to negociate, and had almost arranged 
advantageous terms, when John, duke of Burgundy, secretly made 
a treaty with the dauphin. The two princes agreed to share the 
royal authority during king Charles's lifetime, and to unite their 
arms in order to expel foreign enemies. This alliance seemed 
at first to cut off from Henry all hopes of further success, but 



200 HENRY V. Chap. xi. 

the treacherous assassination of the duke of Burgundy soon after- 
wards (1419) by the partisans of the dauphin opened the way to 
a new and favourable arrangement. Philip, count of Charolois, 
now duke of Burgundy, thought himself bound by every tie of 
honour and of duty to revenge the murder of his father, and to 
prosecute the assassins to the utmost extremity. In December 
a league was concluded at Arras between him and Henry, by 
which the duke of Burgundy, without stipulating anything for 
himself except the prosecution of his father's murderers and the 
marriage of Henry's brother, the duke of Bedford, with his sister, 
was willing to sacrifice the kingdom to Henry's ambition. He 
agreed to every demand made by that monarch. To finish this 
astonishing treaty, which was to transfer the crown of France to 
a stranger, Henry went to Troyes, accompanied by his brothers, 
the dukes of Clarence and Gloucester ; and was there met by the 
duke of Burgundy (14^0). The imbecility into which Charles had 
fallen made him incapable of seeing anything but through the 
eyes of those who attended him ; as they on their part saw every- 
thing through the medium of their passions. A treaty, already 
concerted among the parties, was immediately drawn, signed, and 
ratified (May 21). .By the principal articles Henry was to 
espouse the princess Katharine, daughter of the king; Charles, 
during his lifetime, was to enjoy the title and dignity of king of 
Prance ; and Henry was to be regent, and to succeed to the throne 
on the death of Charles, to the exclusion of the dauphin. In a few 
days after, Henry espoused the princess Katharine, but next day 
led his army again into the field. Sens, Montereau, and Melun 
yielded to his arms. In December he made his triumphal entry 
into Paris. He there assembled the estates of France, and procured 
from them a ratification of the treaty of Troyes. But soon after, the 
necessity of providing supplies, both of men and money, obliged 
him to return to England (1421). He appointed his uncle, Thomas 
Beaufort, duke of Exeter,* as regent during his absence (June 10). 
§ 8. After the coronation of Katharine, Henry, raising fresh forces, 
returned to Paris in May, with 24,000 archers and 4000 horsemen, 
and was received with great joy. During his absence a body of 
7000 Scots, fearing to see France fall into the power of their ancient 
enemy, had proceeded to the assistance of the dauphin, and had 
defeated and killed the duke of Clarence at Beauge. But the 
presence of Henry soon restored all. The dauphin was chased 
beyond the Loire, and almost totally abandoned the northern 
provinces ; he was even pursued into the south by the united arms 
of the English and Burgundians, and threatened with total destruc- 
* For the Beaufort family, see the Genealogical Tables. 



a.d. 1419-1422. HIS DEATH. 201 

tion. To crown Henry's good fortune, his queen was delivered of 
a son, who was called by his father's name, and whose birth was 
celebrated by rejoicings no less pompous at Paris than at London. 
But his glory was suddenly extinguished with his life. He was 
attacked by pleurisy, and, finding himself unable to rejoin his 
army, was carried to Vincennes, near Paris, where he expired, 
exclaiming in the midst of his suffering, "My portion is with the 
Lord Jesus." He died August 31, 1422, in the 35th year of his 
age and the 10th of his reign. He left the regency of France to his 
next surviving brother, John, duke of Bedford ; that of England 
to Humphrey, duke of Gloucester ; and the care of his son's person 
to the earl of Warwick. He was buried in the Confessor's chapel, 
at Westminster. 

This prince possessed many eminent virtues; and if we give 
indulgence to ambition in a monarch, or rank it, as the vulgar 
are inclined to do, among his virtues, they were unstained by 
any considerable blemish. His abilities appeared equally in the 
cabinet and in the field. The boldness of his enterprises was 
no less remarkable than his personal valour in conducting them. 
He had the talent of attaching his friends by affability, and 
of gaining his enemies by address and clemency. He was an 
accomplished musician, and fond of the learning in which he had 
been trained at Queen's College, Oxford, under his uncle, bishop 
Beaufort. His stature was somewhat above the middle size, his 
countenance beautiful, his limbs slender, but full of vigour. 

Katharine of France, Henry's widow, married soon after his death 
a Welsh gentleman, Owen Tudor, said to be descended from the 
ancient princes of that country. She bore him two sons, Edmund 
and Jasper, of whom the eldest was created earl of Eichmond, and 
was father of Henry VII. ; and the second was earl of Pembroke. 

HENEY VI. 

§ 9. Henry VI., I. 1421 ; r. 1422-1461, was bom at Windsor, 
December 6, and was scarcely nine months old when he succeeded 
his father. The duke of Gloucester claimed the regency under the 
will of the late king, but his claim was resisted by the Great 
Council ; and when parliament assembled, the lords, setting aside 
the late king's will, appointed Gloucester protector, with limited 
authority, and entrusted the substantial powers of government to a 
committee of lords and commons. The regency of France fell to 
the duke of Bedford, with the consent of the duke of Burgundy 
The person and education of the infant prince was committed to 
Henry Beaufort, bishop of Winchester, his great-uncle, the legiti- 
mated son of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster. 



202 HENRY VI> Chap. xi. 

The interest of the early part of this reign centres in the affairs 
of France. Charles VI. expired about two months after the death 
of his son-in-law Henry. His son, Charles VII., a young prince of 
a popular character, and rightful heir to the throne, asserted his 
claim against his infant competitor, but, in the face of such over- 
whelming power as the English then possessed, such pretensions 
appeared ridiculous. Bedford, a skilful politician, as well as a 
good general, strengthened himself by forming an alliance with the 
duke of Brittany, who had received some disgusts from the French 
court. To avert the hostility of the Scots, many of whom were 
serving under Charles VII., Bedford persuaded the English council 
to form an alliance with James, their prisoner, to release him 
from his long captivity, and connect him with England by 
marrying him to a daughter of John Beaufort, earl of Somerset, 
cousin of the young king. The treaty was concluded ; a ransom 
of 40,000?. was stipulated ; and the king of Scots was restored to 
the throne of his ancestors (1424). 

§ 10. The great victory gained by the duke of Bedford over 
the French and Scots at Verneuil opened Maine to the English 
(August 16, 1427). The affairs of Charles grew more desperate than 
ever ; and in 1428 Bedford determined to penetrate into the south 
of France, which remained in obedience to Charles VII. With 
this view he invested Orleans, which commanded the passage of 
the Loire, the key of the southern provinces. The command of the 
besieging forces was intrusted to the earl of Salisbury, one of the 
most distinguished generals of the age. Upon his death by a 
cannon-ball, the siege was continued by William de la Pole, earl of 
Suffolk, and had lasted several months, when relief appeared from 
an unexpected quarter. 

In the village of Domremi, near Vaucouleurs, on the borders of 
Lorraine, there lived a peasant girl, seventeen years of age, called 
Jeanne or Jeannette d'Arc (in English, Joan of Arc), the daughter of 
a poor cottager. Unable to read or write, she had seen visions in 
her youth, and heard angelic voices. Persuaded that she had a 
mission from Heaven to expel the invaders of her country, she went 
to Vaucouleurs, procured admission to Baudricourt, the governor, and 
informed him that she had an order from her Lord to deliver Orleans. 
Baudricourt paid little regard to her entreaties; but on her frequent 
returns and repeated importunities, he consented to send her to 
the French court, which at that time resided at Chinon. Dressed 
as a soldier, she started on her journey of 250 miles through a 
country infested by the English. Admitted into the king's presence, 
it is pretended that she distinguished him at once from all his 
courtiers, though they were dressed more magnificently than him- 



a.d. 1424-1429. THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 203 

self. She told him she had been sent by God to assist him, and 
conduct him to Rheims, to be there crowned and anointed. On his 
expressing doubts of her mission, she revealed to him a secret 
known only to himself ; and she demanded, as the instrument of her 
future victories, a particular sword, which was kept in the church of 
St. Katharine of Fierbois, which she minutely described, though 
she had never seen it. Her requests were at last complied with ; 
she was armed cap-a-pie, mounted on horseback, and shown in 
martial habiliments to the people. Her dexterity in managing 
her steed was regarded as a fresh proof of her mission; and she 
was received with the loudest acclamations by the spectators. Her 
first exploit was to conduct a convoy of provisions into Orleans ; 
and the English, daunted by a kind of supernatural terror, did 
not venture to resist (April 29, 1429). The maid entered Orleans 
mounted on a white charger, arrayed in her military garb, and, 
displaying her consecrated banner, was received as a deliverer from 
Heaven. 

She now called upon the garrison to remain no longer on 
the defensive, but attack the redoubts of the enemy surrounding 
the city. These enterprises succeeded. In one attack Joan was 
wounded in the neck with an arrow ; she retreated a moment behind 
the assailants, pulled out the arrow with her own hands, had the 
wound quickly dressed, and hastened back to head the troops, and 
to plant her victorious banner on the ramparts of the enemy. By 
these successes the English were discouraged, and evacuated the 
forts on the north. As it seemed dangerous to Suffolk, with such 
intimidated troops, to remain any longer in the presence of so 
courageous and victorious an enemy, he raised the siege, and 
retreated with all the precaution imaginable (May 8). 

§ 11. The raising of the siege of Orleans was one part of the 
maid's promise to Charles ; the crowning of him at Rheims was the 
other; and she now vehemently insisted that he should forthwith 
set out on that enterprise. A few weeks before, such a proposal 
would have appeared the most extravagant in the world. But 
Charles, at the head of only 12,000 men, marched to that town 
without opposition. The ceremony of his coronation was per- 
formed with the holy oil, which all France believed a dove had 
brought to king Clovis from heaven on the first establishment of 
the French monarchy (July 17). The Maid of Orleans, as she was 
now called, stood by his side in complete armour, and displayed her 
sacred banner, which had so often confounded his fiercest enemies. 
The people shouted with unfeigned joy at viewing such a com- 
plication of wonders. Charles, thus crowned and anointed, be- 
came more formidable in the eyes of all his subjects. Many 



204 HENRY VI. Chap. xi. 

towns and fortresses in that neighbourhood, immediately after 
the ceremony, submitted to him on the first summons ; and the 
whole nation was disposed to yield him the most zealous proofs 
of their duty and affection. 

Nothing can impress us with a higher idea of the wisdom, 
address, and resolution of the duke of Bedford, than his ability 
to maintain himself in so perilous a situation, and to preserve some 
footing in France, after the defection of so many places, and amidst 
the universal inclination of the rest to imitate so contagious an 
example. The small supplies, both of men and money, which he 
received from England, set the talents of this great man in a still 
stronger light. It happened fortunately, in this emergency, that 
the bishop of Winchester, now created a cardinal, landed at Calais 
with a body of 5000 men, which he was conducting into Bohemia 
on a crusade against the Hussites. He was persuaded to lend these 
troops to his nephew during the present difficulties ; and the regent 
was thereby enabled to take the field, and oppose the French king, 
who was advancing with his army to the gates of Paris, when an 
accident put into the duke's hands the person that had been the 
author of all his calamities. 

§ 12. In making a sally from Compiegne, the Maid of Orleans 
was taken prisoner by the Burgundians (May 26, 1430). A com- 
plete victory could not have given more joy to the English and 
their partisans. Te Deum was publicly celebrated at Paris on 
this auspicious event. The duke of Bedford fancied that he 
should again recover his former ascendancy in France, and pur- 
chased the captive from John of Luxemburg. She was tried and 
condemned by an ecclesiastical court for sorcery and magic ; her 
revelations were declared to be inventions of the devil; and she 
was sentenced to be delivered over to the secular arm. Joan, who 
had borne her trial with amazing firmness, was at last subdued. 
She declared herself willing to recant ; she acknowledged that her 
pretensions to a divine influence were illusive, and promised never 
to assert them more. Her sentence was then mitigated: she 
was condemned to perpetual imprisonment, and to be fed on bread 
and water. But the barbarous vengeance of Joan's enemies was 
not satisfied with this victory. They purposely placed in her apart- 
ment a suit of her own armour. On the sight of a dress in which 
she had acquired so much renown, and which, she once believed, 
she wore by the particular appointment of Heaven, her former 
enthusiasm revived. She ventured in her solitude to clothe herself 
again in the forbidden garments. Her insidious enemies caught 
her in that situation : her fault was interpreted to be no less than 
a relapse into heresy: no recantation would now suffice, and no 



a.ix 1430-1450. TREATY OF ARRAS. 205 

pardon could be granted her.* She was condemned to be burned 
in the market-place of Eouen ; and the infamous sentence was 
accordingly executed (May 30, 1431). 

§ 13. From this period the authority of the English in France, 
the result of which we shall here anticipate, fell insensibly to decay. 
The regent endeavoured to revive the declining state of his affairs 
by bringing over the young king of England and having him 
crowned and anointed at Paris (December 17, 1431). In 1432 
the duchess of Bedford, who was sister to the duke of Burgundy, 
died ; and by the regent's subsequent hasty marriage with Jaqueline 
of Luxemburg, the last link was severed which had hitherto pre- 
served some appearance of friendship between these princes ; an 
open breach took place, and the duke of Burgundy determined to 
reconcile himself with the court of France. In 1435 a treaty was 
concluded at Arras between the duke of Burgundy and Charles 
"VII., and whilst it was in progress the duke of Bedford died at 
Rouen (September 14th, 1435). The English continued to hold a 
gradually declining footing in France for some years after that 
event ; but the period offers few interesting or memorable occur- 
rences. Shortly -after the regent's death, and before his successor, 1 
the duke of York, could arrive, the forces of the French king were 
admitted into Paris by the citizens. Lord Willoughby, who had 
retired with the small English garrison into the Bastile, was forced 
to capitulate on the condition of an honourable retreat (April, 
1436). Yet the struggle was still feebly protracted on both sides. 
In 1444 a truce of twenty- two months was concluded, chiefly 
through the influence of the bishop of Winchester, now cardinal 
Beaufort; for the duke of Gloucester still retained the idea of 
subduing France. It was afterwards prolonged to April, 1450. 

§ 14. We now turn to the affairs of England. The death of 
Bedford was an irreparable loss to the Erjglish nation. During his 
ascendency some show of agreement had been preserved between the 
duke of Gloucester and cardinal Beaufort, but after his death they 
became open enemies. The truce with France had been concluded 
through the influence of cardinal Beaufort, in opposition to the duke 
of Gloucester; and each party was now ambitious of choosing a 
queen for Henry, as it was probable that this circumstance would 
decide the victory between them. Henry was now in the twenty- 
third year of his age. Of harmless, inoffensive, simple manners, 
but of slender capacity, he was fitted, both by the softness of his 
temper and the weakness of his understanding, to be perpetually 
governed by those who surrounded him ; and it was easy to foresee 

* According to other authorities, her I and replaced by male attire, leaving her 
dress was taken from her as she slept, i no alternative in the matter. 
11 



206 HENRY VI. Chap. xi. 

that his reign would prove a perpetual minority. The duke of 
Gloucester proposed to marry Henry to a daughter of the count of 
Armagnac, but had not credit enough to effect his purpose. The 
cardinal and his friends preferred Margaret of Anjou, daughter of 
Rene, count of Provence, and nominally duke of Maine and Anjou, 
as well as titular king of Sicily, Naples, and Jerusalem. The 
princess herself was the most accomplished of her age, both in 
body and mind. She seemed to possess those qualities which would 
equally enable her to acquire ascendency over Henry, and supply 
all his defects and weaknesses. William de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, 
who had previously negociated the treaty with France, now made 
proposals of marriage to Margaret, which were accepted (1444) ; and 
in order to ingratiate himself with her and her family, he engaged, 
by a secret article, that the province of Maine, which was at that 
time in the hands of the English, should be ceded to Charles of 
Anjou, her uncle. The marriage took place in April, 1445 ; 
Suffolk obtained first the title of marquis, then that of duke, 
and received the thanks of parliament for his services. The 
princess fell immediately into close connections with the dukes of 
Somerset, Suffolk, and Buckingham,* who, fortified by her powerful 
patronage, resolved on the final ruin of the duke of Gloucester. The 
king's aversion for his uncle favoured their design, in addition to an 
intractable temper which alienated Gloucester's friends. In 1423 he 
had married the heiress of the count of Hainault, whose husband 
was still alive ; grew tired of her, and then took up with a mistress, 
Eleanor Cobham, whom he afterwards married. She was accused 
of witchcraft ; and it was alleged that there was found in her pos- 
session a waxen figure of the king, which she and her associates, 
Roger Bolingbroke, a priest, and one Margery Jourdemain of Eye, 
melted with unhallowed ceremonies before a slow fire, with an 
intention of making Henry's force and vigour waste away by like 
insensible degrees. The charge led to further investigations of her 
past life. She was charged with using philters to secure the affec- 
tions of the duke and draw him into a discreditable marriage 
with herself. She was condemned to walk through the streets of 
London, on three different days, with a taper in her hand, and 
was then consigned to perpetual imprisonment (1441). To effect 
their purpose against the duke, Suffolk and his party caused a 
parliament to be summoned at Bury St. Edmund's, where they 
expected that he would lie entirely at their mercy (1447). As 
soon as Gloucester appeared he was arrested, and a few days after 
he was found dead in his lodgings ; and though his body, which 
was exposed to public view, bore no marks of outward violence, 
many believed that he had fallen a victim to- the vengeance of 

* See the Genealogical Tables. 



A D. 1144-1453. ENGLISH EXPELLED FROM FRANCE. 207 

his enemies. The cardinal himself survived his nephew only a 
few weeks.* 

Suffolk, raised to a dukedom, had hecome prime minister, and 
the affairs of the nation were directed by him and Margaret. 
While the court was divided into parties, French affairs were 
neglected. The province of Maine was ceded to Charles of Anjou, 
according to the marriage treaty. After the conclusion of the 
truce, Charles VII. had employed himself with great judgment in 
repairing the numberless ills of France ; and in 1449 he availed 
himself of a favourable opportunity to break the truce. He overran 
Normandy and Guienne without resistance ; and by the summer 
of 1451 the English were completely dispossessed of all they had 
once held in France, with the exception of Calais. Though no 
peace or truce was concluded, the war was at an end, and the civil 
dissensions which ensued in England permitted but one feeble 
effort more, in 1453, for the recovery of Guienne, in which the 
veteran Talbot lost his life. 

§ 15. Meanwhile the incapacity of Henry, which appeared every 
day in a fuller light, had encouraged the appearance of a claimant of 
the crown. All the male line of the house of Mortimer was extinct ; 
but Anne, the sister of the last earl of March, having espoused the 
earl of Cambridge, who was beheaded in the reign of Henry V., had 
transmitted her latent but not forgotten claim to her son, Richard, 
duke of York. This prince, thus descended, by his mother, 
from Philippa, only daughter of the duke of Clarence, third son of 
Edward III., stood plainly in the order of succession before the 
king, who derived his descent from the duke of Lancaster, fourth 
son of that monarch ; f and that claim could not, in many respects, 
have fallen into more dangerous hands than those of the duke of 
York. To valour and abilities, Eichard added a prudent conduct 
and mild disposition. He possessed an immense fortune from the 
union of so many successions, those of York on the one hand with 
those of Mortimer on the other ; and his marriage with the daughter 
of Ralph Nevil, earl of Westmoreland, had widely extended his 
interest among the nobility. He was closely allied to the earls of 
Salisbury and Warwick, the son and grandson of Westmoreland, 
the greatest noblemen in the kingdom. The personal qualities 
of these two earls, especially of Warwick, enhanced the splendour 
of their nobility, and increased their influence. Warwick, com- 
monly known afterwards as the King-maker, was distinguished 



* The popular belief, adopted by 
Shakespeare, of the cardinal's remorse for 
his share in Gloucester's death, is now con- 
sidered to be unfounded. After Henry's 
marriage and Suffolk's rise, the cardinal 



took no part in state affairs. The duke 
by no means deserved the praises too 
commonly bestowed upon him. 
f See the Genealogical Tables. 



208 HENftY VI. • Chap. xi. 

for his gallantry in the field, the hospitality of his table, the 
magnificence and the generosity of his expense, and for the 
spirit and audacity of his actions. No less than 30,000 persons 
are said to have daily fed at his board in the different manors and 
castles which he possessed in England. Soldiers were allured by 
his m unificence, as well as by his bravery, and the people in general 
bore him a warm affection. 

§ 16. Though the English were never willing to grant the sup- 
plies necessary for keeping possession of the conquered provinces in 
France, they repined extremely at the loss of these boasted acqui- 
sitions. The voluntary cession of Maine to the queen's uncle 
made them suspect treachery in the loss of Normandy and Gluienne. 
They considered Margaret as a Frenchwoman and a latent enemy 
of the kingdom. To augment the unpopularity of the government, 
the revenues of the crown, which had long been disproportioned 
to its power and dignity, had been extremely impaired during 
the minority of Henry. The royal demesnes were dissipated ; and 
at the same time the king was loaded with a debt of 372,000 
pounds, a sum so great that parliament could never think of dis- 
charging it. This unhappy situation forced the ministers upon 
many arbitrary measures. The household itself could not be 
supported without stretching to the utmost the right of purvey- 
ance, and rendering it a kind of universal robbery upon the people. 
Suffilk, once become odious, bore the blame of the whole; and 
every grievance, in every part of the administration, was universally 
imputed to his tyranny and injustice. The commons sent up to 
the peers an accusation of high treason against him (1450). The 
charge was incredible and preposterous. But Henry, seeing no 
means of saving him from present ruin, banished him the kingdom 
for five years. On his passage to Flanders, a captain of a vessel 
was employed by his enemies to intercept him; he was seized 
near Dover, his head was struck off on the side of a long-boat, and 
his body thrown into the sea (May 2nd). No inquiry was made 
after the actors and accomplices of this atrocious deed. 

§ 17. The humours of the people, set afloat by the parliamentary 
impeachment and by the fall of so great a favourite as Suffolk, 
broke out into various commotions. The most dangerous was that 
excited by one John Cade, a native of Ireland, who had served in 
the wars with France, and took the name of John Mortimer. 
On the first mention of that popular name, the people of Kent, to 
the number of 20,000, flocked to Cade's standard. Sir Humphrey 
Stafford, who had opposed him with a small force, was defeated and 
slain in an action near Sevenoaks ; and Cade, advancing with his 
followers towards London, encamped on Blackheath. Though 




INew York; Harper & Urofhers' 



a.d, 1450-1455. WARS OF THE ROSES. 209 

elated by his victory, he still maintained the appearance of modera- 
tion, and sent to the court a long list of grievances. When the 
city opened its gates to Cade, he put to death Lord Say and his 
son-in-law, William Crowmer, sheriff of Kent. He maintained, for 
some time, order and discipline among his followers. But as they 
commenced to pillage the houses of unpopular citizens, the authori- 
ties, assisted by lord Scales, governor of the Tower, drove them 
out with great slaughter. Upon receiving offers of a general pardon, 
many dispersed. On Cade's attempting fresh disturbances, he was 
pursued out of Kent into Sussex, where he was taken by Alex- 
ander Iden. Dying shortly after of his wounds, his head was fixed 
on London Bridge (1450). 

Suffolk was succeeded as minister by Edmund Beaufort, duke of 
Somerset, who had been governor of Normandy, but his loss of that 
province made him unpopular. The duke of York, who had re- 
cently returned from the government of Ireland, where his popularity 
long influenced the fortunes of his house, raised an army of 10,000 
men, and marched towards London (1452), demanding a refor- 
mation of the government, and the removal of Somerset. Having 
suffered himself, however, to be entrapped into a conference, he was 
seized, but dismissed ; and he retired to his seat of Wigmore, on the 
borders of Wales. 

§ 18. The queen's delivery of a son (October 13, 1453), who 
received the name of Edward, removed all hopes of the peaceable 
succession of the duke of York. Henry, always unfit to exercise 
the government, fell at this time into a distemper which rendered 
him incapable of maintaining even the appearance of royalty. The 
queen and the council, destitute of this support, found themselves 
unable to resist the Yorkists, and were obliged to yield to the 
torrent. They sent Somerset to the Tower, and appointed the 
duke of York lieutenant of the kingdom, with powers to open and 
hold a session of parliament. That assembly, taking into con- 
sideration the state of the kingdom, created him protector during 
the king's pleasure (1454). As the king recovered his health in the 
following year, the protectorship of the duke was annulled ; Somer- 
set was released from the Tower, and the administration was 
committed to his hands. The duke of York levied an army, but still 
without advancing any pretensions to the crown. He complained 
only of the king's ministers, and demanded a reformation of the 
government. A battle was fought at St. Albans (May 23, 1455), 
in which the Yorkists were victorious ; among the slain were the 
duke of Somerset and many other persons of distinction. The 
king himself fell into the hands of the duke of York, who treated 
him with great respect and tenderness: he was only obliged 



210 HENRY VI. Chap. xi. 

(which he regarded as no hardship) to commit the whole authority 
of the crown into the hands of his rival. This was the first 
blood spilt in that fatal quarrel, which was not finished in less 
than a course of 30 years, and was signalized by 12 pitched 
battles.* It opened a scene of extraordinary fierceness and cruelty, 
cost the lives of many princes of the blood, and almost entirely 
annihilated the ancient nobility of England. The supporters of 
the house of Lancaster chose a red rose as a party distinction ; 
the Yorkists a white one ; and the civil wars were thus known 
as the Wars of the Hoses. In 1456 the king was restored to the 
sovereign authority ; and for two or three years both parties 
seemed reconciled in outward appearance. But when one of the 
king's retinue insulted 'one of the earl of Warwick's, the most 
important partisan of the duke of York, their companions on both 
sides took part in the quarrel, and a fierce combat ensued. The 
earl, thinking his life was in danger, fled to his government of 
Calais ; and both parties, in every county of England, openly made 
preparations for deciding the contest by arms (1459). 

§ 19. A civil war was now fairly kindled. The duke of York 
assembled his forces at Ludlow, and the earl of Salisbury, marching 
to join him, defeated the Lancastrians at Bloreheath (September 23). 
A few days after (October 13), Sir Andrew Trollope went over 
to the Lancastrians, and the duke's army dispersed. The duke, 
who had sought refuge in Ireland, was attainted in a parliament 
at Coventry. In 1460 the Yorkists landed in England, and, march- 
ing to Northampton, defeated and captured the king (July 10). 
Though the duke of York displayed great moderation after this 
success, he publicly intimated his expectation that he should 
be raised to the throne. The rival claims were submitted to 
the decision of the House of Peers, whose sentence was cal- 
culated, as far as possible, to please both parties. They declared 
the title of the duke of York to be certain and indefeasible; 
but in consideration that Henry had enjoyed the crown, with- 
out dispute or controversy, during the course of 38 years, they 
determined that he should continue to possess the title and 
dignity during the remainder of his life; that the adminis- 
tration of the government, meanwhile, should remain with the 
duke of York; and that he should be acknowledged the true 
and lawful heir of the monarchy. The duke acquiesced in this 
decision, and Henry himself, being a prisoner, could not oppose it. 
But queen Margaret, who, after the defeat at Northampton, had 
fled to Durham and thence to Scotland, had, with the assistance of 
the northern barons, collected an army 20,000 strong. The duke 
* See the list, p. 212, at end of this chapter. 



a.d. 1456-1461. EDWARD PROCLAIMED KING. 211 

of York, informed of her appearance in the north, hastened thither 
with a body of 5000 men, to suppress, as he imagined, the begin- 
nings of an insurrection; but, on his arrival at Wakefield, he 
found himself greatly outnumbered by the enemy. He neverthe- 
less hazarded a battle, in which the queen gained a complete victory 
(December 30). The duke was killed in the action ; and when 
his body was found among the slain, the head was cut off by 
Margaret's orders, and fixed on one of the gates of York, with a 
paper crown upon it in derision of his title. His second son, the 
earl of Rutland, a youth of 17, was brought to lord Clifford ; and 
in revenge for his father's death, who had perished in the battle of 
St. Albans, Clifford is said to have stabbed him in cool blood. The 
earl of Salisbury was wounded, taken prisoner, and beheaded the 
next day at Pontefract. The duke of York perished in the 50th 
year of his age, and left three sons, Edward (afterwards Edward IV.), 
George (afterwards duke of Clarence), Richard (afterwards duke of 
Gloucester and king Richard III.), and three daughters, Anne, 
Elizabeth, and Margaret. 

§ 20. The queen, after this important victory, divided her army. 
She sent the smaller division to the aid of Jasper Tudor, earl of 
Pembroke, half-brother to the king, who was raising forces in 
Wales against Edward, the new duke of York. She herself marched 
with the larger division towards London, where the earl of Warwick 
had been left with the command of the Yorkists. Edward met them 
at Mortimer's Cross, in Herefordshire, when Pembroke was defeated, 
with the loss of nearly 4000 men (February 2, 1461) : his army was 
dispersed ; he himself escaped by flight ; but his father, sir Owen 
Tudor, was taken prisoner and immediately beheaded. Margaret 
compensated this defeat by a victory which she obtained over the 
earl of Warwick at St. Albans (February 17), when the person 
of the king fell again into the hands of his own party ; but she 
gained little advantage from this victory. Edward advanced upon 
her from the other side, and, collecting the remains of Warwick's 
army, was soon in a condition to give her battle with superior 
forces. Sensible of her danger while she lay between the enemy 
and the city of London, which favoured the Yorkists, she found 
it necessary to retreat with her army to the north. Edward 
entered the capital amidst the acclamations of the citizens 
(February 28), and was proclaimed king by the title of Edward IV. 
(March 3, 1461). 



212 



HENRY IV. 



Chap. xi. 



List of the Battles in the Wars of the Roses. 

The more decisive battles are distinguished by small capitals. 



Date. 



Victors. 



Commander. 



1455. 
May 23 



1459 
Sept. 23 



Oct. 13 



1460. 
July 10 



Dec. 30 



1461. 
Feb. 2 



St. Albans (first) . . York . . Richard, duke of York. 
Henry VI taken prisoner. 

Bloreheath, in Staffordshire | York . | Earl of Salisbury. 

(Fought to join the duke of York at Ludlow.) 

Ludlow . | Lancaster . | Henry VI. 

No real battle ; York, deserted, disbands his army. 

Northampton J York . . . | Warwick and Edward. 

Henry VI. again taken prisoner. 

Wakefield | Lancaster . | Queen Margaret. 

Death of Richard, duke of York, and his son, the earl of Rutland. 



York 



Edward, duke of York. 



Feb. 28 
Mar. 29 



1464. 
Apr. 25 



May 15 

1466. 
July 

1470. 
Oct. 3, 9 

1471. 

Apr. 14 

May 4 



1485. 
Aug. 22 



Mortimer's Cross, in Here- 
fordshire. ! | 

Sir Owen Tudor taken and beheaded, 

St. Albans (second), or Bar- I Lancaster . I Queen Margaret. 
nard's Heath. \ 

Total but temporary defeat of Warwick. 

Edward enters London, and becomes king as Edward IV. (March 3.) 

Towton (near York) . . | York . . , | Edward IV. 

Somerset and Margaret (with Henry VI.) defeated. 

Hedgeley Moor, in North- I York ... I Lord Montacute, brother of 
umberland. | \ Warwick. 

Queen Margaret defeated. 

Hexham | York . . . | Lord Montacute. 

Henry VI. and Margaret defeated, and become fugitives. 

Henry VI. taken prisoner in Lancashire, brought to London, and impri- 
soned in the tower. 

Rebellion of Warwick and Clarence. 

Flight of Edward IV., and restoration of Henry VI. 

Return of Edward IV., who lands at Ravenspur, March 14. 

Barnet . | York . . | Edward IV. 

Warwick defeated. Death of Warwick. 

Tewkesbury . . . . | York . . | Edward IV. 
Queen Margaret taken prisoner, and her son, Edward, prince of Wales, 
murdered. 



Bosworth Field, in Leices- 
tershire. 



Lancaster . 



Henry, earl of Rlcnmond, 
crowned on the field as 
Henry VJI. 
Death of Richard III., and final defeat of the White Rose. 




Reverse of Great Seal of Edward IV. 
Edwardus : Dei Gratia. Rex : anglie 
et : Francie : et : Dominus : Hibernie. 



Reverse of Great Seal of Richard III. 
Ricardus . dei . gratia . Rex . anglie 
et . francie . et . Dominus . Hibernie. 



CHAPTER XII. 
THE HOUSE OF YOKE. 

EDWARD IV., EDWARD V., RICHARD III. A.D. 1461-1485. 

§ 1. Edward IV. assumes the crown. Wars of the Roses. Battle of 
Towton. § 2. Battle of Hexham. Flight of Margaret and capture 
of Henry VI. § 3. Edward's marriage. Discontent of Warwick. § 4. 
Warwick flies to Franco and leagues himself with Margaret. § 5. 
Warwick invades England, expels Edward, and restores Henry. § 6. 
Return of Edward. Battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury. Death of 
Henry VI. § 7. Peace of Pecquigny- Execution of Clarence. Death 
and chai-acter of the king. § 8. Accession of Edward V. Violent 
proceedings of Richard, duke of Gloucester. § 9. Execution of Rivers, 
Hastings, and others. § 10. Richard III. Murder of Edward V. 
and the duke of York. § 11. Conspiracy in favour of the earl of 
Richmond. His invasion, and death of Buckingham. § 12. Rich- 
mond's second invasion. Battle of Bosworth and death of Richard. 
§ 13. State of the nation under the Plantagenets. Progress of the 
constitution. § 14. Civil rights of individuals. Villenage. § 15. 
General progress of the nation. 

§ 1. Edward IV., b. 1442 ; r. 1461-1483.— Supported by the 
citizens of London, Edward summoned a council of the lords and 
protested his right to the crown. Henry was formally deposed 
for breach of the late contract between himself and the duke of 
York, and Edward's claim was at once admitted. The next day 
he made a solemn progress through the city, and was crowned at 
Westminster. He had no time for repose. Queen Margaret had 
collected a force of 60,000 men in Yorkshire, whilst the earl of 
11* 



214 EDWARD IV. Chap. xii. 

Warwick, at the head of 49,000, hastened to check her advance, 
and Edward speedily followed. The hostile armies met at Towton, 
near Tadcaster (March 29, 1461), when a fierce and bloody battle 
ensued, which ended in a complete victory on the side of the 
Yorkists. Edward issued orders to give no quarter; and above 
36,000 men are computed to have fallen in the battle and pur- 
suit, of whom 28,000 were Lancastrians. For ten miles, to the 
very gates of York, the ground was strewed with the slain. The 
snow, dyed with their blood, ran down, as it melted, in crimson 
streams. Henry and Margaret had remained at York during the 
action ; but, learning the defeat of their army, and sensible that 
no place in England could now afford them shelter, they fled 
with great precipitation into Scotland. Edward returned to 
London, where a parliament was summoned to settle the govern- 
ment. It recognized the title of Edward, by hereditary descent 
through the family of Mortimer; and declared that he was king- 
by right, from the death of his father, who also was " in his life 
very king in right." Henry VI., queen Margaret, and their infant 
son, prince Edward, besides many other persons of distinction, 
were attainted and their possessions forfeited. The royal family 
were reduced to great distress. On one occasion it is said tbat 
Margaret, flying with her son into a forest, where she endeavoured 
to conceal herself, was beset during the night by robbers, who, 
either ignorant or regardless of her quality, despoiled her of her rings 
and jewels, and treated her with the utmost indignity. The par- 
tition of so rich a booty raised a quarrel among them ; and while 
their attention was thus engaged, she took the opportunity of 
making her escape with her son into the thickest of the forest, 
where she wandered for some time, overspent with hunger and 
fatigue. In this wretched condition, she saw a robber approach ; 
and finding she had no means of escape, she suddenly embraced the 
resolution of trusting herself to his faith and generosity. She 
advanced towards him, and presenting to him the young prince, 
"Here, my friend," said she, "save the son of your king." The 
brigand took the child " with very good will ; " and conducted 
the queen in safety to Sluys and thence to Bruges, where she and 
her son were received with honour. 

§ 2. Twice did Margaret sail to France to solicit assistance. 
Louis XL, who had succeeded his father, Charles VlL, was pre- 
vailed upon to grant her a small body of troops, on promise of the 
surrender of Calais if her family should by his means recover the 
throne of England. She invaded England in 1464; but was de- 
feated in two battles by Lord Montacute, brother of the earl of 
Warwick, first at Hedgley Moor (April 25), and afterwards at 



a.d. 1461-1470. HIS MARRIAGE. 215 

Hexham (May 15). The duke of Somerset and the lords Eoos and 
Huugerford were taken in the pursuit, and immediately beheaded. 
Conveyed into Lancashire, Henry remained concealed more than 
a twelvemonth ; but he was at last delivered up to Edward and 
thrown into the Tower (1466). 

§ 3. Though inured to the ferocity of civil wars, Edward was, at 
the same time, extremely devoted to the softer passions. Jaqueline 
of Luxemburg, duchess of Bedford, had, after her husband's death, 
married sir Eichard Woodville, a private gentleman, to whom she 
bore several children ; and among the rest Elizabeth, who was 
remarkable for the grace and beauty of her person, as well as for 
her accomplishments. This lady had married Sir John Grey, by 
whom she had children ; and her husband being slain in the second 
battle of St. Albans, fighting on the side of Lancaster, and his 
estate confiscated, his widow retired to live with her father at 
his seat of Grafton, in Northamptonshire. The king, then two 
and twenty, who had hitherto lived the life of a libertine, came 
accidentally to the house after a hunting party, and was so charmed 
with the beauty of the young widow that he offered to share his 
throne with her. The marriage was privately celebrated at Grafton, 
but was not avowed by Edward till the autumn of 1464. It gave 
great offence to the earl of Warwick, who had intended to strengthen 
the throne of Edward by a more splendid connection with France. 
The influence of the queen soon became apparent, as she sought 
to draw every grace and favour to her own friends and kindred, 
and to exclude those of Warwick, whom she regarded with dislike. 
The earl perceived with disgust that his credit was lost ; and the 
nobility of England, envying the sudden growth of the Woodvilles, 
were inclined to take part with Warwick, to whose grandeur they 
were already accustomed. But the most considerable associate 
that Warwick acquired was George, duke of Clarence, the king's 
second brother, by offering him in marriage Isabel, his eldest 
daughter, co-heir of his immense fortunes (1469). Thus an ex- 
tensive and dangerous combination was insensibly formed against 
Edward and his ministry. 

§ 4. There is no part of English history since the Conquest so 
obscure or disconnected, as that of the wars between the two Boses : 
and as they exhibit a mere struggle for power, we narrate them 
as briefly as possible. In 1470 Warwick and Clarence, being 
denounced as traitors, took refuge in France, and were well received 
by Louis XL Margaret was sent for from Anjou ; and in spite of 
the injuries which Warwick had experienced at her hands, and 
the inveterate hatred which he bore to the house of Lancaster, an 
agreement was, from common interest, soon concluded between 



216 EDWARD IV. Chap. xii. 

them. It was stipulated that Warwick should espouse the cause 
of Henry, and endeavour to re-establish him on the throne ; that 
the administration of the government during the minority of young 
Edward, Henry's son, should be intrusted conjointly to the earl of 
Warwick and the duke of Clarence; that prince Edward should 
marry the lady Anne, second daughter of Warwick ; and that the 
crown, in case of the failure of male issue of that prince, should 
descend to the duke of Clarence, to the entire exclusion of king 
Edward and his posterity. 

§ 5. Louis now prepared a fleet to escort the earl of Warwick, 
and granted him a supply of men and money. That nobleman 
landed at Dartmouth (September 13, 1470), with the duke of 
Clarence, the earls of Oxford and Pembroke, and a small body of 
troops, while the king was in the north, engaged in suppressing an 
insurrection which had been raised by lord Fitz-Hugh, brother-in- 
law to Warwick. The scene which ensued resembles more a page 
of fiction than an event in history. The popularity of Warwick 
drew such multitudes to his standard, that in a very few days his 
army amounted to 60,000 men, and was continually increasing. 
Edward hastened southwards to encounter him ; but being deserted 
by the marquis of Montacute, Warwick's brother, he hurried with 
a small retinue to Lynn, in Norfolk, where he luckily found some 
ships ready, on board of which he instantly embarked (October 3). 
Thus the earl of Warwick, in no longer space than twenty days 
after his first landing, was left entire master of the kingdom. He 
hastened to London, and, taking Henry from the Tower, proclaimed 
him king with great solemnity. A parliament was summoned, 
in the name of that prince, to meet at Westminster; and the 
treaty with Margaret was fully ratified (1471). Henry was recog- 
nized as lawful king ; but his incapacity for government being 
avowed, the regency was intrusted to Warwick and Clarence till 
the majority of prince Edward ; and in default of that prince's 
issue, Clarence was declared successor to the crown. 

§ 6. The duke of Burgundy had treated Edward with great cold- 
ness on his first landing in Holland, but subsequently hired for 
him a small squadron of ships and about 2000 men. With these 
the king landed at Eavenspur, in Yorkshire (March 14, 1471). 
Partisans every moment flocked to his standard : he was admitted 
into the city of York, and was soon in such a situation as gave 
him hopes of succeeding in all his claims and pretensions. War- 
wick assembled an army at Leicester, with the intention of meet- 
ing and giving him battle ; but Edward, by taking another road, 
passed him unmolested, and presented himself before the gates of 
London, where his admittance by the citizens made him master 



a.d. 1470-1471. DEATH OF HENRY VI. 217 

not only of that rich and powerful city, but also of the person of 
Henry, who, destined to be the perpetual sport of fortune, thus 
fell again into the hands of his enemies. Edward soon found 
himself in a condition to face the earl of Warwick, who had taken 
post at Barnet, near London (April 14). Meanwhile his son- 
in-law, the duke of Clarence, in fulfilment of some secret engage- 
ments which he had formerly taken with his brother, to support 
the interests of his own family, deserted to the king in the night- 
time, and carried over a body of 12,000 men along with him. 
Warwick, however, was too far advanced to retreat ; and as he 
rejected with disdain all terms of peace offered by Edward and 
Clauence, he was obliged to hazard a general engagement, in which 
his army was completely routed. Contrary to his more usual 
practice, Warwick engaged that day on foot, resolving to show his 
army that he meant to share the same fortune with them. He was 
slain in the thickest of the engagement : his brother experienced 
the same fate : and, as Edward had issued orders not to give quarter, 
a great and undistinguished slaughter was made in the pursuit. 
The same day on which this decisive battle was fought, queen 
Margaret and her son, now about 18 years of age, and a young 
prince of great hopes, landed at Weymouth, supported by a small 
body of French forces. She advanced through the counties of 
Dorset, Somerset, and Gloucester, increasing her army on each 
day's march; but was at last overtaken by the rapid and expe- 
ditious Edward at Tewkesbury, on the banks of the Severn. The 
Lancastrians were totally defeated (May 4). Margaret and he/ 
son were taken prisoners and brought to the king, who asked the 
prince, after an insulting manner, how he dared to invade his 
dominions ? The young prince, more mindful of his high birth than 
of his present fortune, replied that he came thither to claim his 
just inheritance. Edward, insensible to pity, struck him on the 
face with his gauntlet ; and the dukes of Clarence and Gloucester, 
lord Hastings, and sir Thomas Grey, taking the blow as a signal 
for further violence, hurried the prince into the next apartment, 
and despatched him with their daggers. Margaret was thrown 
into the Tower: Henry expired there soon after the battle of 
Tewkesbury ; but whether he died a natural or violent death is 
uncertain.* It is pretended, and was generally believed, that the 
duke of Gloucester killed the king with his own hands ; but the 
universal odium which that prince has incurred inclined the nation 
to aggravate his crimes without any sufficient authority. Henry 
was buried at Chertsey Abbey; but his body was removed by 

* Tbe date also is doubtful, but it was probably May 21st or 22nd. 



218 EDWARD IV. Chap. xti. 

Bichard III., and laid beside his rival, Edward IV., in the new 
royal vault of St. George's chapel, Windsor. 

§ 7. The Lancastrians were reduced to the most abject poverty. 
One of them, Hugh Holland, duke of Exeter, though he had married 
a sister of Edward IV., was seen in the Low Countries, bare-legged 
and bare-footed, begging from door to door. Every legitimate 
prince of the line was dead: and peace being restored to the 
nation, a parliament was stimmoned, which ratified, as usual, all 
the acts of the victor, and recognized his legal authority. Eelying 
on the assistance of the duke of Burgundy, Edward now invaded 
France in 1475 with a considerable army. The expedition was 
popular. The supplies voted by Farliament were supplemented by 
loans upon the wealthy, known then and afterwards by the name 
of Benevolences. Disappointed in his expectations from Burgundy, 
Edward readily listened to the advances of Louis, who was willing 
to conclude a truce on terms more advantageous than honourable. 
He agreed to pay Edward immediately 75,000 crowns, on condition 
that he should withdraw his army from France, and promised to 
pay a sum of 50,000 crowns a year: it was added that the 
dauphin, when of age, should marry Edward's eldest daughter. 
The two monarchs ratified tbis treaty, by which Louis saved the 
integrity of France, in a personal interview at Fecquigny, near 
Amiens.* The most honourable part of it was the stipulation for 
the liberty of queen Margaret. Louis paid 50,000 crowns for her 
ransom ; and that princess, who had been so active on the stage 
of the world, passed the remainder of her days in privacy, till the 
year 1482, when she died. 

Notwithstanding the services of the duke of Clarence in deserting 
Warwick, he had never been able to regain the king's friendship, 
which he had forfeited by his former confederacy with that noble- 
man. He had also the misfortune to displease the queen herself, 
as well as his brother Bichard, duke of Gloucester, a prince of 
consummate astuteness and policy. He had refused to divide with 
Gloucester, who had married Anne, widow of Edward, prince of 
Wales, stabbed at Tewkesbury, the inheritance of their father-in- 
law, the late earl of Warwick. The variance was increased when 
Clarence, now a widower, was desirous of marrying Mary, the 
heiress of Charles, duke of Burgundy. Some gentlemen of his 
household had been tried and executed for sorcery, and the duke 
loudly protested against the sentence. Highly offended with his 
freedom, the king committed the duke to the Tower, and summoned 
a parliament, by whom he was pronounced guilty (February 7» 

* To avoid the possibility of treachery, I with a wooden grating, through which 
a bridge was thrown across the river, j the two kings shook hands. 



a.d. 1475-1483. HIS DEATH. 219 

1478). The manner of his death is unknown ; hut, according to 
rumour, he was drowned in a butt of Malmsey (February 18). 

Instead of carrying out the treaty of Pecquigny, Louis found his 
advantage in contracting the dauphin to the princess Margaret, 
daughter of the emperor Maximilian. Edward, cruelly disap- 
pointed, prepared for revenge. But in the midst of his preparations 
he was seized with a distemper, and expired in the forty-first year 
of his age, and twenty-second of his reign (April 9, 1483). Hand- 
some in person and affable in manners, his qualities were more 
showy than solid. Brave, but cruel ; addicted to pleasure, though 
capable of activity in great emergencies; he was less fitted to 
prevent ills by wise precautions, than to remedy them after they 
had taken place by his vigour and enterprise. 

Besides five daughters, this king left two sons : Edward, prince of 
Wales, his successor, then in his thirteenth year, and Bichard, duke 
of York, in his eleventh. 

EDWAED V. 

§ 8. Edward V., b. 1470 ; r. 1483.— The young king, at the time 
of his father's death, resided in the castle of Ludlow, on the borders 
of Wales, under the care of his uncle, Anthony, earl of Bivers, the 
most accomplished nobleman in England.* The queen, anxious 
to preserve that ascendency over her son which she had long 
maintained over her husband, wrote to the earl that he should levy 
a body of forces, in order to escort the king to London, to protect 
him during his coronation, and to keep him from falling into the 
hands of his enemies. The duke of Gloucester, meanwhile, whom 
the late king, on his death-bed, had nominated as regent, set out 
from York, attended by a numerous train of the northern gentry. 
Falling in with the king's escort at Stony Stratford, he caused 
lord Bivers and sir Richard Grey, one of the queen's sons, together 
with sir Thomas Vaughan, to be arrested (April 30); and the 
prisoners were conducted to Pontefract. Gloucester approached the 
young prince with the greatest demonstrations of respect, and 
endeavoured to satisfy him for the violence committed on his uncle 
and brother ; but Edward, much attached to these near relations, 
by whom he had been tenderly educated, was not such a master 
of dissimulation as to conceal his displeasure. 

As the young king and his uncle approached London ; they were 
met by the corporation at Hornsey. Edward's coronation was post- 
poned till June 22, and by act of the Great Council Richard was 
declared protector. Apprehensive of the consequences, Elizabeth fled 

* This nobleman first introduced the I was recommended by him to the patronage 
art of printing into England. Caxton | of Edward IV. 



220 EDWARD V. Chap. xii. 

into sanctuary at Westminster, attended by the marquis of Dorset ; 
and she carried thither the five princesses, together with the duke 
of York. But being at length persuaded by the archbishops of 
Canterbury and York to surrender her son into their hands, that he 
might join his brother, struck with a kind of presage of his future 
fate, she bedewed him with tears, and bade him an eternal adieu. 

§•9. Gloucester, who had hitherto concealed his designs with 
the most profound dissimulation, no longer hesitated at removing 
the obstructions which lay between him and the throne. The 
death of earl Rivers, and of the other prisoners detained in Ponte- 
fract, was first determined ; and he easily obtained the consent of 
the duke of Buckingham, as well as of lord Hastings, the two chief 
leaders of the party opposed to the queen, to this sanguinary 
measure. Orders were accordingly issued to sir Richard Rate! iff e 
to cut off the heads of the prisoners. The protector then assailed 
the fidelity of Buckingham by all the arguments capable of sway- 
ing a vicious mind, which knew no motive of action but interest 
and ambition, and easily obtained from him a promise of support- 
ing him in all his enterprises. He then sounded the sentiments 
of Hastings by means of Catesby, a lawyer, who lived in great 
intimacy with him; but found him firm in his allegiance to the 
children of Edward. He saw, therefore, that there were no longer 
any measures to be kept with him; and he determined to ruin 
the man whom he despaired of engaging to concur in his usur- 
pation. Accordingly he summoned a council in the Tower ; whither 
Hastings, suspecting no design against him, repaired without 
hesitation. The duke of Gloucester appeared in the easiest and 
most gracious humour imaginable. After some familiar conversation 
he left the council, as if called away by other business ; but soon 
after returning with an angry and inflamed countenance, he de- 
manded what punishment they deserved that had plotted against the 
life of one who was so nearly related to the king, and was intrusted 
with the administration of government ? Hastings replied that they 
merited the punishment of traitors. " These traitors," cried the 
protector, " are the sorceress, my brother's wife, and Jane Shore, 
his mistress, with others, their associates. See to what a condition 
they have reduced me by their incantations and witchcraft ; " upon 
which he laid bare his arm, all shrivelled and decayed. The coun- 
sellors, who knew that this infirmity had attended him from his 
birth, looked on each other with amazement. Lord Hastings,' who, 
since Edward's death, had been engaged in an intrigue with Jane 
Shore, ventured to reply, " Certainly, my lord, if they have done so 
heinously, they deserve the most heinous punishment." " What ! " 
exclaimed Richard, "dost thou bandy me with ifs and ans? I 



a.d. 1483. MURDER OF THE PRINCES. 221 

aver they have done it ; and I will make it good on thy body, 
thou traitor! " So saying, he struck the table with his fist. Armed 
men rushed in at the signal. Hastings was seized, hurried away, 
and instantly beheaded on a timber log intended for repairs in 
the Tower. Lord Stanley, the archbishop of York, the bishop of 
Ely, and other counsellors, were committed to different chambers. 
To carry on the farce of his accusations, Eichard ordered the goods 
of Jane Shore to be seized : and he summoned her to answer before 
the council for sorcery and witchcraft. Eventually he directed her 
to be tried in the spiritual court, for incontinence ; and she did 
penance in a white sheet in St. Paul's, before the people. 

§ 10. These acts of violence, exercised against the nearest con- 
nections of the late king, prognosticated the fate of his defenceless 
children ; and, after the murder of Hastings, the protector no longer 
made a secret of his intentions to usurp the crown. Dr. Shaw, in 
a sermon at St. Paul's cross, attempted to persuade the people that 
Edward IV. had been previously married to Lady Butler, and that 
therefore Edward V. and his other children by Elizabeth Woodville 
were illegitimate. Various other artifices were employed to induce 
the people to salute Richard as king. At length Buckingham and 
the lord mayor proceeded with a body of prelates, nobles, and com- 
mons to his residence at Baynard's castle. He was assured that the 
nation was resolved to have him for their sovereign; and, after 
some well-acted hesitation, he accepted the crown (June 26). The 
farce was soon after followed by tbe murder of the two young 
princes. Eichard gave orders to sir Robert Brakenbury, constable 
of the Tower, to put his nephews to death; but this gentleman, 
to his honour, refused such an infamous office. The tyrant then 
sent for sir James Tyrrel, who promised obedience ; and he ordered 
Brakenbury to resign to Tyrrel the keys and government of the 
Tower for one night. Choosing associates, Dighton and Forest, 
Tyrrel came in the night-time to the door of the chamber where 
the princes were lodged; and sending in the assassins, he bade 
them execute their commission, while he himself stayed without. 
They found the young princes in bed, and fallen into a profound 
sleep. After suffocating them with the bolster and pillows, they 
showed their naked bodies to Tyrrel, who ordered them to be 
buried at the foot of the stairs, deep in the ground, under a heap 
of stones.* 

* This story has heen questioned hy two youths were discovered under a stair- 
Walpole in his Historic Doubts, and case in the White Tower, and were in- 
suhsequenlly by other writers ; but, on ! terred in Westminster Abbey by order 
the whole, the balance of probability ' of Charles II. as those of Edward V. and 
greatly preponderates in its favour. In j his brother. 
1674, during some repairs, the bones of ' 



222 RICHARD III. Chap. xii. 

§11. Richard III., h. 1450; r. 1483-1485.— The first acts of 
Richard's administration were to bestow rewards on those who had 
assisted him in gaining the crown, and to conciliate by favours 
those who were best able to support his government. He loaded 
the duke of Buckingham especially, who was allied to the royal 
family, with grants and honours. But it was impossible that 
friendship could long remain inviolate between the two. Soon 
after Richard's accession, the duke, disappointed, or delayed, in 
some requests he had made, began to form a conspiracy against the 
government, and attempted to overthrow that usurpation which he 
himself had so zealously contributed to establish. Morton, bishop 
of Ely, a zealous Lancastrian, whom the king had committed to the 
duke's custody, encouraged these sentiments. By his exhortations 
the duke turned his thoughts towards the young earl of Richmond, 
as the only person who could free the nation from the present 
usurper. On his mother's side he was descended from John of 
Gaunt by Katharine Swynford, a branch legitimated by parliament 
(1397), but excluded from the succession by Henry IV. (1407). On 
his father's side he was grandson of Owen Tudor and Katharine of 
France, relict of Henry V.* 

The universal detestation of Richard's conduct after the death of 
the two young princes turned the attention of the nation towards 
Henry, from whom only it could expect deliverance. It was there- 
fore suggested by Morton, and readily assented to by the duke, 
that, to overturn the present usurpation, the opposite factions should 
be united by contracting a marriage between the earl of Richmond 
and the princess Elizabeth, eldest daughter of king Edward. 
Margaret, Richmond's mother, assented to the plan without hesi- 
tation ; whilst on the part of the queen dowager, the desire of 
revenge for the murder of her brother and of her three sons, 
apprehensions for her surviving family, and indignation against 
her confinement, easily overcame all her prejudices against the 
house of Lancaster, and procured her approbation of a marriage 
to which the age and birth, as well as the present situation, of 
the parties seemed so naturally to invite them. She secretly 
borrowed a sum of money in the city, sent it over to the 
earl of Richmond, who was at present detained in Brittany in a kind 
of honourable custody, required his oath to celebrate the marriage 
as soon as he should arrive in England, advised him to levy as 
many foreign forces as possible, and promised to join him on his 
first appearance, with all the friends and partisans of her family. 
The plan was secretly communicated to the principal persons of 

* For the genealogy of Henry of Richmond and the duke of Buckingham, see the 
Genealogical Tables. 



a.d. 1483. DEATH OF BUCKINGHAM. 223 

both parties in all the counties of England ; and a wonderful alacrity 
appeared in every order of men to forward its success and completion. 
The duke of Buckingham took up arms in Wales, and gave the signal 
to his accomplices for a general insurrection in all parts of England. 
But heavy rains having rendered the Severn, with the other rivers 
in that neighbourhood, impassable, the Welshmen, partly moved by 
superstition at this extraordinary event, partly distressed by famine 
in their camp, fell off from him ; and Buckingham, finding himself 
deserted by his followers, put on a disguise, and took shelter in the 
house of Banaster, an old servant of his family. Tempted by the 
reward, Banaster betrayed his retreat. He was brought to the king 
at Salisbury, and was instantly executed, according to the summary 
method practised in that age (November 2, 1483). The other con- 
spirators immediately dispersed. The earl of Bichmond, in concert 
with his friends, had set sail from St. Malo, with a body of 5000 men 
levied in foreign parts ; but, as his fleet was at first driven back by 
a storm, he did not appear in England till after the dispersion of 
his friends, and he found himself obliged to return to Brittany. 

The king, everywhere triumphant, ventured at last to summon 
a parliament, which had no choice left but to recognize his au- 
thority, and acknowledge his right to the crown. To reconcile the 
nation to his government, Richard passed some popular laws, par- 
ticularly against Benevolences ; but he soon after resorted to the 
same practice. His consort Anne, the second daughter of the earl 
of Warwick, and widow of Edward, prince of Wales, having borne 
him but one son, who died about this time, he considered her as an 
invincible obstacle to the settlement of his fortune. It is said 
that, in anticipation of her death, he proposed, by means of a papal 

Genealogy of Henry of Richmond and of the duke of Buckingham : — 

EDWARD III. 



John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, Thomas, duke of 

m. Catherine Swynford. Gloucester. 

John Beaufort, earl of Somerset, Anne, 

d. 1410. m. Edmund, earl 

| of Stafford. 

Catherine of France, John Beaufort, duke of 

widow of Henry V., Somerset, Humphrey Stafford, duke 

m. Owen Tudor. d. 1444. of Buckingham, 

| | d. 1459. 

Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, m. Margaret. 

Humphrey Stafford, 
HENRY VII. d. in lifetime of his father. 

I 

Henry Stafford, duke 

of Buckingham, 

beheaded 1483. 

See the Genealogical Table of the House of Lancaster. 



224 EICHAED III. Chap, xn, 

dispensation, to espouse the princess Elizabeth, ana thus to unite 
in his own family their contending titles. 

§ 12. Exhorted by his partisans to prevent this marriage by a new 
invasion, and having received assistance from the court of France, 
Eichmond set sail from Harfleur in Normandy, with a small army 
of about 2000 men. After a voyage of six days he arrived at 
Milford Haven, in "Wales, where he landed without opposition 
(August 7, 1485). The earl, advancing towards Shrewsbury, 
received every day fresh reinforcements from his partisans. 

The two rivals at last approached each other at Bosworth, near 
Leicester ; Henry at the head of 6000 men, Richard with an army 
nearly double the number. Before the battle began, lord Stanley, 
who, without declaring himself, had raised an army of 7000 men 
and had so posted himself as to be able to join either party, appeared 
in the field, and declared for the earl of Richmond. The intrepid 
tyrant, sensible of his desperate situation, cast his eyes around the 
field, and, descrying his rival at no great distance, he drove against 
him with fury, in hopes that either Henry's death, or his own, 
would decide the victory between them. He killed with his own 
hands sir William Brandon, standard-bearer to the earl : he dis- 
mounted sir John Cheyney : he was now within reach of Richmond 
himself, who declined not the combat ; when sir William Stanley, 
breaking in with his troops, surrounded Richard, who, fighting 
bravely to the last moment, was overwhelmed by numbers, and 
perished by a fate too mild and honourable for his multiplied 
enormities (August 22, 1485). The naked body of Richard was 
thrown carelessly across a horse, carried to Leicester amidst the 
shouts of the insulting spectators, and interred in the Grey Friars' 
church of that place. 

The historians who lived in the subsequent reign have probably 
exaggerated the vices of the monarch whom their master overthrew ; 
and some modern writers have attempted to palliate the crimes by 
which he procured possession of the crown. It is certain that he 
possessed energy, courage, and capacity ; but these qualities would 
never have compensated his subjects for the usurpation and the 
vices of which he was guilty. Inured to scenes of bloodshed 
from his childhood, and all the horrors of a civil war, it was in- 
evitable that his courage should be stained with cruelty, and that 
danger should have taught him dissimulation. His personal 
appearance has even been a subject of warm controversy : while 
some represent him as small of stature and humpbacked, others 
maintain that his only defect was in having one shoulder a little 
higher than the other. 



AD. 1485. CIVIL EIGHTS— VILLENAGE. 225 

§ 13. The reign of the house of Flantagenet expired with 
Eichard III. on Bosworth field. In a limited monarchy, change of 
a dynasty is generally accompanied by some revolution in the 
state. The reigns of Henry VII., and of his successors of the house 
of Tudor, hear a character distinct from those of the Plantagenet 
princes. The exhaustion of the kingdom through the protracted 
Wars of the Eoses, and the almost entire annihilation of the 
greater English nobility, enabled the Tudors to rule with a despotic 
power unknown to their predecessors. 

The period of the Plantagenets forms an important and in- 
teresting epoch in English history. Its leading feature is the 
gradual development of the English constitution. The first osten- 
sible act in the process is the Great Charter wrung from John. 
In the subsequent reigns Magna Carta was repeatedly confirmed. 
The weak and long reign of Henry III., and the necessities of 
Edward I., served to foster the infancy of English freedom, whilst 
the establishment of the commons, as a permanent estate of the 
great council of the nation forms, in a constitutional point of view, 
the chief glory of this era of history. 

§ ±4. From the constitution we naturally turn our view to those 
who were its subjects. As early at least as the reign of Henry III., 
the legal equality of all freemen below the rank of the peerage 
appears to have been completely established. The civil rights of in- 
dividuals were protected by that venerable body of ancient customs, 
which, under the name of the common law, still obtains in our 
courts of justice. Its origin is lost in the obscurity of remote anti- 
quity, A very small portion of it may be traced to the Anglo-Saxon 
times ; but the greater part must have sprung up after the Conquest, 
since we find the pecuniary penalties which marked the Anglo-Saxon 
legislation exchanged in criminal cases for capital punishment. 

It is difficult to trace the steps by which villenage was gradually 
mitigated under the Plantagenets ; but on the whole it is certain 
that at the termination of their dynasty it was rapidly falling into 
disuse. Tenants in villenage were gradually transformed into 
copyholders. Villeins bound to personal service escaped to distant 
parts of the country, where they could not easily be traced and 
reclaimed, and entered into free and voluntary service under a new 
master. Others hid themselves in towns, where a residence of a 
twelvemonth made them free by law, though they were not ad- 
mitted to municipal privileges. Something must also be attributed 
to manumission. The influence of the church was exerted on 
behalf of this degraded class ; and the repentant lord was exhorted 
by his spiritual adviser to give freedom to his fellow Christians. 
As public opinion became more enlightened and humane, the courts 






226 



RICHARD III. 



Chap. xii. 



of law leaned to the side of the oppressed peasantry in all suits in 
which their rights were concerned. The statutes framed for the 
regulation of wages, and the popular insurrection in the time of 
Richard II., betray an advance in the condition of the lower 
classes ; and, though they attest a large amount of villenage, they 
discover at the same time a greater extension of freedom. 

§ 15. With regard to the general progress of the nation, we per- 
ceive under the sway of the Plantagenets a notable increase in its 
wealth and intelligence, as well as in its freedom. The woollen 
manufactures were established in various parts of England, and 
began to supply foreign nations. In the reign of Edward III. the 
English were remarkable for their excellence in the arts of peace 
as well as of war. A rich literature, adorned with the names of 
Chaucer and Gower, of Wickliffe and Mandeville, was now destined 
.to exercise a better influence, by the invention of printing, intror 
duced into England in the reign of Edward IV. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF 
PARLIAMENT. 

The -word Parliament (parlement or 
colloquium as some of our historians 
translate it) is derived from the French, 
and signifies any assembly that meets 
and confers together. It appears on 
the Close Rolls of 1244, as applied to 
the meeting of king John and the barons 
at Runnymede. The constituent parts 
of parliament in its more restricted 
sense are now, and were under the later 
Plantagenet kings, the sovereign and 
the three estates of the realm, the lords 
spiritual, the lords temporal (who sit, to- 
gether with their sovereign, in one house), 
and the commons, who sit by them- 
selves in another. The parliament, as 
so constituted, is an outgrowth of the 
Great Council of the realm, held under 
the Anglo-Norman kings, the constitu- 
tion of which has been already explained 
Cp. 129). It will be convenient to trace 
separately the history of each house. 

I. The House of Lords.— The spiri- 
tual peerage consisted originally of 
archbishops, bishops, and abbots ; and 
the lay peerage only of barons and 
earls, but every earl was also a baron. 
For more than two centuries after the 
Norman conquest the only baronies 
known were baronies by tenure, being 



incident to the tenure of land held 
immediately under the crown. Hence 
the right of peerage was originally 
territorial, being annexed to certain 
lands, and, when they were alienated, 
passing with them as an appendant. 
Thus in 1433 the possession of the castle 
of Arundel was adjudged to confer an 
earldom " by tenure " on its possessor. 

Afterwards, when the alienations of 
land became frequent, and the number 
of those who held of the king in capite 
increased, it became the practice, either 
in the reign of John or Henry III., for 
the king to summon to the Great Council, 
by Writ, all such persons as he thought 
fit so to summon. In this way the dignity 
of the peerage became personal instead of 
territorial. Proof of a tenure by barony 
became no longer necessary, and the re- 
cord of the writ of summons came to be 
sufficient evidence to constitute a peer. 

The third mode of creating peers is 
by Letters Patent from the crown, in 
which the descent of the dignity is 
regulated, being usually confined to 
heirs male. The first peer created by 
patent was lord Beauchamp of Kidder- 
minster, in the reign of Richard II. (1387). 
It is still occasionally the practice to call 
up the eldest son of a peer to the House 
of Lords by writ of summons in the name 
of his father's barony ; but, with this 



Chap, xii. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTEATIONS. 



227 



exception, peers are now always created 
by letters patent. 

The first instance in which earls and 
barons are called peers is in 14 Edw. II. 
(1321), in the award of exile against the 
Despensers. 

The degrees of nobility are dukes, 
marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons. 
1. The title of Duke or dux was used 
among the Anglo-Saxons as a title of 
dignity ; but as William the Conqueror 
and his successors were dukes of Nor- 
mandy, they would not honour any 
subject with the title till the reign of 
Edward III., who, claiming to be king 
of France, created his eldest son Edward, 
the Black Prince, duke of Cornwall (1337). 
Several of the royal family subsequently 
received the title of duke. 2. The title 
of Marquess or marchio was originally 
applied to a Lord Marcher, or lord of 
the frontier districts, called the marches, 
from the Teutonic word marka, a limit ; 
but it was first created a parliamentary 
dignity by Richard II., who made Robert 
de Vere marquess of Dublin (1386). 3. An 
Earl corresponded to the Saxon ealdor- 
man or alderman, who originally had 
the administration of a shire. Under 
the Norman kings the title became 
merely personal, though the earl con- 
tinued to receive a third penny of the 
emoluments arising from the pleas in 
the county courts. In Latin the earl 
was called Comes, and after the Norman 
conquest Count, whence the name county 
is still applied to the shires ; but the title 
of count never superseded the more an- 
cient designation of earl, and soon fell 
into disuse. The title of earl continued 
to be the highest hereditary dignity till the 
reign of Edward III. 4. The dignity of 
Viscount or Vice-Comes was borrowed from 
France, and was first conferred in 1440 by 
Henry VI., who had been crowned king 
of France. 5. The title of Baron has been 
already explained. (See p. 126.) 

II. The House of Commons. — The 
members of the House of Commons con- 
sist of the knights of the shires, and the 
burgesses, or representatives of the cities, 
universities, and boroughs. The origin 
of the knights of the shires is traced 
to the fourteenth clause in the charter of 
John, by which the sheriff was bound to 
summon to the Great Council all the (in- 
ferior) tenants in chief. The principle of 
representation introduced by Simon de 
Montfort in the 49th of Henry III. (1265) 



has been already explained (p. 148). 
From this time till the 23rd of Edward I. 
(1295) the representatives of the cities and 
boroughs were occasionally summoned ; 
but they were not permanently engrafted 
upon parliament till the latter date, when 
the expenses of Edward, arising from his 
foreign wars, led him to have recourse 
to this means for obtaining supplies of 
money. This is the true date of the 
Mouse of Commons (Stubbs, p. 402). 
The success of the experiment insured 
its repetition ; and the king found that 
he could more readily obtain larger sums 
of money by the subsidies of the citizens 
and burgesses than he had previously 
obtained by tallages upon their towns. 
It must be recollected that the only 
object of summoning the citizens and 
burgesses was to obtain money, and that 
it was not originally intended to give 
them the power of consenting to the 
laws. And often after this period the 
upper house continued to sit and pass 
laws, when the commons had retired. 
But gradually the power of the purse 
procured them a share in legislation. 

At first both houses sat in the same 
chamber ; but from the earliest times 
they voted separately, and imposed 
separate taxes, each upon its own order. 
The knights of the shires voted at first 
with the earls and barons; but in the 
latter years of Edward III. the houses 
delibeiated apart, and were divided as we 
now find them. 

In the feeble reign of Edward II. the 
commons were not slow in advancing 
their rights ; and the rolls of parlia- 
ment show that on one occasion, at 
least, they granted supplies on con- 
dition that the king should redress the 
grievances of which they complained. 
Gradually the assent of the commons 
came to be considered necessary for the 
enactment of laws ; and in the long and 
prosperous reign of Edward III. the 
three essential principles of our govern- 
ment were generally established: (1) The 
consent of parliament to all extraordinary 
aids and taxes ; (2) the concurrence of the 
two houses in all matters affecting the 
realm ; (3) the right of the commons to 
inquire into public abuses, and to impeach 
public counsellors. With regard to the 
second constitutional principle mentioned 
above, we find in 15 Edward II. that 
" matters to be established for the estate 
of the king and his heirs, and for the 



228 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. xii. 



estate of the realm and of the people, shall 
be treated, accorded, and established, in 
parliament by the king, and by the assent 
of the prelates, earls, and barons, and the 
commonalty of the realm, according as 
has been beiors accustomed." It was the 
practice that the petitions of the commons, 
with the respective answers made to them 
in the king's name, should be drawn up 
after the end of the session in the form of 
laws, and entered upon the statute-roll. 
Still it must be observed that the statutes 
do not always express the true sense of 
the commons, as their petitions were fre- 
quently modified and otherwise altered by 
the king's answers. The first instance in 
which the commons exercised the third 
constitutional principle alluded to was in 
50 Edward III., when, instigated by the 
Black Prince, they impeached lord Latimer 
and other ministers of the king. 

Under the reign of Richard II. the 
power of the House of Commons made 
still further progress, which was con- 
tinued under the three kings of the 
house of Lancaster, who owed their 
throne to a parliamentary title. Among . 
the rights established under these kings 
the two following were the most im- 
portant : 1. The introduction, in the 
reign of Henry VI., of complete statutes 
under the name of bills, instead of the 
old petitions, to which the king gave 
his consent, and which he was not at 
liberty to alter, as he had done in the case 
of petitions. It now became the practice 
for either house to originate a bill, except 
in the case of money bills, which con- 
tinued to be originated exclusively by 
the commons. 2. That the king ought 
not to take notice of matters pending 
in parliament, and that the commons 
should enjoy liberty of speech. 

The persons who had the right of voting 
for knights of the shire were declared by 
8 Hen. VI. c. 7, to be all freeholders of 
lands and tenements of the annual value 
of 40s., equivalent at least to 301. of our 
value ; which was a limitation of the 
number of voters, since it would appear 
from 7 Hen.. IV. c. 15, that all persons 
whatever, present at the county court, had 
previously the right of voting for the 
knights of their shires. For further par- 
ticulars as to the House of Lords, see sir 
Harris Nicolas, The Historic Peerage of 
England, Introduction, in the edit, of 
1857 ; and as to the House of Commons, 
Hallam's Middle Ages, vol. iii. c. 8. 



B. AUTHORITIES FOR THE PERIOD 
OF THE PLANTAGENETS FROM 
JOHN TO RICHARD III. 

A reference to Note C, appended to 
chapter vii. (pp. 129, 130;, will show what 
histories already mentioned extend into 
this period In addition may be named 
the Annals of Dunstable to 1297 (Rolls) ; 
Walter of Hemingford, Lives of Edward 
I., II., III. ; John Trokelowe, Annales 
Edvjardi II., with a continuation by Henry 
Blaneford (Rolls) ; Robert of Avesbury, 
Historia de Mirabilibus Gestis Edwardi 
III. ; the Monk of Evesham, Hist. Vitm et 
Regni Jiicardi II. ; Otterbourne's Chroni- 
cle, from Brute to 1420 ; Whethamstede's 
Chronicle, 1441 to 1460 (Rolls) ; Elmham, 
Vita et Gesta Henrici V. (Rolls) ; Titus 
Livius, idem. ; William of Worcester, 
Annales Rerum Anglicarum, 1324 to 1491 ; 
Rous, Historia Regum Anglim (to 1485). 
The preceding works are published in 
Hearne's collection. The following are in 
the collection of Hall : Nicholas Trivet, 
Annales sex regum Anglian, 1135 to 1318 ; 
Adam Murimuth, Chronicle (with con- 
tinuation), 1303 to 1380. The Chronicle 
of Lanercost, published by the Bannatyne 
Club, extends from 1201 to 1346. Joan. 
Amundesham, 1422-1440 (Rolls). The 
following are in Camden's Anglica, &c. : 
Thos. de la More, De Vita et Morte 
Edwardi II. ; Walsingham, Historia 
brevis Anglim, 1272 to 1422: the same 
author's Hypodigma Neustrix, containing 
an account of the affairs of Normandy 
to Henry V. (Rolls), is also in Camden. 
Froissart's Clironiques (translated by 
Lord Berners) is an interesting but not 
very trustworthy work for the times of 
Edward III. and Richard II. Chron. 
Anglix, 1328-1388 (Rolls). The Chro- 
niques of Monstrelet (1400 to 1467) and 
the Memoires of Philip de Comines (1461 
to 1498) may also be consulted for foreign 
affairs during the later Plantagenets. 

The early printed chronicles which 
treat of this period, with the exception 
of Fabyan's (to 1509) and Hardyng's 
(to 1538), are not contemporary. The 
principal are those of Hall, Grafton, 
Holinshed, and Stowe. Sir Thos. More's 
History of Richard III. is the best 
authority for that period : he was old 
enough to have heard the facts from 
contemporaries, and especially from 
bishop Morton, in whose service he 
had lived. 




Henry VII. and Elizabeth of York. From their monument in Westminster Abl ey. 



BOOK IV. 
THE HOUSE OF TUDOR. 

a.d. 1485-1603. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

HENRY VII. A.D. 1485-1509. 

§ 1. Introduction. §2. Accession of Henry VII. His coronation, marriage, 
and settlement of the government. § 3. Discontents. Invasion of 
Lambert Simnel, and battle of Stoke. Coronation of the queen. 
§ 4. Foreign affairs. Peace of Estaples. § 5. Perkin Warbeck. Execu- 
tion of lord Stanley. § 6. Further attempts of Perkin. Cornish in- 
surrection, and battle of Blackheath. § 7. Perkin again invades 
England, is captured, and executed. Execution of Warwick. § 8. Mar- 
riage aud death of prince Arthur. Marriage of the princess Margaret. 
Oppression of Empson and Dudley § 9. Matrimonial negociations of 
Henry. Death and character of the king. § 10. Miscellaneous occurrences. 

§ 1, The accession of the Tudors to the English throne is nearly 
coincident with the proper epoch of modern history. The final im- 
portant change in the European populations had been effected by 
12 



230 HENRY VII. Chap. xiii. 

the settlement of the Turks at Constantinople in 1453. The im- 
provement in navigation was soon to lay open a new world, as well 
as a new route to that ancient continent of Asia, whose almost 
fabulous riches had attracted the wonder and cupidity of Europeans 
since the days of Alexander the Great. Hence was to arise a new 
system of relations among the states of Europe. The commerce of 
the East, previously monopolized by the Venetians and Genoese, 
began to be diverted to the Western nations ; its richest products 
to be rivalled by those of another hemisphere. The various Euro- 
pean states, having consolidated their domestic institutions, were 
beginning to direct their attention to the affairs of their neighbours. 
The invasion of Italy by Charles VIII. of France, in the reign of 
Henry VII., is justly regarded as the commencement of the political 
system of Europe, or of that series of wars and negociations among 
its different kingdoms which has continued to the present day, 
The house of Tudor, lifted to the throne by the civil wars, and 
strengthened by the very desolation which they had occasioned, 
was enabled to play an effective part upon the continent, and to lay 
the foundation of that European influence which England still 
commands. 

Besides the advantages derived from commerce, the intercourse of 
nations is beneficially felt in their mutual influence upon opinion and 
the progress of society. Europe, first cemented into a whole by the 
conquests of the Komans, derived a still firmer bond of union from 
its common Christianity. The distinguishing historical feature of 
the reign of the Tudors is the progress and final establishment 
of the Eeformation. That great revolution was accompanied by 
an astonishing progress in manners, literature, and the arts ; but, 
above all, it encouraged that spirit of civil freedom, by which, under 
the house of Stuart, the last seal was affixed to our constitutional 
liberties. 

§ 2. The victory which the earl of Richmond gained at Bosworth 
was entirely decisive. Sir William Stanley placed upon his head 
the crown which Richard had worn in the battle ; and the acclama- 
tions of " Long live Henry the Seventh ! " by a natural and 
unpremeditated movement, resounded from all quarters of the field 
(August 22, 1485). Henry was now in his 30th year. He had 
no real title to the crown ; but he determined to put himself in im- 
mediate possession of regal authority, and to show all opponents 
that nothing but force of arms should be able to expel him. He 
brought to the throne all the bitter feelings of the Lancastrians. 
To exalt that party, and depress the adherents of the house of 
York, were his favourite objects, and through the earlier part of 
his reign were never forgotten. His first command after the battle 



a.d. 1485-1486. HIS CORONATION AND MARRIAGE. 231 

of Bosworth was to secure the person of Edward Plantagenet, earl 
of Warwick, son of the duke of Clarence, who had heen put to 
death by his brother, Edward IV. Henry immediately afterwards 
set out for the capital. His journey bore the appearance of an 
established monarch making a peaceable progress through his 
dominions, rather than that of a prince who had opened his way to 
the throne by force of arms. The promise he had made of marrying 
Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward IV., seemed to insure a union 
of the contending titles of the two families ; but, though bound 
by honour as well as by interest to complete this alliance, he 
was resolved to postpone it till the ceremony of his own corona- 
tion should be finished, and his title recognized by parliament. 
Anxious to support his personal and hereditary right to the throne, 
he dreaded lest an earlier marriage with the princess should imply 
a right in her to participate in the sovereignty, and raise doubts of 
his own title through the house of Lancaster. On the 30th of October 
Henry was crowned at Westminster by cardinal Bourchier, arch- 
bishop of Canterbury. The parliament, which assembled soon after, 
seemed entirely devoted to him. It was enacted " That the inherit- 
ance of the crown should rest, remain, and abide in the king, and 
none other ; " but whether as rightful heir, or only as present pos- 
sessor, was not determined. In the following year Henry applied to 
the papal authority for a confirmation of his title. The parliament, 
at his instigation, passed an act of attainder against the late king 
and the richest of his adherents ; they also reversed the attainders 
of Henry VI. and 107 Lancastrians. Henry bestowed favours and 
honours on some particular persons who were attached to him ; but 
the ministers whom he most trusted and favoured were not chosen 
from among the nobility, or even from among the laity. John 
Morton and Richard Fox, two clergymen of singular industry 
and capacity, who had shared in his dangers and distresses, were 
called to the privy council ; Morton was restored to the bishopric 
of Ely, and Fox was created bishop of Exeter (1487). The 
former, soon after, upon the death of Bourchier, was raised to the 
see of Canterbury. The king's marriage was celebrated at London, 
January 18, 1486, with greater demonstrations of joy than ap- 
peared either at his first entry or his coronation. But, though 
married, the queen was not crowned until the end of the next year. 
§ 3. In the course of this year an abortive attempt at insurrection 
was made by lord Lovel ; but though Henry had been able to de- 
feat this hasty rebellion, raised by the relics of Richard's partisans, 
his government was disturbed by a more formal attempt. There 
lived in Oxford one Richard Simon, a priest, who entertained the 
design of disturbing Henry's government by raising up a pretender 



232 HENRY VII. Chap xiii. 

to the crown. For that purpose he cast his eyes on Lambert Simnel, 
a youth of fifteen years of age, who was son of a joiner, or, as some 
say, of a baker. Being endowed with understanding above his 
years, and address above his condition, Simnel seemed well fitted to 
personate a prince. A report had been spread among the people 
and received with great avidity, that Eichard, duke of York, second 
son of Edward IV., had escaped from the cruelty of his uncle, and 
lay somewhere concealed in England. Taking advantage of this 
rumour, Simon instructed his pupil to assume that name, which he 
found to be so fondly cherished by the public ; but hearing after- 
wards a new report, that the earl of Warwick had made his escape 
from the Tower, and observing that this news was attended with 
no less general satisfaction, he changed his plans, and made Simnel 
personate that unfortunate prince. As the Irish were zealously 
attached to the house of York, and bore an affectionate regard to 
the memory of Eichard, duke of York, Warwick's grandfather, who 
had been their lieutenant, Ireland was selected for the first scene 
of the plot. Gerald Fitzgerald, earl of Kildare, the deputy, and 
other persons of distinction, gave countenance to Simnel ; and he 
was crowned at Dublin, under the appellation of Edward VI. (May, 
1487). The whole island followed the example of the capital, and 
not a sword was drawn in Henry's quarrel. The king's first act 
on this intelligence was to order the queen-dowager and her son, 
the marquis of Dorset, into close confinement, the former in the 
nunnery of Bermondsey, the latter to the Tower. He next ordered 
Warwick to be taken from the Tower, be led in procession through 
the streets of London, be conducted to St. Paul's, and there exposed 
lo the view of the whole people. The expedient had its effect 
in England ; but in Ireland the people still persisted in their revolt, 
and Henry had soon reason to apprehend that the design against 
him was not laid on such slight foundations as the absurdity of the 
contrivance seemed to imply. John, earl of Lincoln, son of John 
de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, and of Elizabeth, eldest sister of Edward 
IV., whom Eichard III. had declared heir to the throne, was engaged 
in the conspiracy ; and he induced Margaret, the dowager duchess 
of Burgundy, another sister of Edward IV., to join it. After con- 
sulting with Lincoln and lord Lovel, she hired a body of 2000 veteran 
Germans, under the command of Martin Schwartz, a brave and 
experienced officer, and sent them over, together with these two 
noblemen, to join Simnel in Ireland. An invasion of England 
was resolved on. Simnel landed in Lancashire, and advanced 
as far as Stoke, near Newark. He was defeated by Henry in a 
decisive battle (June 16, 1487). Lincoln and Schwartz perished 
on the field, with 4000 of their followers. Lovel escaped, but was 



a.d. 1487-1491. 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS. 



233 



never more seen or heard of.* Simnel, with his tutor Simon, 
was taken prisoner. Simon, being a priest, was not tried at law, 
and was only committed to close custody. Simnel was too con- 
temptible to be an object either of apprehension or resentment. 
He was pardoned, and made a scullion in the king's kitchen, from 
which post he was afterwards advanced to the rank of falconer. 

§ 4. The foreign transactions of this reign present little of interest 
or importance. The cautious and parsimonious temper of the king 
rendered him averse to war, and he could never be induced to take 
up arms when he saw the least prospect of attaining his ends by 
negociation. About this time events in France compelled his in- 
terference ; but it was exercised too late, and without vigour enough 
to be effective. Charles VIIL, who had succeeded to the throne 
of France in 1483, was extremely desirous of annexing Brittany 
to his dominions ; and, at the invitation of some discontented 
Breton barons, the French invaded that province with a large army 
(1488). Henry entered into a league with Maximilian of Germany 
and Ferdinand of Arragon for the defence of Brittany; but the 
resources of these princes were distant, and Henry himself only 
despatched an army of 6000 men, which, in virtue of a secret 
agreement with Charles, never took the field (1489). An unfore- 
seen event disconcerted the policy of the allies. Anne, who had 
succeeded to the duchy of Brittany on the death of her father in 
1488, had made a contract with Maximilian, but Charles invested 
Rennes, where the duchess resided, with a large army, and extorted 
a promise of marriage as the condition of her release. The nuptials 
were accordingly celebrated, and Anne was conducted to Paris, 
which she entered amidst the joyful acclamations of the people. 
Thus Brittany was finally annexed to the French crown (1491). 

On pretence of a French war, Henry now levied a benevolence,^ 
and the parliament, which met soon after, inflamed with the idea 
of a war with France, voted him a supply. He crossed over to 
Calais with a large army, and proceeded to invest Boulogne ; but 
notwithstanding these professions of hostility, secret advances 



* " Towards the close of the lTth century, 
at his seat at Minster Lovel, in Oxfordshire, 
was accidentally discovered a chamber 
under the ground, in which was the skele- 
ton of a man seated in a chair, with his 
head reclining on a table. Hence it is 
supposed that the fugitive had found an 
asylum in this subterraneous chamber, 
where he was perhaps starved to death 
through neglect."— Lingard. 

f Parliament consented that a bene- 
volence, or contribution, should be levied 



" from the abler sort." This mode of 
raising money, devised by Edward IV., 
was abolished by Richard III., but after- 
wards revived by him, under another 
name, and now by Henry VII., with the 
consent of parliament. In 1505 Henry 
raised another benevolence, without con- 
sent of parliament. " So forcible," says 
Coke, "is once a precedent fixed in the 
crown, add what proviso you will." 2 
Ins, p. 61, 4 Ins. p. 32. 



234 HENRY VII. Chap. xiii. 

had been made towards peace above three months before, and com- 
missioners had been appointed to treat of the terms. They met 
at Estaples. The king of France consented to pay £149,000 in 
half-yearly instalments for the peaceable possession of Brittany 
(1492). Thus the king, as remarked by his historian, Lord Bacon, 
made profit upon his subjects for the war, and upon his enemies for 
the peace. (Supplement, Note I.) 

§ 5. Henry had now reason to flatter himself with the prospect 
of durable peace and tranquillity; but his inveterate and indefati- 
gable enemies raised up an adversary who long kept him in alarm, 
and sometimes even brought him into danger. The report was 
revived that Bichard, duke of York, had escaped from the Tower 
when his elder brother was murdered ; and, finding this rumour 
greedily received, the enemies of Henry looked out for some young- 
man to personate that unfortunate prince. There was one Pierce 
Osbeck, or Perkin Warbeck, born at Tournay of respectable parents, 
who by the natural versatility and sagacity of his genius seemed 
to be perfectly fitted to act any part, or assume any character. 
He was comely in his person, graceful in his air, courtly in his 
address, full of docility and good sense in his behaviour and con- 
versation. The war which was then ready to break out between 
France and England seemed to afford a proper opportunity for the 
discovery of this new phenomenon ; and Ireland, which still retained 
its attachment to the house of York, was chosen as the proper place 
for his first appearance. He landed at Cork ; and immediately 
assuming the name of Bichard Plantagenet, drew to him partisans 
among that credulous people (1492). The news soon reached France, 
and Charles sent Perkin an invitation to repair to him at Paris. 
He received him with all the marks of regard due to the duke 
of York ; settled on him a handsome pension ; assigned him magni- 
ficent lodgings ; and, in order to provide at once for his dignity 
and security, gave him a guard for his person. When peace was con- 
cluded between France and England at Estaples, Henry applied 
to have Perkin put into his hands ; but Charles, resolute not to 
betray a young man, of whatever birth, whom he had invited into 
his kingdom, would only agree to dismiss him. The pretended 
Bichard retired to the duchess of Burgundy, who is thought by 
many to have been the original instigator of the plot. This princess, 
after feigning a long and severe scrutiny, burst out into joy and 
admiration at his wonderful deliverance, embraced him as her 
nephew, the true image of Edward, the sole heir of the Plantagenets, 
and the legitimate successor to the English throne. She imme- 
diately assigned him an equipage suited to his pretended birth, and 
on all occasions honoured him with the appellation of the White 



a.d. 1492-1495. 



PERKIN WAEBECK. 



235 



Bose of England (1493). The English, from their great commu- 
nication with the Low Countries, were every day more and more 
prepossessed in favour of the impostor. The whole nation was held 
in suspense, a regular conspiracy was formed against the king's 
authority, and a correspondence settled between the malcontents in 
Flanders and those in England. The king was informed of all these 
particulars ; but agreeably to his character, which was both cautious 
and resolute, he proceeded deliberately, though steadily, in counter- 
working the projects of his enemies. His first object was to ascertain 
the death of the real duke of York, and to confirm the opinion that 
had always prevailed with regard to that event. Two of the 
persons employed in the murder of Richard's nephews, Forrest and 
Dighton, were alive, and they agreed in the same story ; but, as the 
bodies were supposed to have been removed by Eichard's orders 
from the place where they were first interred, and could not now be 
found, it was not in Henry's power to put the fact, so much as he 
wished, beyond all doubt and controversy.* He dispersed his spies 
all over Flanders and England ; and he induced sir Eobert Clifford, 
one of the partisans of the impostor, to betray the secrets intrusted 
to him. Several of Warbeck's partisans in England were arraigned, 
convicted, and executed for high treason. Among the victims was 
sir William Stanley, the lord chamberlain, who had saved Henry's 
life at Bosworth. He had told Clifford in confidence, that, if he 
were sure the young man who appeared in Flanders was really 
son to king Edward, he never would bear arms against him. 

§ 6. The fate of Stanley made a great impression on the kingdom, 
and struck all the partisans of Perkin with the deepest dismay. 
When Perkin found that the king's authority daily gained ground 
among the people, and that his own pretensions were becoming 
obsolete, he resolved to attempt something which might revive the 
hopes and expectations of his partisans. After a vain attempt 
upon the coast of Kent he crossed over into Ireland (1495). But 
sir Edward Poynings, who had been appointed deputy of Ireland in 
1494,f had put the affairs of that island into so good a posture 
that Perkin met with little success. He therefore bent his course 
towards Scotland, and presented himself to James IV., who then 



* See note, p. 221. The objection 
raised from their impunity (which would 
naturally be a condition of their con- 
fession) is far more than outweighed by 
the rewards they had received from 
Richard. The fact that the pretended 
duke of York never attempted to explain 
what had become of Edward V. is con- 
clusive against his own claims. Mackin- 



tosh, History of England, vol. ii. pp. 58-60. 
f The statute of Drogheda, enacted in 
1495, and known by the name of Poynings' 
law, formed the basis for the government 
of Ireland till the time of the Union. Its 
most important provision was that no bill 
could be introduced into the Irish parlia- 
ment unless it had previously received the 
approval of the English council. 



236 HENRY VII. Chap. xiii. 

governed that kingdom. James gave him in marriage the lady 
Katharine Gordon, daughter of the earl of Huntley, and made an 
inroad into England (1496), carrying Perkin along with him, in 
hopes that Ihe appearance of the pretended prince, who issued a 
proclamation, styling himself Eichard IV., might raise an insur- 
rection in the northern counties. Instead of joining the invaders, 
the English prepared to repel them ; and James retreated into his 
own country. Henry discovered little anxiety to procure either 
reparation or vengeance for this insult committed on him hy the 
Scots : his chief concern was to draw advantage from it, hy the 
pretence which it afforded him to levy impositions on. his own 
subjects. But the people, who were acquainted with the immense 
treasures which he had amassed, could ill brook these new ex- 
actions. When the attempt was made to levy the subsidy in 
Cornwall, the inhabitants, numerous and poor, robust and courage- 
ous, murmured against a tax occasioned by a sudden inroad of the 
Scots, from which they esteemed themselves entirely secure, and 
which had usually been repelled by the northern counties. They 
took up arms, and about 16,000, instigated by Flammark, an 
attorney, determined to march to London. They were defeated at 
Blackheath (June 17, 1497). Their leaders, with lord Audley, 
were taken and executed; 2000 were slain; the rest were made 
prisoners, but were dismissed without further punishment. 

§ 7. Henry now attempted by negociations to obtain possession 
of Warbeck's person. But James refused his advances ^ and, as he 
could no longer afford the pretender protection, he fitted out a 
small flotilla, with which Warbeck and his wife escaped to Ireland 
(July 30, 1497). He was invited to land in Cornwall (September 7). 
No sooner did he make his appearance at Bodmin, than the popu- 
lace flocked to his standard ; and Perkin, elated with his success, 
attempted to get possession of Exeter. On learning the approach 
of the king's forces, he abandoned the siege and advanced to 
Taunton. Though his followers now amounted to the number of 
nearly 7000, and seemed still resolute to maintain his cause, he him- 
self despaired of success, and secretly withdrew to the sanctuary of 
Beaulieu, in the New Forest (September 21). The rebels submitted 
to the king's mercy ; a few persons of desperate fortunes were 
executed, many were severely fined, the rest were dismissed with 
impunity. Perkin himself was persuaded, under promise of life, 
to deliver himself into the hands of Henry, who conducted him, 
in a species of mock triumph, to London. Having attempted to 
escape, he was confined to the Tower, where his habits of restless 
intrigue and enterprise followed him. In 1498 he insinuated him- 
self into the intimacy of four servants of Sir John Digby, lieutenant 



a.d. 1496-1503. EXECUTION OF WARWICK. 237 

of the Tower ; and by their means opened a correspondence with 
the earl of Warwick, who was confined in the same prison. Perkin 
engaged him to embrace a project for his escape, and offered to 
conduct the whole enterprise. The design, whether feigned or not, 
was employed as a charge against him, and Perkin was arraigned, 
condemned, and soon after hanged at Tyburn, with two of his 
former adherents. The earl of Warwick was beheaded on Tower 
Hill a few days afterwards (November, 1499). This act of tyranny 
begat great discontent among the people, which Henry vainly 
endeavoured to alleviate by alleging that his ally, Ferdinand of 
Arragon, scrupled to give his daughter Katharine in marriage to 
his son, prince Arthur, while any male descendant of the house of 
York remained. On the contrary, greater indignation was felt 
at seeing a young prince sacrificed, not to law and justice, but 
to the jealous policy of two subtle and crafty tyrants. 

§ 8. Two years later (November 14, 1501) the king had the 
satisfaction of completing a marriage which had been projected 
and negociated during the course of seven years ; Arthur being 
now near 16 years of age, Katharine 18. But this marriage 
proved unprosperous. The young prince a few months after 
sickened and died (April 2, 1502). Desirous to continue his 
alliance with Spain, and unwilling to restore Katharine's dowry of 
200,000 ducats, Henry contracted the Infanta to his second son 
Henry, a boy of 11 years of age, whom he created prince of Wales : 
an event which was afterwards attended with the most important 
consequences.* The same year another marriage was celebrated, 
which was also, in the next age, productive of great events — the 
marriage of Margaret, the king's eldest daughter, with James, king 
of Scotland. But amidst these prosperous incidents the king met 
with a domestic calamity. His queen died in childbed (February 
11, 1503), and the infant did not long survive her. 

The situation of the king's affairs, both at home and abroad, being 
now in every respect very fortunate, he gave full scope to his natural 
propensity ; and avarice, which had ever been his ruling passion, 
increasing with age and encouraged by absolute authority, broke 
through all restraints of shame or justice. He had found two 
ministers, Empson and Dudley, perfectly qualified to second his 
rapacious inclinations. These instruments of oppression were both 
lawyers : the first of mean birth, of brutal manners, of an unre- 
lenting temper ; the second better born, better educated, and 
better bred, but equally unjust, severe, and inflexible. By their 
knowledge of the law these men, whom the king made officers of 
the Exchequer, were qualified to pervert the forms of justice ; and 

* They were not married until 1509. 
12* 



238 HENRY VII. Chap. xiii. 

the most iniquitous extortions were practised under legal pre- 
tences. The chief means of oppression were the penal statutes, 
which, without consideration of rank, quality, or services, were 
rigidly put in force against all men : spies and informers were 
rewarded and encouraged ; no difference was made whether the 
statute were "beneficial or hurtful, recent or obsolete. The sole 
end of the king and his ministers was to amass money, and bring 
every one under the lash of their authority. So overawed was the 
parliament, that at this very time the commons chose Dudley for 
their speaker (1504). By these arts, joined to a rigid frugality, 
the king so filled his coffers, that he is said to have possessed in 
ready money the sum of 1,800,000 pounds: a treasure almost 
incredible, if we consider the scarcity of money in those times. 

§ 9. The remaining years of Henry's reign present little that 
is memorable. The archduke Philip, on the death of his mother- 
in-law, Isabella, proceeded by sea, with his wife Joanna, to take 
possession of Castile, but was driven by a violent tempest into 
Weymouth (1506). The king availed himself of this event to 
detain Philip in a species of captivity, and to extort from him a 
promise of the hand of his sister Margaret, with a large dowry. 
Nor was this the only concession. He made Philip promise that 
his son Charles should espouse Henry's daughter Mary, though that 
prince was already affianced to a daughter of the king of France. 
He also negociated a new treaty of commerce with the Flemings, 
much to the advantage of the English. But perhaps his most un- 
generous act on this occasion was his obliging Philip to surrender 
Edmund de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, nephew of Edward IV., and 
younger brother of the earl of Lincoln, who had perished at the 
battle of Stoke. The earl of Suffolk, having incurred the king's 
resentment, had taken refuge in the Low Countries, and had in- 
trigued to gain possession of Calais. Philip stipulated indeed that 
Suffolk's life should be spared ; but Henry committed him to the 
Tower, and, regarding his promise as only personal, recommended 
his successor to put him to death.* Shortly afterwards Henry's 
health declined, and he died of a consumption, at his favourite 
palace of Kichmond (April 21, 1509), after a reign of 23 years and 
eight months, and in the 52nd year of his age. He was buried in 
the chapel he had built for himself at Westminster. 

§ 10. The reign of Henry VII. was, in the main, fortunate for 
his people at home, and honourable abroad. He put an end to 
the civil wars with which the nation had long been harassed, he 
maintained peace and order in the state, he repressed the exorbitant 
power of the nobility, and, together with the friendship of some 
* Henry VIII. put him to death in 1513, without alleging any new offence against him. 



a.d. 1509. DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 239 

foreign princes, he acquired the consideration and regard of all. 
A new stimulus was given to English commerce by the treaty with 
Burgundy, called The Great Intercourse, and stability to trade by 
a strict regulation of weights and measures.* Bacon compares 
him with Louis XI. of France and Ferdinand of Spain, and de- 
scribes the three as " the tres magi of kings of those ages," — the 
great masters of kingcraft. 

§ 10. The Star-chamber, so called from the room in which it met, 
is usually said to have been founded in the reign of Henry VII. ; 
but this is not strictly correct.f In 1495 the parliament enacted 
that no person who should by arms or otherwise assist the king for 
the time being should be liable to attainder for such obedience. 
Such a statute could not of course bind future parliaments ; but, 
as Mr. Hallam observes,^ it remains an unquestionable authority 
for the constitutional maxim, " that possession of the throne gives 
a sufficient title to the subject's allegiance, and justifies his resist- 
ance of those who may pretend to a better right." 

It was by accident only that the king had not a considerable share 
in those great naval discoveries by which his age was so much dis- 
tinguished. Columbus, after meeting with many repulses from the 
courts of Portugal and Spain, sent his brother Bartholomew to 
London, in order to explain his projects to Henry, and crave his aid 
for the execution of them. The king invited him over to England ; 
but his brother, being taken by pirates, was detained in his voyage ; 
and Columbus, meanwhile, having obtained the countenance of 
Isabella, was supplied with a small fleet, and happily executed his 
enterprise (1492). Not discouraged by this disappointment, Henry 
fitted out Sebastian Cabot, a Venetian settled in Bristol, and sent 
him westwards in search of new countries (1498). Cabot discovered 
the mainland of America, Newfoundland, and other countries, but 
;-eturned to England without making any conquest or settlement. 

* Some towns still possess the standards issued in his reign, 
f See Notes and Illustrations at the end of this hook. % Const. Hist., ch. i. 




Silver medal of Henry VIII. 

HENRICVS .Vm . DEI . GBA EEX AKGL . FKANC c DOM - HTB +■ 



CHAPTER XIV, 

HENRY VIII. FROM HIS ACCESSION TO THE DEATH OF WOLSEY. 

b. 1491 ; r. 1509-1547. 

§ 1. Accession of Henry VIII. Empson and Dudley punished. § 2. The 
king's marriage. War with France. Wolsey minister. § 3. Battle of 
Guinegate. Battle of Flodden. § 4. Peace with France- Louis XII. 
marries the princess Mary. § 5. Greatness of Wolsey. He induces Henry 
to cede Tournay to France. Wolsey legate. § 6. Election of the emperor 
Charles V. Interview between Henry and Francis. Charles visits 
England. Henry visits France. Field of the Cloth of Gold.. § 7. Henry 
mediates between Charles and Francis. Execution of Buckingham. 
§ 8. Henry styled " Defender of the Faith." Charles again in England. 
War with France. Scotch affairs. Defeat of Albany. § 9. Supplies 
illegally levied. League of Henry, the emperor, and the duke of Bourbon. 
§ 10. Battle of Pavia. Treaty between England and France. § 11. Dis- 
content of the English. Francis recovers his freedom. Sack of Rome. 
League with France. § 12. Henry's scruples about his marriage with 
Katharine. Anne Boleyn. Proceedings for a divorce. § 13. Wolsey's 
fall. § 14. Rise of Cranmer. Death of Wolsey. 

§ 1. The death of Henry VII. had been attended with as open and 
visible a joy among the people as decency would permit , and the 
accession of his son, Henry VIII., spread universally a declared and 
unfeigned satisfaction. Henry was now in his 19th year. Born 
in 1491, he had received a liberal education, and after the death of 
his brother Arthur, in 1502, was created prince of Wales. The 
beauty and vigour of his person, accompanied with great dexterity in 
all manly exercises, were further adorned with a blooming and 
ruddy countenance, a lively air, and no little vivacity. The 
vehemence, ardour, and impatience of his disposition, which degene- 
rated into tyranny in after years, were considered only as faults 
incident to unguarded youth ; and, as the contending titles of York 



a.d. 1509-1511. HIS MARRIAGE. 241 

and Lancaster were now at last fully united in his person, his sub- 
jects justly expected from a prince obnoxious to no party that im- 
partiality of administration which had long been unknown in Eng- 
land. The chief competitors for favour and authority under the 
new king were the earl of Surrey,* treasurer, and Fox, bishop of 
Winchester, secretary and privy seal. Surrey knew how to conform 
himself to the humour of his new master ; and no one was so forward 
in promoting that liberality, pleasure, and magnificence which began 
to prevail under the young monarch. One party of pleasure suc- 
ceeded to another ; tilts, tournaments, and carousals were exhibited 
with all the magnificence of the age ; and, as the present tranquillity 
of the public permitted the court to indulge itself in every amuse- 
ment, serious business Avas but little attended to. As the frank 
and careless humour of the king led him to dissipate the treasures 
amassed by his father, so it rendered him negligent in protecting the 
instruments whom that prince had employed in his extortions. The 
informers were thrown into prison. Empson and Dudley were 
committed to the Tower ; and in order to gratify the people with the 
punishment of these obnoxious ministers, crimes very improbable, 
or indeed absolutely impossible, were charged upon them. They 
were accused of having entered into a conspiracy against the sove- 
reign, and intending, on the death of the late king, to seize the 
government. Their conviction by a jury was confirmed by a bill of 
attainder, but they were not executed until next year, on Tower Hill. 

§ 2. Soon after his accession, Henry, by the advice of his council, 
celebrated his marriage with the infanta Katharine (June 7) ; and 
the king and queen were crowned at Westminster on the 24th. 

The first two or three years of Henry's reign were spent in pro- 
found peace ; but impatient of acquiring that distinction in Europe, 
to which his power and opulence entitled him, he could not long 
remain neutral amidst the noise of arms. The natural enmity of 
the English against France, as well as their ancient claims upon 
that kingdom, led Henry to join the alliance, or Holy League, 
which, after the league of Cambray (1509), the pope, Spain, and 
Venice had formed against Louis XII. War was declared against 
France (1511) ; and a parliament being summoned, readily granted 
supplies for a purpose so much favoured by the English nation. 
But Henry suffered himself to be deceived by the artifices of his 
father-in-law, Ferdinand. That selfish and treacherous prince 
advised him not to invade France by the way of Calais, where he 
himself would not have it in his power to assist him ; but rather 
to send forces to Fontarabia, whence he could easily make a con- 

* The earl of Surrey had heen attainted on the accession of Henry VII. (1485), but 
was restored to the earldom in 1489. 



242 HENRY VIII. Chap. xiv. 

quest of G-uienne, a province in which, it was imagined, the English 
had still some adherents. He promised to assist in this conquest 
by the junction of a Spanish army ; and so forward did he seem 
to promote the interests of his son-in-law, that he even sent vessels 
to England in order to transport over the forces which Henry had 
levied for that purpose. But, false to his promises, Ferdinand 
employed himself solely in the conquest of Navarre. Failing of the 
promised support, the marquis of Dorset, the English commander, 
finding that his further stay served not to promote the main under- 
taking, and that his men were daily perishing by want and sick- 
ness, returned to England (1512). Notwithstanding his disappoint- 
ments in this campaign, Henry was still encouraged to prosecute his 
warlike measures against Louis, especially as Leo X., who had suc- 
ceeded Julius II. on the papal throne, had detached the emperor 
Maximilian from the French interests (1513). Determined to in- 
vade France, Henry was little discouraged by the prospect of a war 
with the Scots, who had formed an alliance with France. His 
schemes were promptly seconded by Wolsey. 

Thomas Wolsey, dean of Lincoln and almoner to the king, was 
now fast advancing towards that unrivalled grandeur which he 
afterwards attained. Eeputed to be the son of a butcher at Ipswich, 
he was educated at Oxford, became a fellow of Magdalen College, and 
was appointed for his learning master of the college school. Three 
sons of the marquis of Dorset were placed under his charge, and 
he soon gained the friendship and countenance of that nobleman, 
who offered him the living of Lymington, which Wolsey accepted, 
and left Oxford (1500). Appointed chaplain to Henry VII., he 
was employed in a secret negociation which regarded Henry's 
intended marriage with Margaret of Savoy, Maximilian's daughter, 
and acquitted himself to the king's satisfaction. Introduced to 
Henry VIII. by Fox, bishop of Winchester, he promoted all those 
amusements which he found suitable to the age and inclination 
of the young monarch. He was advanced to be a member of his 
council, and became his chief minister. By this rapid advance- 
ment the character and genius of Wolsey had full opportunity to 
display themselves. Insatiable in his acquisitions, but still more 
magnificent in his expense ; of extensive capacity, but unbounded 
enterprise ; ambitious of power, but still more desirous of glory ; 
insinuating, engaging, persuasive, and, by turns, lofty, elevated, 
commanding ; haughty to his equals, but affable to his dependants ; 
he was framed to take the ascendant in his intercourse with others. 
But this superiority of nature was often exerted in such a way as 
exposed him to envy, and made every one willing to recal the 
original inferiority of his fortune. 



a.d. 1512-1514. BATTLES OF GUINEGATE AND FLODDEN. 243 

§ 3. The war commenced in 1513 with a desperate naval action, 
in which Sir Edward Howard, the English admiral, was slain, whilst 
attempting to cut six French galleys out of the port of Conquet 
with only two vessels. On the 30th of June the king landed at 
Calais with a considerable army. Marching from Calais on the 21st of 
July, he appeared before Terouenne, and was joined by the emperor 
Maximilian (August 12), who had enlisted himself in Henry's service, 
wore the cross of St. George, and received 100 gold crowns a day 
as one of his captains. But while he exhibited this extraordinary 
spectacle, of an emperor serving under a king of England, he was 
treated with the highest respect by Henry. Keceiving intelligence 
of the approach of the French along the Lis to relieve the town, 
Henry met and overthrew them with so much precipitation that 
they immediately took to flight and were pursued by the English, 
and many officers of distinction were made prisoners. The action 
is sometimes called the Battle of Guinegate, from the place where 
it was fought ; but more commonly the Battle of Spurs, because the 
French that day made more use of their spurs than their swords 
(August 16). Terouenne was taken (August 22). The king then 
laid siege to Tournay, which surrendered (September 21). As the 
bishop of Tournay was lately dead, the administration of the see 
was bestowed on Wolsey. Seeing that the season was far advanced, 
Henry returned to England with the greater part of his army. 

The success which during the summer had attended Henry's arms 
in the north under Surrey was much more decisive. James IV., 
king of Scotland, had assembled the whole force of his kingdom ; and 
having passed the Tweed, with a brave though a tumultuary army of 
above 50,000 men, he ravaged those parts of Northumberland which 
lay nearest that river. Meanwhile the earl of Surrey, having collected 
a force of 26,000 men, marched to the defence of the country. The 
two armies met at Flodden, near the Cheviot Hills (September 9). 
The action was desperate ; the defeat of the Scotch complete. The 
English lost no person of note ; but the flower of the Scottish no- 
bility had fallen, and their king himself, after the most diligent 
inquiry, could nowhere be found. The fond conceit was long enter- 
tained among the Scots that he was still alive, and, having secretly 
gone on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, would soon return and take 
possession of the throne. When the queen of Scotland, Margaret, 
who was created regent during the infancy of her son James V., 
applied for peace, Henry readily granted it, and took compassion 
upon the helpless condition of his sister and nephew. For this 
victory Surrey was created duke of Norfolk, and his son succeeded 
to his father's title. 

§ 4. In the following year (1514) Henry discovered that both the 



244 HENRY VIII. Chap. xiv. 

emperor and the king of Spain had deserted his alliance for that of 
Louis ; and that they had listened to a proposition for the marriage 
of their common grandson, the archduke Charles, to a daughter of 
the French king, although that young prince was already affianced 
to Henry's sister Mary. Under these circumstances, Henry readily 
listened to the suggestion of his prisoner, the duke of Longueville, 
for a peace with France, to be confirmed by Mary's marriage with 
Louis, who was now a widower. The articles were easily adjusted 
between the two monarch s; but Louis died in less than three months 
after the marriage (January 1, 1515). He was succeeded by Fran- 
cis, count of Angouleme, a youth of 21, who had married Louis's 
eldest daughter. At that time Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, 
was ambassador at the court of France. He was the most comely 
personage of his time, and the most accomplished in all the exer- 
cises which were then thought to befit a courtier and a soldier. 
He was Henry's chief favourite and companion. Taking advantage 
of the opportunity thus offered him, he contracted a secret marriage 
with Mary, not without the connivance of the French king. The 
act, which incurred Henry's indignation was soon forgiven, through 
the good offices of Wolsey and the French monarch, and the pair 
were permitted to return to England. 

§ 5. The numerous enemies whom Wolsey's elevation had raised 
against him, served only to rivet him faster in Henry's confidence. 
Well acquainted with the king's imperious temper, he concealed 
from him the ascendency he had acquired ; and while he secretly 
directed all public councils, he ever pretended profound submission 
to the will and authority of his master. He had now been pro- 
moted to the see of York (1514), with which he was allowed to 
unite Durham in 1523, and the abbey of St. Alban's in 1521. In 
1515 the pope created him a cardinal. No churchman ever carried 
to a greater height the state and dignity of that character. His 
household consisted of 500 servants, many of whom were knights 
and gentlemen ; some even of the nobility put their children into 
his family as a place of education. Whoever was distinguished 
by any art or science paid court to the cardinal, and none paid 
court in vain. Literature, which was then in its infancy, found 
in him a generous patron ; and both by his public institutions 
and private bounty he gave encouragement to every branch of 
learning. Not content with this munificence, which gained him 
the approbation of the wise, he strove to dazzle the eyes of the 
populace by the splendour of his equipage and furniture, the costly 
embroidery of his liveries, and the lustre of his apparel. On the 
resignation of the great seal by Warham, archbishop of Canterbury, 
it was immediately delivered to Wolsey (December 22, 1515). 



a.d. 1515-1519. ELECTION OF EMPEROR CHARLES V. 245 

If this new accumulation of dignity increased his enemies, it also 
served to exalt his personal character, and to prove the extent of his 
capacity. A strict administration of justice took place during his 
enjoyment of this high office ; and no chancellor ever showed 
greater care or impartiality in his decisions. 

In 1518, Francis being desirous of recovering Tournay, a treaty 
was entered into for the ceding of that town by the cardinal's advice. 
To give the measure a more graceful appearance, it was agreed that 
the dauphin and the princess Mary, the king's daughter, both of 
them infants, should be betrothed, and that Tournay should be 
considered as the dowry of the princess. Francis also agreed to 
pay 600,000 gold crowns in twelve annual payments; and lest 
the cardinal should think himself neglected in these stipulations, 
he was promised a yearly pension of 12,000 livres, as an equivalent 
for the loss of the bishopric of Tournay. 

The authority of Wolsey was about this time further increased 
by his being invested with the legatine power, by virtue of which 
he had the right of visiting the clergy and the monasteries in Eng- 
land, and holding a legatine court. He claimed also jurisdiction over 
the bishops' courts, especially in the matter of wills and testaments. 

§ 6. While Henry, indulging himself in pleasure and amusement, 
intrusted the government of his kingdom to his minister, the death 
of the emperor Maximilian left the highest dignity in Christendom 
open to competition for Christian princes, and proved a kind of era 
in the political system of Europe (1519). Francis I. and Charles I., 
king of Spain, immediately declared themselves candidates for the 
imperial crown, and employed every expedient of money or intrigue 
which promised them success. Henry also was encouraged to 
advance his pretensions ; but his minister, Pace, who was despatched 
to the electors, found that he had begun his solicitations too late, 
and that the votes of all these princes were already pre-engaged 
either on one side or the other. Charles ultimately prevailed; 
and was thus raised to the highest pinnacle of fortune as the 
Emperor Charles V. He enjoyed the succession of Castile, of 
Arragon, of Austria, and of the Netherlands ; he inherited the 
conquests of Naples and Grenada; election raised him to the 
empire ; even the bounds of the globe seemed to be enlarged a 
little before his time, that he might possess the whole treasure, 
as yet entire and unrifled, of the new world. Francis, disgusted 
with his ill success, now applied himself, by way of counterjaoise 
to the power of Charles, to cultivate the friendship of Henry, who 
possessed the felicity of being able, both by the native force of his 
kingdom and its situation, to hold the balance between these two 
powers. He solicited an interview near Calais, in expectation of 



246 HENRY VIII. Chap. xiv. 

being able, by familiar conversation, to gain upon his friendship 
and confidence; and as Henry himself loved show and magnificence, 
and had entertained a curiosity of being personally acquainted 
with the French king, he cheerfully adjusted all the preliminaries. 
Meanwhile the emperor, politic though young, being informed of 
the intended interview between Francis and Henry, was appre- 
hensive of the consequences, and took the opportunity, in his pas- 
sage from Spain to the Low Countries, to make the English king 
a still higher compliment by paying him a visit in his own 
dominions. Hearing of his nephew's arrival, Henry hastened to 
meet him at Dover. Besides the marks of regard and attachment 
which Charles gave to Henry, he gained the cardinal to his interests 
by holding out to him the hope of attaining the papacy. The 
views of Henry himself, indeed, were directed towards France as 
his ancient inheritance ; and no power was more fitted than the 
emperor to assist him in such a design. 

The day of Charles's departure (May 31, 1520), Henry went over 
to Calais with the queen and his whole court ; and thence proceeded 
to Guisnes, a small town near the frontiers. Francis, attended in 
like manner, came to Ardres, a few miles distant ; and the two 
monarchs met for the first time in the fields at a place situated 
between these two towns, but still within the English pale; for 
Francis agreed to pay this compliment to Henry in consideration 
of that prince's passing the sea that he might be present at the 
interview. Wolsey, to whom both kings had intrusted the regula- 
tion of the ceremonial, contrived this circumstance in order to do 
honour to his master. The nobility both of France and England 
here displayed their magnificence with such emulation and pro- 
fuse expense as procured for the place of interview the name of The 
Field of the Cloth of Gold. The two monarchs, who were the most 
comely personages of the age, as well as the most expert in every 
military exercise, passed the time till their departure in tournaments 
and other entertainments, more than in any serious business. Henry 
then paid a visit to the emperor and Margaret of Savoy, at Grave- 
lines, and engaged them to go along with him to Calais. Charles 
here completed the impression which he had begun to make on 
Henry and his favourite ; and, to secure the cardinal still further 
in his interests, promised him a pension from the ecclesiastical 
revenues of Toledo and Palencia in Castile ; but never paid it. 

§ 7. The violent personal emulation and political jealousy which 
had taken place between the emperor and the French king soon 
broke out in hostilities (1521) ; but while these ambitious and 
warlike princes were acting against each other in various parts of 
Europe, they still made professions of peace, and carried their com- 



A.D. 1519-1522. EXECUTION OF BUCKINGHAM. 



247 



plaints to Henry, as to the umpire between them. The king, who 
pretended to be neutral, engaged them to send their ambassadors 
to Calais, there to negociate a peace, under the mediation of Wolsey 
and the pope's nuncio. The emperor was well apprised of the 
partiality of these mediators, and his demands in the conference 
were so unreasonable as plainly proved him conscious of the advan- 
tage. Francis rejected the terms ; the congress of Calais broke up ; 
and Wolsey soon after took a journey to Bruges, where he met 
the emperor, and arranged the terms, in his master's name, for 
an offensive alliance with Charles and the pope against France. 
It was stipulated that England should next summer invade that 
kingdom with 40,000 men ; and that Charles should marry the 
princess Mary, the king's only child, who had now some prospect 
of inheriting the crown. The death of the duke of Buckingham, 
tried and executed for high treason in May 17, 1521, for letting 
fall some unguarded expressions, as if he thought himself entitled 
to succeed, in case the king should die without issue, was popularly 
attributed to Wolsey, and provoked more than ever the resentment 
of the nobility.* 

§ 8. Europe was at this time in a ferment with the progress of 
Luther and the Keformation. Henry, who had been educated in a 
strict attachment to the church of Borne, wrote a book in Latin in 
defence of the Seven Sacraments against Luther, and sent a copy 
of it to pope Leo, who received so magnificent a present with great 
professions of regard, and conferred on the king the title of Defender 
of the Faith (October 11, 1521). This was one of the last acts of 
Leo X., who died before the close of the year, in the flower of 
his age. He was succeeded in the papal chair by Adrian VI., 
a Fleming, who had been tutor to the emperor Charles. The 
emperor, who had taken no pains to make good his promises to 
Wolsey, paid a second visit to England in 1522. Flattering the 
vanity of the king and the cardinal, he renewed to Wolsey all 
the promises, which he had made him, of seconding his pretensions 
to the papal throne. War was now declared against France. The 
English army, which landed at Calais under the command of Surrey, 
did not accomplish anything of importance; but in Scotland the 
regent Albany, though at the head of a numerous army, was 
frightened into a disgraceful truce with lord Dacre; and in the 
following year he retreated still more disgracefully. Soon after he 



* Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham, 
was the son of the duke of Buckingham 
executed by Kichard III., and was de- 
scended by the female line from the duke 
of Gloucester, youngest son of Edward III. 



(See Genealogical Table, p. 223.) The 
office of constable, which this nobleman 
inherited from the Bohuns, earls of Here- 
ford, was forfeited, and was never after- 
wards revived in England. 



248 HENRY VIII. Chap. xiv. 

went over to France, and never again returned to Scotland. The 
Scottish nation, agitated hy domestic factions, was not during 
several years in a condition to give any more disturbance to Eng- 
land ; and Henry had full leisure to prosecute his designs on the 
continent. 

§ 9. To carry on the war against France, Henry in 1523 sum- 
moned parliament, and demanded a subsidy of 800,000Z. To hasten 
it, Wolsey went in state to the lower house, to discuss the matter, 
but was informed that this practice was neither expedient nor agree- 
able to their ancient liberties. He desired a property tax of twenty 
per cent, to be raised at once ; but the house demurred. After a 
long debate, it was concluded that five per cent, should be paid on 
all property below 201., and ten per cent, on all property above that 
value, for the first and second year ; and the same rates for the 
third and fourth year. 

The sum granted by the commons, besides being distributed 
over so long a period, was wholly inadequate to the expenses of the 
war, which required to be pushed with the greatest vigour and 
alacrity. France was threatened by a formidable confederacy 
(1523). It was exposed to still greater peril by a domestic con- 
spiracy which had been formed by Charles, duke of Bourbon, con- 
stable of France, who, entering into the emperor's service, employed 
all the force of his enterprising spirit, and his great talents for 
war, to the prejudice of his native country. A league was formed 
by Henry, Charles, and Bourbon, for the conquest and partition 
of France. Provence, Dauphine, Auvergne, and the Bourbonnais, 
were to be erected into a kingdom for Bourbon ; Burgundy, Lan- 
guedoc, Champagne, and Picardy, were to be given to the emperor ; 
and the king of England was to have the rest of France (1523). 
The duke of Suffolk led an army into France; but, though he 
advanced within sight of Paris, he returned to Calais without 
effecting anything of importance. Meanwhile, pope Adrian VI. 
died (September 24, 1523), and was succeeded by Clement VI., of 
the family of the Medici, supported by the imperial faction. Wolsey 
was now fully convinced — if he was not convinced before — of the 
emperor's insincerity ; but the interests of England were superior 
to all other considerations, and, if he nourished resentment at the 
treatment he had received, he did not suffer his passions to inter- 
fere with his policy. 

§ 10. The year 1525 was marked by a memorable event. 
Francis had been expelled from Italy in the preceding year ; and 
the imperialists had invaded the south of France and laid siege 
to Marseilles. But upon the approach of the French king with a 
numerous army, they found themselves under a necessity of raising 



A.D. 1523-1525. BATTLE OF PAVIA — TREATY. 249 

the siege ; and they led their forces, weakened, haffled, and dis- 
heartened, into Italy. Notwithstanding the advanced season, 
Francis pursued them into that country, and sat down before Pavia ; 
but, after he had invested it several months, the imperial generals 
came to its relief. The French were put to the rout, and Francis, 
surrounded by his enemies, was compelled to surrender himself 
prisoner (February 24, 1525). Almost the whole army, full of 
nobility and brave officers, either perished by the sword, or were 
made prisoners. 

Henry was at first ostensibly inclined to take advantage of the 
French monarch's misfortune. He pressed the emperor to invade 
France next summer from the south, whilst he himself entered it 
on the north : he anticipated that they might meet at Paris, when, 
after being crowned king of France, he would assist Charles to 
recover Burgundy, and accompany him to Pome for his coronation. 
If the emperor fulfilled his contract in marrying the princess Mary, 
he held out the prospect that he or his posterity might eventually 
succeed to the crown of France, and even of England itself. But 
Charles was in no humour to let Henry reap the chief benefit from 
his success, or to seek, by an invasion of France, advantages which 
the captivity of Francis afforded an opportunity to extort. Under 
one pretence or another, he declined to invade France, intending 
to secure his own interests alone from the necessities of his royal 
prisoner. Henry resolved to anticipate him. He entered secretly 
into negociations with Louise, the queen-mother and regent, for 
which Wolsey had already paved the way some months before, 
engaging to procure her son his liberty on reasonable conditions. 
A treaty was concluded ; the regent acknowledged the kingdom 
Henry's debtor for 2,000,000 crowns, to be discharged in half- 
yearly payments of 50,000 crowns : after which Henry was to 
receive, during life, a yearly pension of 100,000 crowns. The 
interests of Wolsey were secured by a pension of 100,000 crowns, 
as a compensation for the loss of his Spanish pension, and the 
arrears due to him for relinquishing the administration of Tournay. 

§ 11. To meet the expenses incurred by these various negocia- 
tions, Henry had recourse to an Amicable Loan, as it was called. 
As the subsidy levied by parliament had not yet been fully paid, 
this attempt met with considerable opposition. It was urged that 
the labouring population, especially those who were engaged in the 
woollen trades, could be no longer set to work whilst the country 
was thus drained of its capital. The people broke out into murmurs 
and complaints ; their refractory disposition threatened a general 
insurrection. But, as they were not headed by any considerable 
person, it was easy for the duke of Suffolk and the earl of Surrey, 



250 HENRY VIII. Chai\ xiv. 

now duke of Norfolk, by employing persuasion and authority, to 
induce the ringleaders to lay down their arms and surrender them- 
selves prisoners. The king, finding it dangerous to punish criminals 
engaged in so popular a cause, was determined, notwithstanding his 
imperious temper, to grant them a general pardon; and he pru- 
dently overlooked their guilt. 

Early in 1526 the French king recovered his liberty in accord- 
ance with a treaty concluded at Madrid ; the principal condition of 
which was the restoring of Francis to liberty, and the delivery of 
his two eldest sons as hostages to the emperor for the cession 
of Burgundy. If any difficulty should afterwards occur in the 
execution of this last article, from the opposition of the States, 
either of France or the province, Francis stipulated that in six 
weeks' time he should return to prison, and remain there till the 
full performance of the treaty. But at the very moment of signing 
it he entered a secret protest against it, and declared that he would 
never observe it ; and when he returned to France, he openly showed 
his resolution to evade its performance, in which he was encouraged 
by the English court. War was therefore renewed between Francis 
and Charles. In the following year (1527), Bourbon, who com- 
manded the imperialists in Italy, finding it difficult to support his 
army, determined to lead it to Borne, which was taken by storm : 
but the duke himself was slain in the assault. Pope Clement was 
taken captive, and the city was exposed to all the violence and 
brutality of a licentious soldiery. 

The sack of Rome and the captivity of the pope caused general 
indignation among all the catholics of Europe. A new treaty was 
concluded between Henry and Francis, with a view of expelling 
the imperialists from Italy, and restoring the pope to liberty. 
Henry agreed finally to renounce all claims to the crown of France ; 
claims which might now indeed be deemed chimerical, but which 
had often served as a pretence for exciting the unwary English to 
wage war upon the French nation. As a return for this concession, 
Francis bound himself and his successors to pay 50,000 crowns 
a year to Henry and his successors ; and, that greater solemnity 
might be given to this treaty, it was agreed that the parliaments 
and great nobility of both kingdoms should give their assent 
to it. 

§ 12. About this time Henry began to express those doubts he 
had already entertained respecting the lawfulness of his marriage 
with Katharine of Arragon, his brother's widow, though he had 
been united to her 18 years. Several causes tended to render his 
conscience more scrupulous. The queen was older than the king 
by no less than six years ; and the decay of her beauty contributed, 



a.d. 152B-1529 REPUDIATES KATHARINE. 251 

notwithstanding her blameless character and deportment, to render 
her person unacceptable. Though she had borne him several 
children, they had all died in early infancy, except one daughter. 
The king professed to be the more struck with this misfortune, 
because the curse of being childless is the threat contained in the 
Mosaical law against those who espouse their brother's widow. 
He urged that the succession of the crown was in danger ; and that 
doubts of Mary's legitimacy might hereafter throw the kingdom 
into confusion. But Henry had already fixed his affections on 
Anne Boleyn. This young lady was daughter of sir Thomas 
Boleyn, and, through her mother, grand-daughter of the late and 
niece of the present duke of Norfolk. Anne herself, in early youth, 
had been carried over to Paris, and returned to England in 1522. 
As inclination and policy seemed thus to concur in making the 
king desirous of a divorce, he resolved to apply to Clement VI., 
and he sent Knight, his secretary, to Borne for that purpose. 
The pope, who was then a prisoner in the hands of the emperor, 
and had no hopes of securing his liberty except by the efforts 
of the league which Henry had formed with Francis and the 
Italian powers in order to oppose the ambition of Charles, soon 
after escaped in disguise to Orvieto; but as he still remained in 
dread of the imperialists, he had the strongest motives to embrace 
every opportunity of gratifying the English monarch. When the 
English secretary, therefore, solicited him in private, he received 
a very favourable answer. After many negociations and some 
delay, he granted a commission in 1528 to cardinals Wolsey and 
Campeggio, to try the validity of the marriage. Charles had, 
meanwhile, promised Katharine, his aunt, his utmost protection; 
and in all his negociations with the pope he pressed urgently for 
the recal of the commission issued to the two cardinals. 

Campeggio arrived in England, October 7, and the two legates 
opened their court at London, May 31, 1529, and, after certain pre- 
liminaries, cited the king and queen to appear before them. They 
both presented themselves, and the king answered to his name 
when called ; but the queen, instead of answering to hers, rose from 
her seat, and, throwing herself at the king's feet, made a very 
pathetic harangue, which her virtue, her dignity, and her misfor- 
tunes rendered the more affecting. She concluded by declaring that 
she would not submit her cause to be tried by a court whose de- 
pendence on her enemies was too visible ever to allow her any 
hopes of obtaining from them an equitable or impartial decision. 
With these words, she rose, and making the king a low rever- 
ence she departed from the court, and never would again appear 
in it. The trial was spun out till the 23rd of July, the 'two 



252 HENRY VIII. Chap. xiv. 

legates using all their persuasions, but in vain, to induce Katharine 
to consent to a separation and dissolution of the marriage. The 
king was anxiously expecting a sentence in his favour, when, to 
his great surprise, Campeggio prorogued the court till the 1st of 
October. A few days afterwards the king and queen received a 
citation from the pope to appear either in person or by proxy at 
Rome. This measure, which the emperor had extorted from the 
timidity of Clement, put an end to all the hopes of success which 
the king had so long and so anxiously cherished. 

§ 13. Wolsey had long foreseen this measure as the sure fore- 
runner of his ruin. He had employed himself with the utmost 
assiduity and earnestness to bring the affair to a happy issue : 
he was not, therefore, to be blamed for the unprosperous event 
which Clement's partiality had produced. Anne Boleyn also, who 
was prepossessed against him, imputed to him the failure of 
her hopes. Even the high opinion which Henry entertained of the 
cardinal's capacity tended to hasten his downfall ; while, encouraged 
in his animosity against the unfortunate cardinal by Anne Boleyn 
and her friends, he imputed the bad success of that minister's un- 
dertakings, not to ill fortune, or to mistake, but to the malignity 
or infidelity of his intentions. Wolsey appeared for the last time in 
the court of Chancery, October 9. The same day an indictment 
was preferred against him in the King's Bench for breach of prae- 
munire, in procuring bulls from Rome and exercising the legatine 
authority. The great seal was taken from him a few days after, 
and delivered by the king to sir Thomas More, a man who, besides 
the ornaments of an elegant literature, possessed the highest 
virtue, integrity, and capacity. Wolsey was ordered to depart 
from York-place, a palace which he had built in London, and 
which, though it really belonged to the see of York, was seized by 
Henry, and became afterwards the residence of the kings of Eng- 
land, by the title of Whitehall. All his furniture and plate were 
seized; and he was ordered to retire to Esher, a country seat 
he possessed near Hampton Court. The world, that had paid him 
such abject court during his prosperity, now entirely deserted him 
on this fatal reverse of all his fortunes. 

Upon the meeting of parliament (November 3), which had not 
been summoned for seven years, the House of Lords voted a long 
charge against Wolsey, consisting of 44 articles, and acccompanied 
it with an application for his punishment and his removal from 
all authority. The articles were sent down to the House of Com- 
mons, where Thomas Cromwell, his servant, and who had been raised 
by him from a very low station, defended his unfortunate patron 
with much spirit and generosity. After some months Wolsey 



A.D. 1529. RISE OF CRANMEK. 253 

obtained his rardon. He was allowed to retain the see of York, and 
a small portion of his plate and furniture was restored. 

§ 14. The general peace established this summer in Europe by 
the treaty of Cambray (August 5, 1529) left Henry full leisure to 
prosecute his divorce. Amidst the anxieties with which he was 
agitated, he was often tempted to break off all connections with the 
court of Rome. He found his prerogative firmly established at 
home ; and he observed that his people were in general much dis- 
gusted with clerical usurpations, and disposed to reduce the powers 
and privileges of the ecclesiastical order. But notwithstanding these 
inducements, Henry had strong motives still to desire a good agree- 
ment with the sovereign pontiff. He apprehended the danger of 
such great innovations : he dreaded the reproach of heresy : he 
abhorred all connections with the Lutherans, the chief opponents of 
the papal power: and having once exerted himself with much 
applause, as he imagined, in defence of the papal authority, he 
was ashamed to retract his former opinions, and betray from passion 
such a palpable inconsistency. While he was agitated by these 
contrary motives, an expedient was proposed, which, as it promised 
a solution of all difficulties, was embraced by him with the greatest 
joy and satisfaction. 

The story goes, though many of its details are certainly apocryphal, 
that Dr. Thomas Cranmer, fellow of Jesus College in Cambridge, fell 
one evening by accident into company with Gardiner, now the king's 
secretary, and Fox, the king's almoner ; and, as the business of the 
divorce became the subject of conversation, he observed that the 
readiest way, either to quiet Henry's conscience or extort the 
pope's consent, would be to consult the universities with regard 
to this controverted point : if they agreed to approve of the 
king's marriage with Katharine, his remorse would naturally cease ; 
if they condemned it, the pope would find it difficult to resist the 
solicitations of so great a monarch, seconded by the opinion of 
the learned men in Christendom. When the king was informed 
of the proposal, he was delighted with it, and swore, with more 
alacrity than delicacy, that Cranmer had got the right sow by the 
ear. He sent for that divine, engaged him to write in defence of 
the divorce, and, in prosecution of the scheme proposed, employed 
his agents to collect the judgments of all the universities in 
Europe. The king's money was freely employed. Several gave 
sentence in the king's favour; not only those of Prance, Paris, 
Orleans, Bourges, Toulouse, Angers, which might be supposed to 
lie under the influence of their prince, Henry's ally; but also 
those of Venice, Ferrara, Padua, and even Bologna. Oxford alone, 
and Cambridge, alarmed at the progress of Lutheranism, made some 
13 



254 HENRY VIII. Chap, xiv 

difficulty. Their opinion, however, conformable to that of the 
other universities of Europe, was at last obtained, though not 
without the use of threats. 

Meanwhile the enemies of Wolsey, and Anne Boleyn in par- 
ticular, had persuaded Henry to renew the prosecution against his 
ancient favourite. The cardinal had, by the king's command, 
removed to his see of York, and had taken up his residence at 
Cawood, in Yorkshire, where he rendered himself extremely popular 
in the neighbourhood by his affability and hospitality. Here he 
was arrested on a charge of high treason by the earl of Northumber- 
land, who had received orders to conduct him to London in order 
to his trial. The cardinal, partly from the fatigues of his journey, 
partly from agitation of mind, was seized with a disorder which 
turned into a dysentery ; and he was able with some difficulty to 
reach Leicester Abbey. When the abbot and the monks advanced 
to receive him with much respect and reverence, he told them that 
he was come to lay his bones amongst them ; and he immediately 
took to his bed, whence he never rose more. A little before he 
expired he said, among other things, to sir William Kingston, 
constable of the Tower, who had him in custody, — " Had I but 
served God as diligently as I have served the king, he would not 
have given me over in my grey hairs. Let me advise you," he 
added, " if you be hereafter one of the privy council, as by your 
wisdom you are meet, take care what matter you put into the king's 
head : for you shall never put it out again." Thus died this famous 
cardinal (November 29, 1530), whose character seems to have con- 
tained as singular a variety as the fortune to which he was exposed. 
Whatever were his faults, he was undoubtedly a minister of great 
capacity, " enlightened beyond the age in which he lived, diligent 
in business, a good servant to the king," whose cruelty was re- 
strained and whose passions and caprices were kept within bounds 
by Wolsey's influence. But the best proof of the excellence of his 
administration is to be found in the comparison of the king's conduct 
when the cardinal directed his council and after his fall. 




Gold medal of Henry VIII. 
Obverse : henricvs . octa . angli^e . fkanci . et . hib . rex . fidei . defensob . et. 

IK . TERB . ECCLE . ANGLI . ET . HIBE . SVB . CHKIST . CAPVT . SVPEEjrVM. 



CHAPTEE XV. 

HENRY VIII. — CONTINUED. FROM THE DEATH OF WOLSEY TO THE 
DEATH OF THE KING. A.D. 1530-1547. 

§ 1. Proceedings against the clergy and the court of Eome. Henry's mar- 
riage with Anne Boleyn. Katharine divorced. § 2. The Reformation. 
Establishment of the succession and committal of Fisher and More. 
The king declared supreme head of the church. § 3. State of parties. 
Tyndale's Bible. Persecutions. The Holy Maid of Kent. § 4. Exe- 
cution of Fisher and More. Henry excommunicated. Death of queen 
Katharine. § 5: Suppression of the lesser monasteries. Trial and 
execution of queen Anne. Henry marries Jane Seymour. Settlement 
of the succession. § 6. Discontents and insurrections. Pilgrimage 
of Grace. Birth of prince Edward and death of queen Jane. Sup- 
pression of the greater monasteries. § 7. The pope publishes his bull 
of excommunication. Cardinal Pole. § 8. Law of the Six Articles. 
Servility of the parliament and tyranny of the king. § 9. Henry 
marries Anne of Cleves. § 10. Fall and execution of Cromwell. 
Henry's divorce from Anne of Cleves. § 11. Religious persecutions. 
Execution of the countess of Salisbury. Marriage, trial, and execution 
of queen Katharine Howard. ■§ 12. War with Scotland and death of 
James V. Henry's marriage with Katharine Parr. War with France. 
Peace concluded. § 13. Scotch affairs. Theological dogmatism of 
Henry. His queen in danger. § 14. Attainder of the duke of Norfolk 
and execution of the earl of Surrey. Death and character of the king.j 

§ 1. In 1531 a new session of parliament was held, together with 
a convocation; and the king here gave strong proofs of his ex- 



256 HENRY VIII. Chap. xv. 

tensive authority, as well as of his intention to turn it to the 
depression of the church. The law under which Wolsey had been 
prosecuted was now turned against the clergy. It was pretended 
that every one who had submitted to the legatine court, that is, 
the whole church, had violated the Statute of Provisors, and been 
guilty of the offence of praemunire, and the attorney-general 
accordingly brought an indictment against them. The convocation 
knew that it would be in vain to oppose the king's arbitrary will. 
They therefore threw themselves on his mercy, and agreed to pay 
118,840?. for a pardon. A confession was likewise extorted from 
them, that the king was the protector and the supreme head of the 
church and clergy of England; though some of them had the dexterity 
to get a clause inserted which invalidated the whole submission, and 
which ran in these terms : in so far as is permitted by the law of 
Christ. By this strict execution of the Statute of Provisors, a great 
part of the profit, and still more of the power, of the court of Rome 
was cut off ; and the connections between the pope and the English 
clergy were, in some measure, dissolved. The next session found both 
king and parliament in the same dispositions. An act was passed 
against levying annates or first-fruits (1532).* The better to keep 
the pope in awe, the king was intrusted with a power of regulating 
these payments, and of enforcing or relaxing this act at his pleasure : 
and it was voted that any censures which should be passed by the 
court of Eome, on account of that law, should be entirely disre- 
garded ; and that the mass should be said, and the sacraments 
administered, as if no such censures had been issued. After the 
prorogation, sir Thomas More, the chancellor, foreseeing that all the 
measures of the king and parliament led to a breach with the 
church of Eome, and to an alteration of religion, with which his 
principles would not admit him to concur, desired leave to resign 
the great seal ; and he descended from his high station with more 
joy and alacrity than he had mounted up to it. The king, who 
entertained a high opinion of his virtue, received his resignation 
with some difficulty ; and he delivered the great seal soon after to 
sir Thomas Audley (1532). 

During these transactions in England the court of Rome was 
not without solicitude. It entertained just apprehensions of losing 
entirely its authority in England. Yet the queen's appeal was 
received at Rome ; the king was cited to appear ; and several con- 
sistories were held to examine the validity of their marriage. 
Henry declined to plead his cause before this court ; and, in order 

* These were a year's income of their 1 preferments. They were one of the main 
sees, given by all bishops and archbishops sources of the papal revenue, 
to the pope, upon presentation to their ' 



a.d. 1531-1534. MARRIES ANNE BOLEYN. 257 

to add greater security to his intended defection from Rome, he 
procured an interview with Francis at Boulogne and Calais, where 
he renewed his personal friendship as well as public alliance with 
that monarch, and concerted measures for their mutual defence. 
And now, fully determined in his own mind, as well as resolute 
to abide all consequences, he privately celebrated his marriage 
with Anne Boleyn (January 25, 1533), whom he had previously 
created marchioness of Pembroke. In the next parliament an 
act was made against all appeals to Rome in cases of matrimony, 
divorces, wills, and other suits cognizable in ecclesiastical courts. 
Cranmer, who had been created archbishop of Canterbury on the 
death of Warham, opened his court at Dunstable for examining the 
validity of Katharine's marriage. Katharine, who resided at Ampt- 
hill, six miles distant, refused to appear either in person or by proxy. 
Cranmer pronounced sentence, and annulled the king's marriage 
with Katharine as unlawful and invalid from the beginning (May 
28). By a subsequent sentence he ratified the marriage with Anne 
Boleyn, who soon afterwards was publicly crowned, with all the 
pomp and dignity suited to that ceremony. To complete the 
king's satisfaction on the conclusion of this intricate and vexatious 
affair, she was safely delivered of a daughter (September 7, 1533), 
who received the name of Elizabeth, and afterwards swayed the 
sceptre with such renown and felicity. The pope, on the other hand, 
formally pronounced the judgment of Cranmer to be illegal, and 
declared Henry to be excommunicated if he adhered to it. 

§ 2. The quarrel between Henry and the pope was now irrecon- 
cilable, and the year 1534 may be considered as the era of the 
separation of the English church from Rome. By several acts of 
parliament passed in this year the papal authority in England was 
annulled; and persons paying any regard to it incurred the penalties 
of praemunire. Monasteries were subjected to the visitation and 
government of the king alone ; bishops were to be appointed by a 
conge oVelire from the crown, and, in the event of the dean and 
chapter refusing to elect, they were subject to a praemunire. No 
recourse was to be had to Rome for palls, bulls, or provisions. The 
law which had been formerly made against paying annates or 
first-fruits, but which had been left in the king's power to suspend 
or enforce, was finally established: and a submission was exacted 
from the clergy, by which they acknowledged that convocations 
ought to be assembled by the king's authority only. The ecclesias- 
tical courts, however, were allowed to subsist. Another act regu- 
lated the succession to the crown : the marriage of the king with 
Katharine was declared invalid : the primate's sentence annulling 
it was ratified : the marriage with queen Anne was established and 



258 



HENRY VIII. 



Chap. xv. 



confirmed : and the crown was appointed to descend to the issue 
of this marriage. All persons were liable, at the king's pleasure, 
to be called upon to swear to this act ; and whoever refused to 
do so was held to be guilty of misprision of treason* (1534). 

The oath regarding the succession was generally taken throughout 
the kingdom. Fisher, bishop of Eochester, and sir Thomas More 
were the only persons of note that entertained scruples with regard 
to its legality ; and both were committed prisoners to the Tower. 
At the close of the year the parliament passed the Act oi Supre- 
macy, declaring the king " the only supreme head in earth of the 
church of England ; " a title already conferred on him by convoca- 
tion three years previously. In this act the parliament acknow T 
ledged his inherent power " to visit, repress, redress, reform, order, 
correct, restrain, and amend all errors, heresies, abuses, contempts, 
and enormities, which fell under any spiritual authority or juris- 
diction," stating at the same time that they did not intend to 
depart from the Catholic faith. This act was followed by another 
declaring all persons to be guilty of treason who denied the king's 
supremacy. 

§ 3. Though Henry had disowned the authority of the pope, he 
still valued himself on maintaining the catholic doctrine, and on 
guarding, by fire and sword, the imagined purity of its tenets. His 
ministers and courtiers were of as motley a character as his conduct , 
and seemed to waver, during his whole reign, between the ancient 
and the new religion. The queen, engaged by interest as well as 
inclination, favoured the cause of the reformers ' Cromwell, who was 
created secretary, embraced the same views ; and Cranmer, arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, had secretly adopted some ot the protestant 
tenets. On the other hand, the duke of Norfolk adhered to the 
ancient faith ; and by his high rank, as well as by his talents, both 
for peace and war, he had great authority in the king's council. 
Gardiner, created bishop of Winchester (1531), had enlisted himself 
in the same party. All these ministers, while they stood in the most 
irreconcilable opposition of principles to one another, pretended to 
an entire agreement with the sentiments of their master. Cromwell 
and Cranmer still carried the appearance of conformity tc the ancient 
speculative tenets ; but they artfully made use of Henry's resent- 
ment to widen the breach with the see of Eome. The duke of Nor- 
folk, and Gardiner, feigned assent to the king's supremacy, and to 



* "Misprision (a term derived from 
the old French mespris, a neglect or con- 
tempt) is, in the acceptation of our law, 
generally understood to he all such high 
offences as are under the degree of capital, 



but nearly bordering thereon. . . . The 
punishment of misprision of treason is loss 
of the profits of land during life, for- 
feiture of goods, and imprisonment during 
life."— Kerr's Blackstone, iv. 121, 122. 



a.d. 1534. THE HOLY MAID OF KENT. 259 

his renunciation of the sovereign pontiff; but they encouraged his 
passion for the catholic faith, and instigated him to punish those 
daring heretics who had presumed to reject his theological principles. 
The ambiguity of the king's conduct, though it kept the courtiers 
in awe, served in the main to encourage the protestant doctrine 
among his subjects. The books composed by Tyndale and other 
reformers, who had fled to Antwerp, having been secretly brought 
over to England, began to make converts everywhere ; but it was 
a translation of the New Testament, published by Tyndale at 
Cologne in 1526, that was esteemed the most dangerous to the 
established faith. Its importation into England was forbidden, and 
orders were given for destroying all the copies that could be found. 
Such precautions, it is needless to state, were wholly ineffectual. 

Though Henry neglected not to punish the protestant doctrine, 
which he deemed heresy, his most formidable enemies, he knew, 
were the zealous adherents to the ancient religion, chiefly the 
monks and friars, who, having their immediate dependence on the 
Eoman pontiff, apprehended their own ruin to be the certain conse- 
quence of abolishing his authority in England. In 1533 a dangerous 
conspiracy was detected. Elizabeth Barton, of Aldington, in Kent, 
commonly called the Holy Maid of Kent, had been long subject to 
hysterical fits, which threw her body into unusual convulsions, and, 
having produced an equal disorder in her mind, made her utter 
strange sayings, which silly people in the neighbourhood imagined 
to be supernatural. Richard Masters, rector of the parish, having 
associated with him Dr. Booking, a canon of Canterbury, resolved 
to take advantage of this delusion. They were accused of teaching 
their penitent to declaim against the new doctrines, which she de- 
nominated heresy; against innovations in ecclesiastical government ; 
and especially against the king's divorce from Katharine. »A few 
monks and ecclesiastics -entered into the scheme ; and even Fisher, 
bishop of Rochester, though a man of sense and learning, was 
carried away by the delusion. The Maid of Kent had continued 
her course for some years ; but after the king's marriage with Anne 
Boleyn she predicted his death, and pronounced him to be in the 
condition of Saul after his rejection. Henry at last began to 
think the matter worthy of his attention ; and Elizabeth herself, 
Masters, Booking, and some others, were executed at Tyburn 
(1534). 

§ 4. Fisher had lain in prison above a twelvemonth, when 
Paul III., who had now succeeded to the papal throne, willing to 
recompense the sufferings of so faithful an adherent, created him 
a cardinal. This promotion roused the indignation of the king. 
Fisher was indicted for high treason, because he refused to acknow- 



260 HENRY VIII. Chap. xv. 

ledge the king's supremacy, was tried, condemned, and beheaded 
(June 22, 1535). More was condemned for the same offence, and 
was executed on July 6. He had long expected this fate, and 
needed no preparation to fortify him against the terrors of death. 
Not only his constancy, but even his cheerfulness, nay, his usual 
facetiousness, never forsook him ; and he made a sacrifice of his 
life to his integrity, with the same indifference that he maintained 
in any ordinary occurrence. When he was mounting the scaffold, 
he said to one, " Friend, help me up : when I come down again, 
I can shift for myself." The executioner asked him forgiveness : 
he granted the request, but told him, " You will never get credit 
by beheading me, my neck is so short." Then, laying his head on 
the block, he bade the executioner stay till he put aside his beard : 
"For," said he, "it never committed treason." Nothing was 
wanting to the glory of his end, except a better cause. 

The execution of Fisher, a cardinal, was regarded by the pope 
as so capital an injury, that he immediately drew up his celebrated 
bull of interdict and deposition. The bull was suspended for a 
time through the interference of the French king, and was not 
issued till three years afterwards. Meantime an incident happened 
in England which promised a more amicable conclusion of these 
disputes, and seemed even to open the way for a reconciliation 
between Henry and Charles. Queen Katharine was seized with a 
lingering illness, which at last brought her to her grave ; she died 
at Kimbolton, in the county of Huntingdon, in the 50th year of 
her age (January 7, 1536). A little before she expired she wrote 
a very tender letter to the king : " The hour of my death now 
approaching, I cannot choose but, out of the love I bear you, to 
advise you of your soul's health, which you ought to prefer before 
all considerations of the world or flesh whatsoever ; for which you 
have cast me into many calamities, and yourself into many 
troubles. But I forgive you all, and pray God to do so likewise." 
She recommended to him his daughter, the sole pledge of their 
loves, and craved his protection for her maids and servants. She 
concluded with these words: "I make this vow, that mine eyes 
desire you above all things." The king, it is said, was touched 
by this last tender proof of Katharine's affection. After this event 
the emperor sent proposals to Henry for a return to their ancient 
amity. Charles was now engaged in a desperate war with France ; 
but an invasion which he made in person into Provence, and 
another on the side of the Netherlands, were repulsed : and Henry, 
finding that his own tranquillity was fully insured by these violent 
wars and animosities on the continent, was the more indifferent 
to the advances of the emperor. 



a.d 1535-1536. LESSER MONASTERIES SUPPRESSED. 261 

§ 5. Immediately after the execution of More, the king proceeded 
to execute a design he had formed to suppress the monasteries, and 
to put himself in possession of their ample revenues, a practice of 
which Wolsey had first set the example by suppressing some of the 
smaller religious houses, in order to found his colleges at Oxford 
and Ipswich. Cromwell, secretary of state, had been appointed 
vicar-general, or vicegerent (1535); a new office, by which the king's 
supremacy was delegated to his minister. Cromwell employed com- 
missioners, who carried on, everywhere, a rigorous inquiry with 
regard to the conduct and deportment of the friars and nuns in the 
smaller religious houses. A report, charging them with all kinds 
of immorality, 'was laid before the House of Commons in 1536. 
The larger monasteries, which had not been guilty of such gross 
offences, were allowed to remain ; but the parliament passed an act 
suppressing all the lesser monasteries, which possessed a revenue 
below 2001. a year. By this act 376 monasteries were suppressed, 
and their revenues, amounting to 32,000/. a year, were granted to the 
king ; besides their goods, chattels, and plate, computed at 100,000/. 
more. To manage the property thus acquired, the court of Aug- 
mentation was established. 

In this year also Wales was incorporated with England : the 
separate jurisdiction of the several great lords, or marchers, as they 
were called, which obstructed the course of justice, and encouraged 
robbery and pillaging, was abolished ; and the authority of the 
king's court was extended everywhere. This parliament, which 
had sat from 1529 — the first parliament of the Reformation — was 
now dissolved (April 4, 1536). 

The same year was marked by the tragic fate of the new queen. 
She had been delivered of a dead son, to Henry's disappointment. 
It is supposed that his anger was further inflamed against her by the 
insinuations of the viscountess of Rochfort, who was married to the 
queen's brother, but who lived on bad terms with her sister-in-law. 
Henry had already transferred his affections to another object. Jane, 
daughter of sir John Seymour, and maid of honour to the queen, a 
young lady of singular beauty and merit, had obtained an entire 
ascendency over him ; and he was determined to sacrifice everything 
to the gratification of this new appetite. The queen was sent to 
the Tower (May 2) ; four of her alleged paramours, Norris, Brereton, 
Weston, and Smeton, gentlemen about the court, were tried and 
executed. Smeton was prevailed on, by the vain hopes of life, 
to confess a criminal correspondence with the queen. Her own 
brother, the viscount Rochfort, was accused of a guilty connection 
with her. The queen and her brother were tried by a jury of 
peers, over *vhich their uncle, the duke of Norfolk, presided as high 
13* 



262 HENRY VIII. Chap, xv, 

steward. Both, were condemned. Not satisfied with this cruel 
vengeance, Henry was. resolved to annul his marriage with Anne 
Boleyn, and declare her issue illegitimate. On the ground that 
before her marriage with the king she had been contracted to lord 
Percy, then earl of Northumberland, Cranmer pronounced the 
•marriage null and invalid, although Percy solemnly denied that 
such a contract had ever existed. The queen now prepared for 
death, having spent the interval in alternate moods of light-hearted- 
ness and profound depression. To the lieutenant of the Tower, 
and all who approached her, she professed L.r innocence, and even 
her readiness to die. "The executioner," she said, "is, I hear, 
very expert ; and my neck is but a small one." She was executed 
May 19. Her innocence has been called in question. Certain it 
is that her fate excited little commiseration at the time ; nor did 
it impair the king's popularity, or give birth to any of those un- 
ceremonious expressions so frequently uttered against his divorce. 
But her most effectual apology is the marriage of Henry with Jane 
Seymour on the day after Anne's execution.* These events ren- 
dered it necessary for the king to summon a parliament, by which 
his divorce from Anne Boleyn was ratified. The children of both his 
former marriages were declared illegitimate ; the crown was settled 
on the king's issue by Jane Seymour, or any subsequent wife ; and, 
in case he should die without children, he was empowered, by his 
will, or letters patent, to dispose of the crown — an enormous autho- 
rity, especially when intrusted to a prince so violent and capricious. 
§ 6. The late innovations, particularly the dissolution of the 
smaller monasteries, and the imminent danger to which the rest 
were exposed, had bred discontent among the people, and disposed 
them to revolt. The first rising was in Lincolnshire, and was put 
down without much difficulty (1536). A subsequent insurrection 
in the northern counties was more formidable, and was joined by 
30,000 men. One Aske, a gentleman of Doncaster, had taken 
the command of them, and he possessed the art of governing 
the populace. They called their enterprise the Pilgrimage of 
Grace. Some priests marched before in the habits of their order, 
carrying crosses in their hands; in their banners was woven a 
crucifix, with the representation of a chalice, and of the five wounds 
of Christ. All took an oath that they entered into the Pilgrimage 
of Grace from no other motive than their love to God, their desire 
of driving "base-born councillors" from about the king, of restoring 
the church, and suppressing heresy. They seized Hull and York, 
as well as Pomfret castle, into which the archbishop of York and 

* Jane had retired to Wiltshire ; and I of the Tower gun announcing the exeeu- 
the king, it is said, only waited the signal | tion of Anne to join his intended bride. 



a.d. 1536-1537. DEATH OF JANE SEYMOUR. 263 

lord Darcy had thrown themselves ; and the prelate and noble- 
man, who secretly wished suceess to the insurrection, .seemed to 
yield to the force imposed on them, and joined the rebels. The 
duke of Norfolk was despatched against them ; but, finding them 
too strong in the open field, he entered into negociations, and at 
length induced them to disperse, on promise of a general pardon. 
Early in the next year the rebellion broke out afresh, but was 
promptly suppressed. Norfolk, by command from his master, 
sjjread the royal banner, and, wherever he thought proper, executed 
martial law in the punishment of offenders. He was ordered to 
show little mercy. "You shall in any wise," writes the king, 
" cause such dreadful execution to be done upon a good number 
of the inhabitants of every town, village, and hamlet that have 
offended in this rebellion, as well by hanging of them up in trees, 
as by the quartering of them and the setting of their heads and 
quarters in every town, as they may be a fearful spectacle to all 
hereafter that would practise any like matter." Many abbots and 
canons were " tied up." Aske and his associates were condemned 
and executed. Lord Darcy, though he pleaded compulsion, and 
appealed for his justification to a long life spent in the service of 
the crown, was beheaded on Tower Hill (1537). Soon after this 
prosperous success an event happened which crowned Henry's joy 
— the birth of a son, who was baptised by the name of Edward 
(October 12). Yet his happiness was not without alloy ; for Jane 
Seymour died a few days after (October 24). 

Henry's success, in putting down the great rebellion in the north 
strengthened him in his determination of suppressing the larger 
monasteries. The abbots and monks knew the danger to which 
they were exposed, and having learned, by the example of the lesser 
monasteries, that nothing could withstand the king's will, were 
most of them induced, in expectation of better treatment, to make 
a voluntary resignation of their houses. Where promises failed of 
effect, menaces, and even extreme violence, were employed ; and on 
the whole the design was conducted with such success that in less 
than two years the king had got possession of all the monastic 
revenues. The better to reconcile the people to this great innova- 
tion, stories were propagated of the detestable lives of the inmates of 
many convents. The relics also, and other superstitions, which 
had so long been the object of the people's veneration, were exposed 
to ridicule; and the religious spirit, now less bent on exterior 
observances and sensible objects, was encouraged in this new 
direction. Of all the instruments of ancient superstition, none 
were more zealously destroyed than the shrine of Thomas a Becket, 
commonly called St. Thomas of Canterbury. Henry not only 



264 



HENRY VIII. 



Chap. xv. 



pillaged his rich shrine, but ordered his name to be struck out of the 
calendar. The office for his festival was expunged from all breviaries : 
his bones were burned, and the ashes dispersed to the wind. On 
the whole, the king suppressed, at different times, 645 monasteries, 
of which 29 had abbots that enjoyed a seat in parliament ; 90 
colleges were demolished in several counties, 2374 chantries and 
free chapels, 110 hospitals. The whole revenue of these establish- 
ments amounted to 161,100?. Henry settled small pensions on the 
abbots and priors; he erected six new bishoprics — Westminster, 
Oxford, Peterborough, Bristol, Chester, and Gloucester — of which 
five subsist at this day ; and he made a gift of the revenues and 
lands of some of the convents to his courtiers and favourites, or 
sold them at inadequate prices. Beside the lands possessed by the 
monasteries, the regular clergy enjoyed a considerable part of the 
best benefices in England and of the tithes annexed to them ; and 
these were also at this time transferred to the crown, and by that 
means passed into the hands of laymen. 

§ 7. It is easy to imagine the indignation with which the intelli- 
gence of all these acts of violence was received at Kome. The pope 
was at last incited to pubAsh the bull which had been passed against 
the king ; and publicly delivered over his soul to the devil, and his 
dominions to the first invader (December 17, 1538). Henry's kins- 
man, cardinal Reginald Pole,* published a treatise of the Unity of 
the Church, which he had sent privately to Henry two years before. 
In it he denounced the king's supremacy, his divorce, and his 
second marriage. In 1537 he headed a catholic crusade, and even 
exhorted the emperor to revenge on Henry the injury done to the 
imperial family and to the catholic cause. Henry seized all the 
members of Pole's family in England, together with other persons 
of high rank. They were accused of treason; and several were 
executed, among whom was lord Montacute, the cardinal's brother 
and the marquis of Exeter, the grandson of Edward IV.f (1538). 
Others were attainted without trial, which was the fate of the 
countess of Salisbury, the aged mother of the cardinal. 

§ 8. Although Henry had gradually changed some of the tenets 
of that theological system in which he had been educated, he was 
no less positive and dogmatical in those which he retained. He 
attached particular ir-iortance to the doctrine of the real pre- 



* Reginald Pole was the fourth son of 
the countess of Salisbury, daughter of the 
duke of Clarence executed by Edward IV. 
Her only brother, the earl of Warwick, 
wis put to death by Henry VII. (See 
P- !37.) She was restored in 1513, and 
became countess of Salisbury in her own 



right, a title which descended to her from 
her grandfather, the earl of Warwick and 
Salisbury, the celebrated king-maker. 
After her brother's death she married 
sir Richard Pole, a relation of Henry VII. 
f He was the son of the earl of Devon, 
and of Katharine, a daughter of Edward IV. 



a.d. 1538-1539. STATUTE OF THE SIX ARTICLES. 265 

sence; and he informed the parliament, summoned in 1539, that 
he was anxious to extirpate from his kingdom all diversity of 
opinion on matters of religion, Subservient as usual to the 
wishes of the king, the parliament passed an act for this purpose, 
usually called The Statute of the Six Articles, or the Bloody Bill, 
as the protestants justly termed it. In this law the doctrine of 
transubstantiation was insisted on, communion in one kind, the 
perpetual obligation of vows of chastity, the utility of private 
masses, the celibacy of the clergy, and the necessity of auricular 
confession. Whoever denied these articles of faith was liable to be 
burned. Having thus resigned their religious liberties, parliament 
proceeded to surrender the most important of their civil. They 
gave to the king's proclamation the force of a statute, provided it 
did not touch the lives, liberties, goods, and offices of the subject, 
or infringe the established laws. 

As soon as the act of the Six Articles had passed, many persons 
were thrown into prison. Latimer and Shaxton, the protestant 
bishops, resigned their bishoprics, and were committed as " sacra- 
mentarian heretics." The uncertainty of the king's humour gave 
each party an opportunity of triumphing in its turn. Within two 
years after Henry had passed this law, which seemed to inflict so 
deep a wound on the reformers, the king ordered a copy of the 
Great Bible, commonly called Cranmer's Bible, to be set up in all 
parish churches, under a penalty of forty shillings — a concession 
regarded by that party as an important victory. It is from this 
version that the Psalms in the Common Prayer-book of the church 
of England have been taken. 

§ 9. Immediately after the death of Jane Seymour, the most be- 
loved of all his wives, Henry began to think of a new marriage. 
Cromwell, who was anxious to connect Henry 'with the protestant 
princes on the continent, proposed to him Anne of Cleves, whose 
father, the duke of that name, had great interest among the Lu- 
therans, and whose sister Sibylla was married to the elector of 
Saxony, the head of the protestant league. A flattering picture of 
•the princess by Hans Holbein determined Henry to apply to her 
father ; and after some negociation the marriage was concluded, and 
Anne was sent over to England. The king, impatient to be satisfied 
with regard to the person of his bride, came privately to Rochester 
and obtained a sight of her. He found her utterly destitute both of 
beauty and grace, very unlike the pictures and representations which 
he had received, and he swore he never could possibly bear her any 
affection. The matter was worse when' he found that she could 
speak no language but German, of which he was entirely ignorant ; 
and that the charms of her conversation were not likely to com- 



266 HENRY VIII. Chap. xv. 

pensate for the homeliness of her person. It was the subject of da- 
bate among the king's counsellors whether the marriage could not 
yet be dissolved, and the princess be sent back to her own country ; 
but as a cordial union had taken place between the emperor and the 
king of France, and as their religious zeal might prompt them to 
fall with combined arms upon England, an alliance with the German 
princes seemed now more than ever requisite for Henry's interest 
and safety. He knew that, if he sent back the princess of Cleves, 
such an affront would be highly resented by her friends and family. 
He was therefore resolved, notwithstanding his aversion, to complete 
the marriage ; and he told Cromwell that, since matters had gone 
so far, he must put his neck into the yoke (January 6, 1540). He 
continued, however, to be civil to Anne ; he even seemed to repose 
his tisual confidence in Cromwell, who received soon after the title 
of earl of Essex, and was installed knight of the garter ; but, though 
he exerted this command over himself, discontent lay lurking in 
his breast, and was ready to burst out on the first opportunity. 

§ 10. The fall of Cromwell was hastened by other causes. The 
nobility detested a man who, being of such low extraction, had not 
only mounted above them by his station of vicar-general, but had 
engrossed many considerable offices of the crown. He had enriched 
himself by a long career of venality and corruption. No minister 
ever set his favours to sale with less regard to decency. As he 
entirely monopolized the king's countenance, and as vicar-general 
had the distribution of spiritual promotions, especially of the religious 
houses, he had amassed enormous riches. In 1539 he had contrived 
to secure for himself some thirty monastic manors and many other 
considerable estates. The people regarded him with dislike as the 
supposed author of the violence done to the monasteries, establish- 
ments which were still revered and beloved by the commonalty. 
The catholic party hated him as the concealed enemy of their 
religion ; the protestants, observing his external concurrence in the 
persecutions exercised against them, were inclined to bear him as 
little favour, and reproached him with the timidity, if not treachery, 
of his conduct. He was accused of treason at the council-board 
by the duke of Norfolk, and was instantly committed to the Tower. 
He endeavoured to soften the king by the most humble supplica- 
tions, but all to no purpose. He was executed on a bill of attainder 
charging him with heresy, oppression, and extortion, July 28, 1540. 

The measures for divorcing Henry from Anne of Cleves were car- 
ried on at the same time with the bill of attainder against Cromwell. 
The convocation soon afterwards solemnly annulled the marriage 
between the king and queen, chiefly on the futile ground of a pre- 
contract between Anne and the marquis of Lorraine, when both were 



a.d. 1540-1542. EXECUTION OF KATHARINE HOWARD. 267 

children ; the parliament ratified the decision of the clergy ; and the 
sentence was soon after notified to the princess. Anne was blessed 
with a happy insensibility of temper, and willingly hearkened to 
terms of accommodation. When the king offered to adopt her as his 
sister, to give her place next the queen and his own daughter, and 
to make a settlement of 3000?. a year upon her, she accepted the 
conditions, and gave her consent to the divorce (July 11).* 

§ 11. Henry's marriage with Katharine Howard, the niece of the 
duke of Norfolk, followed soon after (July 28, 1540), and was 
regarded by the catholics as a favourable incident to their party. 
The king's councils were now directed by Norfolk and Gardiner ; 
and the law of the Six Articles was executed with rigour. But 
while Henry exerted his violence against the protestants, he spared 
not the catholics who denied his supremacy; and a foreigner at 
that time in England had reason to say that those who were against 
the pope were burned, and those who were for him were hanged. 
The king even displayed in an ostentatious manner this tyrannical 
impartiality, which reduced both parties to subjection. Catholics 
and protestants were carried two and two on the same hurdles to 
execution — Abel, Featherstone, and Powell for denying the supre- 
macy ; Barnes, Gerard, and Jerome for denying the Six Articles. 
In the following year an inconsiderable rebellion broke out in York- 
shire, but was soon suppressed. The rebels were supposed to have 
been instigated by the intrigues of cardinal Pole ; and the king 
instantly determined to make the countess of Salisbury, who had 
been attainted two years previously, suffer for her sen's offences. 
This venerable matron, the descendant of a long race of monarchs, 
was executed on the green within the Tower (May 27, 1541) . 

The king thought himself happy in his new marriage: the 
agreeable person and disposition of Katharine had entirely capti- 
vated his affections, and he made no secret of his devoted attach- 
ment to her ; but he discovered shortly afterwards that she had led 
a dissolute life before her marriage, and he strongly suspected that 
she had since been guilty of incontinence. Two of her paramours, 
Culpej.er and Dirham, were tried and executed (December 10, 
1541) ; and a bill of attainder for treason was forthwith passed against 
the queen and the viscountess of Eochfort, who had been privy to 
her misconduct. They were both beheaded in the Tower (February 
13, 1542). As lady Eochfort was known to be the chief instrument 
in bringing Anne Boleyn to her end, she died unpitied. Little 
doubt can exist of Katharine's guilt. 

§ 12. Towards the close of 1542 a war broke out between Eng- 
land and Scotland. James V., king of Scots, was under the influence 

* Anne of Cleves continued to live in England, and died at Chelsea in 1557. 



268 HENRY VIII. Chap. xv. 

of the catholic party, especially of cardinal Beaton, the sworn enemy 
of the English monarch. As he had encouraged his subjects to make 
depredations upon the English border, Henry proclaimed war against 
his nephew, and appointed to the command the duke of Norfolk, 
whom he called the scourge of the Scots. It was too late in the 
season to make more than a foray ; and the duke of Norfolk, after 
laying waste the Scottish border, returned to Berwick. James sent 
an army of 10,000 men into Cumberland to revenge this insult; 
but on a sudden attack by a small body of English, not exceeding 
500 men, near the Solway (November 25, 1542), a panic seized the 
Scots, and they immediate ". iook to flight. Few were killed in this 
rout, but many were taken prisoners, and some of the principal 
nobility. The king of Scots, hearing of this disaster, was astonished ; 
and, being naturally of a melancholy disposition, he abandoned 
himself to despair. His body was wasted by sympathy with his 
anxious mind : he had no issue living ; and hearing that his queen 
was safely delivered, he asked whether she had brought him a male 
or a female child. Being told the latter, he turned himself in his 
bed : " The crown came with a lass," said he, " and it will go with 
a lass." A few days after he expired (December 14, 1542) in the 
flower of his age. 

No sooner was Henry informed of his death, than he projected the 
scheme of uniting Scotland to his own dominions by marrying his 
son Edward to James's infant daughter, the heiress of that kingdom, 
afterwards celebrated as Mary queen of Scots. A treaty to this 
effect was nearly concluded with the regent, the earl of Arran, but 
was shortly afterwards rejected, through the influence of cardinal 
Beaton, the head of the catholic party, and Scotland entered into 
a close alliance with France. This confirmed Henry in the resolu- 
tion he had already taken of breaking with France, and of 
uniting his arms with those of the emperor. A league was formed 
by which the two monarchs agreed to enter France with an army, 
each of 25,000 meu (February 11, 1543). This league seemed favour- 
able to the Roman catholic party ; but, on the other hand, Henry soon 
afterwards married his sixth wife, Katharine Parr, widow of lord 
Latimer, a woman of virtue, and somewhat inclined to the new 
doctrine (July 12). The confederacy between Henry and Charles 
led to no important results. The share taken by the English in the 
campaign of 1543 was quite inconsiderable. In the following year 
the two princes agreed to invade France with large armaments, and 
to join their forces at Paris. Accordingly Henry landed at Calais 
with 30,000 men, who were joined by 14,000 Flemings, whilst the 
emperor invaded the north-eastern frontiers of France with an army 
of 60,000 men ; but nothing of importance was effected. Henry, 



a.d. 1542-1545. WAR WITH FRANCE. 269 

instead of marching to Paris, wasted his time in besieging Boulogne 
and Montreuil ; whilst Charles, who had employed himself in cap- 
turing some towns on the Meuse and the Marne, subsequently ad- 
vanced towards Paris. The season was thus wasted ; both princes 
reproached each other with a breach of engagement. The emperor 
concluded a separate peace with Francis at Crepy (September 19, 
1544), in which the name of his ally was not even mentioned ; and 
Henry was obliged to retire into England, with the small success 
of haviDg captured Boulogne (September 14). The war was pro- 
longed two years between England and France. In 1545 the French 
made great preparations for tbe invasion of England. A French 
fleet appeared off St. Helen's, in the Isle of Wight, but returned to 
their own coasts without effecting anything of importance. In 1546 
Henry sent over a body of troops to Calais, and some skirmishes of 
small moment ensued. But both parties were now weary of a war 
from which neither could entertain much hope of advantage ; and 
on the 7th of June a peace was concluded. The chief condition 
was that Heory should retain Boulogne during eight years, or till 
the debt due by Francis should be paid ; tbus all that he obtained 
was a bad and chargeable security for a debt tbat did not amount to 
a third part of the expenses of the war. 

§ 13. Francis took care to comprehend Scotland in the treaty. 
In that country the indolent and incapable Arran had gone over to 
Beaton's party, and had even reconciled himself to the Eomish com- 
munion. The cardinal had thus acquired a complete ascendency. 
The opposition was now led by the earl of Lenox, who was regarded 
by the protestants as the head of their party, and who, after an 
ineffectual attempt to employ force, was obliged to lay down his 
arms and await the arrival of English succours. In 1544 Henry de T 
spatched a fleet and army to Scotland. Edinburgh was taken and 
burned, and the south-eastern parts of the country devastated. The 
earl of Arran collected some forces, but found that the English 
had departed. In February, 1545, he caught sir Ealph Evers 
returning from a raid on Melrose, and defeated him at Ancrum 
Muir. The war was conducted feebly, and with various success, 
and Henry was by no means indisposed to conclude a peace. 

The king, now freed from all foreign wars, had leisure to give his 
attention to domestic affairs, particularly to the establishment of 
uniformity of opinion in religion. Though he allowed an English 
translation of the Bible, he had hitherto been very careful to retain 
the service in Latin ; but in 1545 he set forth a Primer and a Litany 
in the vulgar tongue, with a collection of English prayers for morning 
and evening use. By these innovations he excited anew the hopes 
of the reformers; but the pride and peevishness of the king, irritated 



270 HENRY VIII. Chap. xv. 

by his decliniug state of health, impelled him to punish with fresh 
severity all who presumed to entertain a different opinion from him- 
self, particularly in the capital point of the real presence. Anne 
Askew, for denying it, was condemned to he burned alive ; and others, 
for the same crime, were sentenced to the same punishment (July 
16, 1546). The queen herself, being secretly inclined to the prin- 
ciples of the reformers, and having unwarily betrayed too much of 
her mind in her conversations with Henry, fell into great danger. 
At the instigation of bishop Gardiner, seconded by the chancellor 
Wriothesley, articles of impeachment were actually drawn up against 
her : but Katharine, having by some means learned this proceeding, 
averted the peril by her address. Henry having renewed his theo- 
logical arguments, the queen gently declined the conversation, and 
remarked that such profound speculations were ill suited to the im- 
becility of her sex ; that the wife's duty was in all cases to adopt 
implicitly the sentiments of her husband ; and as to herself, it was 
doubly her duty, being blessed with a husband who was qualified, 
by his judgment and learning, not only to choose principles for his 
own family, but for the most wise and knowing of every nation. 
1 Not so ! by St. Mary," replied the king ; " you are now become a 
doctor, Kate ; and better fitted to give than receive instruction." 
She meekly replied that she was sensible how little she was entitled 
to these praises ; and declared that she had ventured sometimes to 
feign a contrariety of sentiments merely in order to give him the 
pleasure of refuting her. " And is it so, sweetheart ? " replied the 
king ; '•* then are we perfect friends again." He embraced her with 
great affection, and sent her away with assurances of his protection 
and kindness. When the chancellor came the next day to convey 
her to the Tower, the king dismissed him with the appellations of 
knave, fool, and beast* 

§ 14. Henry's tyrannical disposition, soured by ill health, vented 
itself soon afterwards on the duke of Norfolk and his son, the earl of 
Surrey, chiefly through the prejudices which he entertained against 
the latter, on the pretext that they were meditating to seize the 
crown (1546). Surrey was a young man of the most promising 
hopes, and had distinguished himself by every accomplishment 
which became a scholar, a courtier, and a soldier. His spirit and 
ambition were equal to his talents and his quality ; but he did not 
always regulate his conduct by the caution and reserve which his 
situation required. The king, displeased with his conduct as governor 
of Boulogne, had sent over the earl of Hertford f to command in his 



* It should be observed, however, that 
this tale rests on no better authority than 
Foxe. 

■f- Edward Seymour, earl of Hertford, 



was the brother of Jane Seymour, Henry's 
third wife, better known afterwards as the 
protector Somerset. 



a.d. 1546-1547. HIS DEATH. 271 

place ; and Surrey was so imprudent as to drop some menacing ex- 
pressions against the ministers on account of the affront thus put 
upon him. He and his father, the duke of Norfolk, were accused 
of designs upon the crown, mainly on t x ne ground that they had 
illegally assumed the arm3 of Edward tne Confessor. Orders were 
given to arrest them, and they were on the same day confined to the 
Tower (December 7, 1546). Surrey being a commoner, his trial 
was the more expeditious ; he was condemned for high treason, and 
the sentence was soon after executed (January 19, 1547). The 
innocence of the duke of Norfolk was still, if possible, more apparent 
than that of his son, and his services to the crown had been greater ; 
yet the house of peers, without examining the prisoner, passed a 
bill of attainder against him, without trial or evidence, and sent it 
down to the commons. The king was now fast approaching towards 
his end ; and fearing lest Norfolk should escape him, he sent a 
message to the commons, by which he desired them to hasten the 
bill ; and, having affixed the royal assent by commission (January 
27), issued orders for the execution of Norfolk on the morning of 
January 28, 1547. But news being carried to the Tower that the 
king himself had expired that morning, the lieutenant deferred 
obeying the warrant ; and it was not thought advisable by the 
council to begin a new reign by the death of the greatest nobleman 
in the kingdom, who had been condemned by a sentence so unjust 
and tyrannical. 

Shortly before his death the king desired that Cranmer might 
be sent for ; but before the prelate arrived he was speechless, 
though he still seemed to retain his senses. Cranmer desired him 
to give some sign of his dying in the faith of Christ : he squeezed 
the prelate's hand, and immediately expired, after a reign of 37 
years and 9 months, and in the 56th year of his age (January 28, 
1547). In 1544 the king had caused the parliament to pass a law 
declaring the prince of Wales, or any of his male issue, first and 
immediate heirs of the crown, and restoring the two princesses, 
Mary and Elizabeth, to their right of succession. As the act made no 
arrangement in case of the failure of issue by Henry's children, 
the king, by his will, provided that the next heirs to the crown 
should be the descendants of his sister Mary, the late duchess of 
Suffolk, omitting entirely the Scottish lime. 

It is difficult to give a just summary of this prince's qualities : he 
was so different from himself in different parts of his reign, that, as 
is well remarked by lord Herbert, his history is his best character 
and description. He possessed great vigour of mind, which qualified 
him for exercising dominion over men ; courage, intrepidity, vigilance, 
inflexibility; and though these qualities were not always under the 



272 HENRY VIII. Chap. xv. 

guidance of a regular and solid judgment, they were accompanied 
with good parts and an excellent capacity. Every one dreaded a 
contest with a man who was known never to yield or to forgive, and 
who, in every controversy, was determined either to ruin himself or 
his antagonist. A catalogue of his vices would comprehend many 
of the worst qualities incident to human nature : violence, cruelty, 
profusion, rapacity, injustice, obstinacy, arrogance, bigotry, presump- 
tion, caprice ; but neither was he subject to all these vices in the 
most extreme degree, nor was he at intervals altogether destitute of 
virtue : he was sincere, open, gallant, liberal, and capable at least 
of temporary friendship and attachment. It may seem a little 
extraordinary that, notwithstanding his cruelty, his extortion, his 
violence, his arbitrary administration, Henry not only acquired 
the regard of his subjects, but never was the object of their hatred : 
and seems even, in some degree, to have possessed to the last their 
love and affection. His exterior qualities were advantageous, and 
fit to captivate the multitude, while his magnificence and personal 
bravery rendered him illustrious in vulgar eyes. 

As Henry possessed some talent for letters, he was an encourager 
of them in others. He founded Trinity College in Cambridge, and 
gave it ample endowments. Wolsey founded Christ Church in 
Oxford, and intended to call it Cardinal's College; but upon his 
fall, which happened before he had entirely finished his scheme, the 
king seized all the revenues, part of which he afterwards restored, 
and only changed the name of the college. The cardinal founded 
in Oxford the first chair for teaching Greek. The countenance 
given to letters by this king and his ministers contributed to render 
them fashionable in England. Erasmus speaks with great satis- 
faction of the general regard paid by the nobility and gentry to men 
of learning. 




Shilling of Edward VI. 

ObV. : EDWARD . VI. D . G . AGL . FRA . Z . HIB . REX. Bust to right. 

Rev. : timor : Domini : fons : vite [sic] m : d . xlix. Arms of England. In field e. r. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
edward vi., b. 1537 ; r. a.d. 1547-1553. 

§ 1. State of the regency. Hertford protector. § 2. Reformation estab- 
lished. Gardiner's opposition. § 3. War with Scotland. Battle of 
Pinkie. § 4. Proceedings in parliament. Progress of the Reforma- 
tion. Affairs of Scotland. § 5. Cabals of lord Seymour. His exe- 
cution. § 6. Ecclesiastical affairs. Protestant persecutions. Joan 
Bocher. § 7. Discontents of the people. Insurrections in Devonshire 
and Norfolk. War with Scotland and France. § 8. Factions in the 
council. Somerset deprived of the protectorship. § 9. Peace with 
France and Scotland. Ecclesiastical affairs. § 10. Ambition of 
Northumberland. Trial and execution of Somerset. §11. Northum- 
berland changes the succession. Death of the king. 

§ 1. The late king had fixed the majority of the prince at the 
completion of his 18th year ; and, as Edward was then only in his 
10th year, his father appointed 16 executors, to whom, during 
the minority, the government of the king and kingdom was in- 
trusted. Among them were Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, 
Wriothesley, lord chancellor, and the earl of Hertford, chamber- 
lain. With these executors, to whom was intrusted the whole 
regal authority, were appointed 12 counsellors, who possessed no im- 
mediate power, and could only assist with their advice when any 
affair was laid before them. But the first act of the executors and 
counsellors was to depart from the destination of the late king, 
by appointing a protector. The choice fell of course on the earl 
of Hertford, who, as he was the king's maternal uncle, was 
strongly interested in his safety ; and, possessing no claims to 
inherit the crown, he could never have any separate interest which 
might lead him to endanger Edward's person or his authority. 
All those who were possessed of any office resigned their former 
commissions, and accepted new ones in the name of the young 



274 EDWARD VI. Chap. xvi. 

king. The bishops themselves were constrained to make a like 
submission. Care was taken to insert in their new commissions 
that they held their offices during pleasure ; and it is there ex- 
pressly affirmed that all manner of authority and jurisdiction, as 
well ecclesiastical as civil, is originally derived from the crown. 

The late king had intended, before his death, to make a new 
creation of nobility, in order to supply the place of those peerages 
which had fallen by former attainders, or the failure of issue ; and 
accordingly, among other promotions, Hertford was now created 
duke of Somerset, marshal, and lord treasurer; Wriothesley earl 
of Southampton, Lisle earl of Warwick, and sir Thomas Seymour, 
the protector's brother, lord Seymour (March 6, 1547). As 
Wriothesley was the head of the catholic party, and had always 
been opposed to Somerset, one of the first acts of the protector was 
to procure the removal of Southampton, on the ground that he 
had, on his own private authority, put the great seal in com- 
mission a fine was also imposed upon him, and he was confined 
to his own house during pleasure. Not content with this advan- 
tage, on pretence that the vote of the executors, choosing him 
protector, was not a sufficient foundation for his authority, 
Somerset procured a patent from the young king, by which he 
entirely overturned the will of Henry VIII., named himself pro- 
tector with full regal power, and appointed a council consisting of 
all the former councillors, and all the executors, except Southamp- 
ton. He reserved a power of naming any other councillors at 
pleasure, and he was bound to consult with such only as he 
thought proper. This was a plain usurpation, which it was im- 
possible by any arguments to justify. 

§ 2. The protector had long been regarded as a secret partisan of 
the reformers ; and, being now freed from restraint, he scrupled not 
to discover his intention of correcting all abuses in the ancient 
religion, and of adopting still more of the protestant innovations. 
He took care that all persons intrusted with the king's education 
should be attached to the same principles. After Southampton's 
fall few members of the council seemed to retain any attachment 
to the Romish communion; and most of them appeared even 
sanguine in forwarding the progress of the Reformation. . The 
riches they had acquired from the spoils of the clergy induced 
them to widen the breach between England and Rome ; and, by 
establishing a different discipline and worship, to render any return 
to the ancient faith and practice impossible. In these measures 
Somerset found a zealous supporter in archbishop Cranmer. 

The protector, having suspended, during the interval, the jurisdic- 
tion of the bishops, appointed a general visitation of all the dioceses 



a.d. 1547-1548. WAR WITH SCOTLAND. 275 

of England (1547). The visitors consisted of clergy and laity, and 
had sis circuits assigned them. The chief purport of their in- 
structions was — to correct immoralities and irregularities in the 
clergy, remove images and pictures from the churches, compel the 
use of the English tongue in certain parts of the service, and enforce 
the teaching of the royal supremacy. To check ahuses, sermons 
were regulated or restrained : twelve homilies were published, which 
the clergy were enjoined to read to the people ; and all of them 
were prohibited, without express permission, from preaching any- 
where but in their parish churches. These measures were opposed 
by Gardiner, bishop of "Winchester, Bonner, bishop of London, and 
the princess Mary, who maintained that the council had no authority 
to change the laws they had sworn to observe during the king's 
minority. This opposition drew on the two bishops the indignation 
of the council, and they were sent to the Fleet, and used with some 
severity. 

§ 3. As soon as the state was brought to some composure, the 
protector prepared for war with Scotland ; and he was determined to 
execute, if possible, that project, of uniting the two kingdoms by 
marriage, on which the late king had been so intent, and had recom- 
mended with his dying breath to his executors. The Reformation 
had now made considerable progress in Scotland. Cardinal Beaton 
had been assassinated (May 29, 1546) in revenge for the burning of 
Wishart, a zealous protestant preacher ; and Henry had promised to 
take the murderers under his protection. Somerset levied an army 
of 18,000 men, and equipped a fleet of 60 sail, with which he 
invaded Scotland. A well-contested battle was fought at Pinkie, 
near Musselburgh (September 10, 1547), in which the Scots were 
defeated with immense slaughter. Had Somerset prosecuted his 
advantages, he might have imposed his own terms on the Scottish 
nation ; but he was impatient to return to England, where he 
heard that some of the councillors, and even his own brother, 
lord Seymour, the admiral, were caballing against him. Shortly 
after his return, the infant queen of Scotland was sent to France, 
and betrothed to the dauphin (August, 1548). 

§ 4. Parliament met after Somerset's return (November 4). It 
repealed the law of the late reign by which the king's proclamation 
was made equivalent to a statute ; all laws extending the crime 
of felony ; all which extended the crime of treason beyond the 
statute of the 25th of Edward III. ; all laws against Lollardy or 
heresy, together with the statute of the Six Articles. It secured 
the king's supremacy ; directed the sacrament of the altar to be 
administered in both kinds. To repress the wandering of monks, 
whose homes had been destroyed in the late reign, it ordered all 



276 



EDWARD VI. 



Chap. xvi. 



vagabonds to be branded, and on repetition of the offence to be 
adjudged to slavery. In the following year (1548) further reforma- 
tions were effected. Orders were issued by the council that candles 
should no longer be carried on Candlemas Day, ashes on Ash 
"Wednesday, palms on Palm Sunday ; and that all images should 
be removed from the churches. As private masses were abolished 
by law, a new communion service was set forth in English. 

§ 5. The protector's attention was now wholly engrossed by 
the cabals of his brother, lord Seymour, the admiral of England. 
Seymour had so insinuated himself into the good graces of Katharine, 
the queen-dowager, that, forgetting her usual prudence, she married 
him three months after the demise of the late king. At her death 
in childbirth he made his addresses to the princess Elizabeth, then 
in the 16th year of her age (1548). He openly decried his brother's 
administration, and by promises and persuasion brought over to 
his party many of the principal nobility. Somerset, finding his 
own power in serious peril, committed his brother to the Tower; 
the parliament passed a bill of attainder against him, and he was 
executed on Tower Hill (March 20, 1549). 

§ 6. All the considerable business transacted this session, besides 
the attainder of lord Seymour, regarded ecclesiastical affairs. The 
Act for Uniformity of Public Worship was promulgated, and the 
first Book of Common Prayer set forth in English. A law was also 
enacted permitting priests to marry. Thus, the principal tenets 
and practices of the old religion were abolished, and the Reforma- 
tion was almost entirely completed in England. 

But the doctrine of toleration was no better understood on one 
side than the other. A commission, by act of council, was granted 
to the primate, and some others, to examine and search after all 
anabaptists, heretics, or contemners of the Book of Common 
Prayer. Some tradesmen in London, brought before the commis- 
sioners, were prevailed on to abjure their opinions, and were dis- 
missed. But there was a woman accused of heretical pravity, called 
Joan Bocher, or Joan of Kent, who was so pertinacious, that 
the commissioners could make no impression upon her, and it was 
resolved to commit her to the flames * (May 2, 1550). Some 
time after, a Dutchman, called Van Paris, accused of Arianism, was 
condemned to the same punishment (April 24, 1551). 

§ 7. These reforms excited considerable discontent, which was 
aggravated by other causes. The new proprietors of the confiscated 



* The common story, that the young 
king long refused to sign the warrant for 
the execution of Joan Bocher, and was 
only prevailed upon to do so by Cranmer's 



importunity, is shown by Mr. Bruce, in 
the Preface to Roger Hutchinson's Works 
(Parker Society, 1842), to be apocryphal. 



A.D. 1548-1551. INSURRECTIONS. 277 

abbey lands demanded exorbit mt rents, and often spent the money 
in London. The cottagers were reduced to misery by the en- 
closure of the commons on which they formerly fed their cattle. 
The general increase of gold and silver in Europe after the discovery 
of the West Indies had raised the price of commodities ; and the 
debasement of the coin by Henry VIII., and afterwards by the 
protector, had occasioned a universal distrust and stagnation of 
commerce. A rising began at once in several parts of England, as 
if a universal conspiracy had been formed by the commonalty. In 
most parts the rioters were put down, but the disorders in Devon- 
shire and Norfolk threatened more dangerous consequences (1549). 
In Devonshire the rioters were brought into the form of a regular 
army, which amounted to the number of 10,000. Their demands 
were, that the mass should be restored, half of the abbey lands 
resumed, the law of the Six Articles executed, holy water and holy 
bread respected, and all other particular grievances redressed. Lord 
Eussell,* who had been despatched against them, drove them from 
all their posts, and took many prisoners. The leaders were sent to 
London, tried, and executed ; and many of the inferior sort were 
put to death by martial law. 

The insurrection in Norfolk rose to a still greater height, and 
was attended with greater acts of violence. One Ket, a tanner, 
had assumed the government of the insurgents, and exercised his 
authority with the utmost arrogance. The earl of Warwick, at 
the head of 6000 men, levied for the wars against Scotland, at last 
made a general attack upon the rebels, and put them to flight. 
Two thousand fell in the action and pursuit : Ket was hanged at 
Norwich castle, and the insurrection was entirely suppressed. To 
guard against such disturbances in future, lords lieutenant were 
appointed in all the counties. These insurrections were attended 
with bad consequences to the foreign interests of the nation. The 
forces of the earl of Warwick, which might have made a great 
impression on Scotland, were diverted from that enterprise; and 
the French general had leisure to reduce that country to some 
settlement and composure. The king of France also made an 
attempt to recover Boulogne, but without success. As soon as 
the French war broke out, the protector endeavoured to fortify 
himself with the alliance of the emperor, who, however, eluded 
the applications of the English ambassadors. Despairing of his 
assistance, Somerset was inclined to conclude a peace with France 



* Lord Russell had been created a peer 
in 1533, and received large grants of 
church lands. He was made earl of Bed- 
ford in 1550, and was the ancestor of the 
14 



present duke of Bedford. The descendant 
of the earl of Bedford was first created 
duke in 1694, in the reign of William III. 



278 EDWARD VI. Chap. xvi. 

and Scotland ; but he met with strong opposition from his enemies 
in the council, who, seeing him unable to support the war, were 
determined, for that very reason, to oppose all proposals for a 
pacification. 

§ 8. The factions ran high in the court of England, and matters 
were drawing to an issue fatal to the authority of the protector. 
After obtaining the patent investing him with regal authority, he 
no longer paid any attention to the opinion of the other executors 
and councillors; and, while he showed a resolution to govern 
everything, his capacity appeared not in any respect proportioned 
to his ambition. He had disgusted the nobility by courting the 
people ; yet the interest which he had formed with the latter was 
in no degree answerable to his expectations. The catholic party, 
who retained influence with the lower ranks, were his declared 
enemies : the attainder and execution of his brother bore an odious 
aspect: and the palace which he was building in the Strand 
served, by its magnificence, to expose him to the censure of the 
public, especially as he had pulled down several churches for 
materials to complete it. All these acts of imprudence were remarked 
by Somerset's enemies, who resolved to take advantage of them. 
Lord St. John, president of the council, the earls of Warwick, 
Southampton, and Arundel, with five members more, assuming to 
themselves the whole power of the council, began to act indepen- 
dently of the protector, whom they represented as the author of 
every public grievance and misfortune. Somerset, finding that no 
man of rank, except Cranmer and Paget, adhered to him, that the 
people did not rise at his summons, that the city and Tower had 
declared against him, that even his best friends had deserted him, 
lost all hopes of success, and began to apply to his enemies • for 
pardon and forgiveness. He was, however, sent to the Tower, with 
some of his friends and partisans, among whom was Cecil, after- 
wards so much distinguished (October 11, 1549). Somerset was 
prevailed on to confess, on his knees before the council, all the 
articles charged against him ; and the parliament passed a vote 
by which they deprived him of all his offices, and.fined him 2000Z. 
a year in land (December 23). St. John was created treasurer 
in his place, and Warwick earl marshal. The prosecution against 
him was carried no further. His fine was remitted by the king ; 
he recovered his liberty ; and Warwick, thinking that he was now 
sufficiently humbled, re-admitted him into the council, and even 
agreed to an alliance between their families, by the marriage of his 
own son, lord Lisle, with the lady Jane Seymour, daughter ctt 
Somerset (1550). The catholics were extremely elated with this 
revolution ; and, as they had ascribed all the late innovations to 



A.D. 1549-1551. REVISION OF THE PRAYER-BOOK. 279 

Somerset's authority, they hoped that his fall would prepare the 
way for the return of the ancient religion. But Warwick, who now 
bore chief sway in the council, took care very early to express his 
intentions of supporting the Eeformation. Gardiner, bishop of 
Winchester, who had been again sent to prison in 1548, was deprived 
(1550). The sees of London and Westminster were given to 
Nicholas Eidley, a determined protestant. Poynet, formerly chaplain 
to Cranmer, succeeded to Winchester (March 23, 1551), and Hooper 
to Gloucester. 

§ 9. When Warwick and the council of regency began to exercise 
their power, they found themselves involved in the same difficulties 
that had embarrassed the protector. The wars with France and 
Scotland could not be supported by an exhausted exchequer ; 
seemed dangerous to a divided nation ; and were now acknowledged 
not to have any object which even the greatest and most uninter- 
rupted success could attain. Although the project of peace enter- 
tained by Somerset had served them as a pretence for clamour 
against his administration, they found themselves obliged to negociate 
a treaty with the king of France. Henry II. offered a sum for the 
immediate restitution of Boulogne, and 400,000 crowns were at last 
agreed on, one-half to be paid immediately, the other in August 
following. Six hostages were given for the performance of this 
article, and Scotland was comprehended in the treaty. 

The theological zeal of the council, though seemingly fervent, 
went not so far as to make them neglect their own temporal con- 
cerns, which seem to have ever been uppermost in their thoughts. 
Several catholic bishops were deprived, and some were obliged to 
seek protection by sacrificing the most considerable revenues of their 
see to rapacious courtiers. Durham was entirely suppressed. Though 
every one besides yielded to the authority of the council, the lady 
Mary could never be brought to compliance ; and she still continued 
to adhere to the mass, and to reject the new liturgy. It was with 
difficulty that the young king, who had deeply imbibed the principles 
of the Eeformation, could be prevailed upon to connive at his 
sister's obstinacy ; but her relationship to the emperor proved her 
best protection. In 1551 the Book of Common Prayer suffered in 
England a new revisal, and some rites and ceremonies, which had 
given offence, were omitted. The doctrines of religion were also 
reduced to 42 articles. These were intended to obviate further 
divisions and variations. 

§ 10. Not contented with the eminence he had attained, Warwick 
carried further his pretensions, and gained partisans who were 
disposed to second him in every enterprise. The last earl of 
Northumberland died without issue ; and as sir Thomas Percy, his 



280 EDWARD VI. Chap xvi. 

brother, had been attainted, the title was at present extinct, and the 
estate was vested in the crown. Warwick now procured to himself 
a grant of the honours and offices of that house, and was dignified 
with the title of duke of Northumberland (1551). But these new 
possessions and titles he regarded as steps only to further acquisi- 
tions. Finding that Somerset still enjoyed a considerable share of 
popularity, he determined to ruiu the man whom he regarded as the 
chief obstacle to his ambition. Somerset was therefore accused of 
high treason and felony, in plotting against the lives of certain lords 
of the council: he was acquitted on the former charge, but con- 
demned on the latter. He was brought to the scaffold on Tower 
Hill (January 22, 1552), amidst great crowds of spectators, who 
bore him such sincere kindness that they entertained, to the last 
moment, the fond hopes of his pardon. His virtues were better 
calculated for private than for public life; and by his want of 
penetration and firmness he was ill fitted to extricate himself from 
those cabals and violences to which that age was so much addicted.* 
Several of Somerset's friends were also brought to trial, condemned, 
and executed ; great injustice seems to have been used in their 
prosecution. 

§ 11. The declining state of the young king's health opened out 
to Northumberland a vaster prospect of ambition. He endeavoured 
to persuade Edward to deprive his two sisters of the succession, on 
the ground of illegitimacy. He represented that the certain con- 
sequence of his sister Mary's succession, or that of the queen of Scots, 
was the re-establishment of the usurpation and idolatry of the 
church of Rome ; that, though the lady Elizabeth was liable to no 
such objection, her exclusion must follow that of her elder sister ; 
that, when these princesses were set aside by such solid reasons, 
the succession devolved on the marchioness of Dorset, elder daughter 
of Mary, the French queen, and the duke of Suffolk; that the 
next heir of the marchioness was the lady Jane Grey, a lady 
every way worthy of a crown ; and that, even if her title by blood 
were doubtful, which there was no just reason to pretend, ■ the 
king was possessed of the same power that his father enjoyed, and 
might leave her the crown by letters patent. Northumberland, 
finding that his arguments w L .e likely to operate on the king, 
began to prepare the other parts of his scheme. On the extinction 
of the dukedom of Suffolk, the marquis of Dorset had been raised 
to this title ; and the new duke of Suffolk and the duchess were 
now persuaded by Northumberland to give their daughter, the 
lady Jane, in marriage to his fourth son, the lord Guilford Dudley. 

* He was the ancestor of the present i tainder, was restored to his great-grandson 
duke. The title, forfeited by his at- | on the accession of Charles II. (1660). 



a.d. 1551-1553. HIS DEATH. 281 

The languishing state of Edward's health, who was now in a con- 
firmed consumption, made Northumberland the more intent on the 
execution of his project. He removed all except his own emissaries 
from about the king ; and prevailed on the young prince to give 
his consent to the settlement projected. The judges hesitated to 
draw up the necessary deed ; but were at length brought to do so 
by Edward himself, and the menaces of Northumberland, and the 
promise that a pardon should immediately after be granted them 
for any offence which they might have incurred by their compliance. 
After this settlement Edward declined visibly every day. To 
make matters worse, his physicians were dismissed by Northum- 
berland's advice and by an order of council ; and he was put into 
the hands of an ignorant woman, who undertook in a little time to 
restore him to his former state of health. After the use of her 
medicines the bad symptoms increased ; and he expired at Green- 
wich (July 6, 1553), in the 16th year of his age, and the 7th of 
his reign. Historians dwell with pleasure on the qualities of this 
young prince, whom the flattering promises of hope had made an 
object of tender affection to the public. 




Medal of Philip and Mary. 

Obv. : fhilip . d . g . hisp . rex . z. Bust of Philip to right. Rev. : makia i beg , 

angl . franc , et . hib . z. Bust of Mary to left. 



CHAPTER XVII. 
mart, 6. 1516 ; r. a.d. 1553-1558. 

§ 1. Lady Jane Grey proclaimed. Mary acknowledged queem § 2. 
Northumberland executed. Roman catholic religion restored. § 3. 
The Spanish match. Wyatt's insurrection. § 4. Imprisonment of 
the princess Elizabeth. Execution of Lady Jane Grey. § 5. Mary's 
marriage with Philip of Spain. England reconciled with the see of 
Rome. § 6. Persecutions. Execution of Cranmer. 7. War with 
France. Loss of Calais. § 8. Death and character of the queen. 

§ 1. Northumberland, sensible of the opposition which he must 
expect, had carefully concealed the destination of the succession 
made by the king ; and, in order to bring the princess Mary into 
his power, had desired her to attend on her dying brother. Mary 
was at Hoddesdon, within half a day's journey of the court, 
when she received private intelligence, probably from the earl of 
Arundel, both of her brother's death and of the conspiracy formed 
against her. She immediately retired intq Norfolk, and despatched 
a message to the council, requiring them immediately to give 
orders for proclaiming her in London. Northumberland found that 
further dissimulation was fruitless. He went to Sion house, accom- 
panied by the duke of Suffolk, the earl of Pembroke, and others of 
the nobility ; and he approached the lady Jane, who resided there, 
with all the respect usually paid to the sovereign. Jane was, in a 
great measure, ignorant of these transactions; and it was with 
equal grief and surprise that she received intelligence of them. 
She was a lady of an amiable person, an engaging disposition, and 
accomplished parts. She had attained a familiar knowledge of the 
Latin and Greek languages, besides modern tongues ; had passed 



a.d. 1553 MARY ACKNOWLEDGED QUEEN. 283 

most of her time in an application to learning; and expressed a 
great indifference for other occupations and amusements usual with 
her sex and station. Eoger Ascham, tutor to the lady Elizabeth, 
having one day paid her a visit, found her employed in reading 
Plato, while the rest of the family were hunting in the park. The 
intelligence of her elevation to the throne was nowise agreeable to 
her. She was greatly overcome, but at last submitted to their will, 
and even accepted the crown with alacrity. Orders were given to 
proclaim Jane throughout the kingdom ; but these orders were exe- 
cuted only in London and the neighbourhood. No applause ensued : 
the people heard the proclamation with silence and concern, and some 
even expressed their scorn and contempt. The people of Norfolk, 
meanwhile, paid their court to Mary, and the nobility and gentry 
daily flocked to her with reinforcements. Northumberland, hitherto 
blinded by ambition, saw at last the danger gather round him, and 
knew not which way to turn. At length he determined to march 
against her ; but he found his army too weak to encounter the 
queen's. He wrote to the council, desiring them to send him 
reinforcements ; but the councillors agreed upon a speedy return to 
the duty which they owed to their lawful sovereign. The mayor 
and aldermen of London were immediately sent for, who discovered 
great alacrity in obeying the orders they received to proclaim Mary. 
The people expressed their approbation by shouts of applause. 
Suffolk, who commanded in the Tower, finding resistance fruitless, 
opened the gates, and declared for Mary; and even Northum- 
berland, being deserted by all his followers, was obliged to do the 
same. The people everywhere, on the queen's approach to London, 
gave sensible expressions of their loyalty and attachment. And the 
lady Elizabeth met her at the head of a thousand horse, which that 
princess had levied in order to support their joint title against the 
usurper. 

§ 2. The duke of Northumberland was seized and taken to the 
Tower : at the same time were committed the duke of Suffolk, lady 
Jane Grey, lord Guilford Dudley, and several of the nobility. As the 
councillors pleaded constraint as an excuse for their treason, Mary 
extended her pardon to most of them. But the guilt of North- 
umberland was too great, as well as his ambition and courage too 
dangerous, to permit him to entertain any reasonable hopes of life- 
When brought to his trial he attempted no defence, but pleaded 
guilty (August 18). At his execution he made a profession of 
the catholic religion, and told the people that they never would 
enjoy tranquillity till they returned to the faith of their ancestors ; 
either because these were his real sentiments, which he had 
formerly disguised from interest and ambition, or that he hoped by 



284 MARY. Chap. xvn. 

this declaration to render the queen more favourable to his family. 
Sir Thomas Palmer and sir John Grates suffered with him (August 
22, 1553) ; and this was all the blood spilled on account of so 
dangerous and criminal an enterprise against the rights of the 
sovereign. 

Mary soon showed that she was determined to restore the Eoman 
catholic religion. Gardiner, Bonner, Tunstal, and others, who had 
been deprived in the preceding reign, were reinstated in their sees. 
On pretence of discouraging controversy, she silenced, by an act of 
prerogative, all the preachers throughout England, except such as 
should obtain a particular licence. Holgate, archbishop of York, 
Coverdale, bishop of Exeter, Ridley of London, and Hooper of 
Gloucester, were thrown into prison; whither Latimer also was 
sent soon after. The zealous bishops and priests were encouraged 
in their forwardness to revive the mass, though contrary to the 
present laws. Cranmer, the primate, had reason to expect little 
favour during the present reign ; but it was by his own indiscreet 
zeal that he brought on himself the first violence and persecution, 
A report being spread that in order to pay court to the queen he 
liad promised to officiate in the Latin service, to wipe off this asper- 
sion, he published a manifesto in his own defence, in which he 
attributed the mass to the invention of the devil, and branded its 
abuses as blasphemies. On the publication of this inflammatory 
paper, Cranmer was thrown into prison, and was tried for the part 
which he had acted in concurring with the lady Jane, and opposing 
the queen's accession (November 13). Sentence of high treason 
was pronounced against him, and by the same court against Jane 
and her husband, but the execution of it did not follow ; and the 
primate was reserved for a more cruel punishment. In opening 
parliament (October 5), the court showed its contempt of the laws 
by celebrating, before the two houses, a mass of the Holy Ghost, in 
the Latin tongue, with all the ancient ceremonies. The first bill 
passed by the parliament was of a popular nature, and abolished 
every species of treason not contained in the statute of Edward III., 
and every species of felony that did not subsist before the first year 
of Henry VIIl. ; for many of the cruel laws of that monarch had been 
re-enacted by the last parliament of Edward VI. It next declared 
the queen to be legitimate, ratified the marriage of Henry with 
Katharine of Arragon, and annulled the divorce pronounced by 
Cranmer. The statutes of king Edward regarding religion were 
repealed by one act, and the old form of service restored. The 
attainder of the duke of Norfolk, who had been previously liberated 
from the Tower, and admitted to Mary's confidence and favour, was 
reversed. The queen also sent assurances to the pope, then Julius 



A.D. 1553-1554. WYATT'S INSURRECTION. 285 

III., of her earnest desire to reconcile herself and her kingdoms to 
the holy see. 

§ 3. No sooner did the emperor Charles V. hear of the death of 
Edward, and the accession of his kinswoman Mary to the crown 
of England, than he sent over an agent to propose his son Philip 
as her husband. Philip was a widower, and, though he was only 
27 years of age, 12 years younger than the queen ; this objection, it 
was thought, would be overlooked, and there was no reason to 
despair of her still having issue. Norfolk, Arundel, and Paget gave 
their advice for the match; but Gardiner, wbo had now become 
chancellor, opposed it. The Commons, alarmed to hear that Mary 
was resolved to contract a foreign alliance, sent their speaker to re- 
monstrate in strong terms against so dangerous a measure ; and, to 
prevent further applications of the same kind, the queen thought 
proper to dissolve the parliament. A convocation had been sum- 
moned at the same time with the parliament; and the majority 
• here also appeared to be of the court religion. After the parliament 
and convocation were dismissed, the new laws with regard to religion 
were still more openly put in execution : the mass was everywhere 
re-established ; marriage was declared to be incompatible with any 
spiritual office ; and a large proportion of the clergy were deprived of 
their livings. This violent and sudden change of religion inspired the 
protestants with great discontent ; whilst the Spanish match diffused 
universal apprehensions for the liberty and independence of the nation. 
To obviate all clamour, the articles of marriage were drawn as favour- 
ably as possible for the interest and security and even grandeur 
of England : and, in particular, it was agreed that, though Philip 
should have the title of king, the administration should be entirely 
in the queen ; and that no foreigner should be capable of enjoying 
any office in the kingdom. But these articles gave little satisfaction 
to the nation, and some were determined to resist the marriage 
by arms. Sir Thomas Wyatt purposed to raise Kent ; sir Peter 
Carew, Devonshire ; and they engaged the duke of Suffolk, by the 
hopes of recovering the crown for the lady Jane, to attempt raising 
the midland counties (1554). The attempts of the last two were 
speedily disconcerted, but Wyatt was at first more successful. 
Having dispersed a declaration throughout Kent, against the 
queen's evil counsellors, and against the Spanish match, without 
any mention of religion, he raised his standard at Eochester. He 
then forced his way into London ; but his followers, finding that no 
person of note joined him, insensibly fell off, and he was at last 
seized near Temple Bar by sir Maurice Berkeley (February 7, 1554). 
About 30 persons suffered for this rebellion : 400 more were con- 
ducted before the queen with ropes about their necks, and, falling 
14* 



286 MAEY. Chap, xvii 

on their knees, received a pardon and were dismissed. Wyatt was 
condemned and executed. 

§ 4. This rebellion proved fatal to the lady Jane Grey, as well as 
to her husband ; the duke of Suffolk's guilt was imputed to her, 
and both she and her husband were beheaded (February 12, 1554). 
On the scaffold she made a speech to the bystanders, in which the 
mildness of her disposition led her to take the blame wholly on 
herself, without uttering a single complaint against the severity 
with which she had been treated. She then caused herself to be 
disrobed by her women, and with a serene countenance submitted 
herself to the executioner. The duke of Suffolk was tried, con- 
demned, and executed soon after. The princess Elizabeth, suspected 
for a time of being implicated in the late plot, was sent to the 
Tower ; but in the following May was released and placed under 
the care and surveillance of sir Henry Bedingfield, at Woodstock. 
It is even said that the more violent party of the council proposed 
capital punishment, but were opposed by Gardiner, who interceded ' 
in her favour. The story, however, requires confirmation. 

§ 5. Philip of Spain arrived at Southampton on July 20, 1554, 
and a few days after he was married to Mary at Winchester (July 
25). Having made a pompous entry into London, where Philip 
displayed his wealth with great ostentation, they proceeded to 
their residence at Windsor. The prince's behaviour was ill calcu- 
lated to remove the prejudices which the English nation had enter- 
tained against him. He was distant and reserved in his address ; 
took no notice of the salutes even of the most considerable noble- 
men; and so intrenched himself in form and ceremony, that he 
was in a manner inaccessible. The zeal of the catholics, the in- 
fluence of Spanish gold, the powers of prerogative, the discourage- 
ment of the gentry, particularly of the protestants, procured a 
House of Commons which was in a great measure to the queen's 
satisfaction. Cardinal Pole, whose attainder had been reversed, 
came over to England as legate (November 20) ; and, after being 
introduced to the king and queen, he invited the parliament to 
reconcile themselves and the kingdom to the apostolic see, from 
which they had been so long and so unhappily divided. This 
message was taken in good part: both houses voted an address 
declaring their sorrow for their past proceedings against the pope, 
and professing their willingness to repeal them, provided that their 
purchases of abbey and chantry lands were confirmed. In this 
stipulation they were supported by the clergy. Thirty-three 
members, however, of the Commons seceded rather than be impli- 
cated in these proceedings. The legate, in the name of his holi- 
ness, then gave the parliament and kingdom absolution, freed them 



A.D. 1554-1555. THE PEOTESTANT MARTYRS. 287 

from all censures, and received thern again into the bosom of the 
church. 

The parliament revived the old sanguinary laws against heretics : 
they also enacted several statutes against seditious words and, 
rumours ; and they made it treason to imagine or attempt the death 
of Philip during his marriage with the queen. But their hatred 
against the Spaniards, as well as their suspicion of Philip's preten% 
sions, still prevailed; and though the queen wished to have her 
husband declared presumptive heir to the crown, and the adminis- 
tration to be put into his hands, she failed in all her endeavours, 
and could not so much as procure the parliament's consent to his 
coronation. Philip, sensible of the prejudices entertained against 
him, endeavoured to acquire popularity by procuring the release 
of several prisoners of distinction ; but nothing was more agreeable 
to the nation than the protection he afforded to the lady Elizabeth. 
This measure was not the effect of any generosity in Philip, a 
sentiment of which he was wholly destitute, but of a refined policy, 
which made him foresee that, if that princess were put to death, 
the next lawful heir was the queen of Scots, whose succession would 
for ever annex England to the crown of France. 

§ 6. By the revival of the laws against heresy, England was soon 
filled with scenes of horror which have ever since rendered the 
Roman catholic religion the object of detestation. Rogers, pre- 
bendary of St. Paul's, Hooper, bishop of Gloucester, Taylor, parson 
of Hadleigh, and others were condemned to the flames (1555). 
Gardiner, who had vainly expected that a few examples would 
strike a terror into the reformers, finding the work multiply upon 
him, devolved the invidious office on others, chiefly on Bonner, 
bishop of London, who was however rebuked, more than once, for 
his flagging zeal, by the council. It is needless to be particular in 
enumerating the cruelties practised in England during the course of 
three years that these persecutions lasted : the savage barbarity on the 
one hand, and the patient constancy on the other, are so similar in all 
these martyrdoms, that the narrative, little agreeable in itself, could 
never be relieved by any variety. It is computed that in this reign 
277 persons were brought to the stake; besides those who were 
punished by imprisonments, fines, and confiscations. Among those 
who suffered by fire were 5 bishops, 21 clergymen, 8 lay gentlemen, 
84 tradesmen, 100 husbandmen, servants, and labourers, 26 women, 
and 4 children. Ridley, bishop of London, and Latimer, formerly 
bishop of Worcester, two prelates celebrated for learning and virtue, 
perished together in the same flames at Oxford, and supported each 
other's constancy by their mutual exhortations. Latimer, when 
tied to the stake, called to his companion, " Be of good comfort, 



288 MARY.' Chap. xvii. 

Master Eidley ; we shall this day kindle such a candle in England, 
as, I trust in God, shall never be extinguished." Instances of bar- 
barity, so unusual in the nation, excited horror ; the constancy of 
the martyrs was the object of admiration; and as men have a 
principle of equity engraven in their minds, which even false re- 
ligion is not able totally to obliterate, they were shocked to see 
persons of probity, of honour, of pious dispositions, exposed to 
punishments more severe than were inflicted on the greatest ruffians 
for crimes subversive of civil society. Each martyrdom, therefore, 
was equivalent to a hundred sermons against popery ; and men 
either avoided such horrid spectacles, or returned from them full of 
a violent, though secret, indignation against the persecutors. 

These persecutions had now become extremely odious to the 
nation ; and the execution of Cranmer rendered the government still 
more unpopular. The primate had long been detained in prison. 
The year before he had been condemned for heresy with Eidley 
and Latimer. But whilst they were burnt immediately after 
sentence, Cranmer's case was remitted to Eome, where a definite 
sentence of degradation was passed against him in the December 
following (1555). When the sentence arrived in England, overcome 
by the fond love of life, terrified by the prospect of those tortures 
which awaited him, he allowed, in an unguarded hour, the senti- 
ments of nature to prevail over his resolution, and he agreed to sub- 
scribe the doctrines of the papal supremacy and of transubstantiation. 
The court, however, was determined that this recantation should 
avail him nothing ; and they sent orders that he should be required 
to acknowledge his errors in public, and be immediately carried to 
execution. Cranmer, whether that he had received a secret intima- 
tion of their design, or had repented of his weakness, surprised his 
audience in St. Mary's church by a contrary declaration. He 
bitterly reproached himself for the weakness of which he had been 
guilty ; and when brought to the stake, thrust the hand which had 
signed his recantation into the flames, exclaiming aloud, " This hand 
has offended." He suffered at Oxford (March 21, 1556), and was 
succeeded by cardinal Pole. 

These severities, so far from achieving the purposes they were 
intended, produced the opposite effect. The government was at- 
tacked with unsparing bitterness at home and abroad. The queen's 
death was prayed for in secret conventicles. The exiles abroad 
circulated an address denouncing persecution for conscience sake. 
Priests were exposed to personal violence. Even those, who were 
indifferent or opposed to protestantism before, now could not fail of 
sympathizing with a faith of which the reality was shown in the 
sufferings and constancy of its professors. But, instead of taking 



a.d. 1555-1558. LOSS OF CALAIS. 289 

warning, the government thought to overcome opposition by re- 
doubling its measures of repression. In 1557 a commission was 
issued, of unusual powers, to Bonner and others, for a rigorous 
inquiry after " devilish and clamorous persons," who issued seditious 
reports, or brought in heretical or seditious books. Those who 
maligned the church services were to be treated as vagabonds. To 
render their proceedings as odious as possible, no limits were as- 
signed to the punishments the commissioners were empowered to 
inflict. 

§ 7. The temper of Mary was soured by ill health, by disappoint- 
ment in not having offspring, and by the absence of her husband, 
who, finding his authority extremely limited in England, had gone 
over to the emperor in Flanders. But her affection for Philip was 
not cooled by his indifference ; and she showed the greatest anxiety 
to consult his wishes and promote his views. Philip, who had 
become master of the wealth of the new world, and of the richest 
and most extensive dominions in Europe, by the abdication of the 
emperor Charles V. (1556), was anxious to engage England in the 
war which was kindled between Spain and France. His views were 
warmly seconded by Mary, but opposed by her council. Her 
importunities at length succeeded ; she levied an army of 7000 
men, and sent them over to the Low Countries, under the com- 
mand of the earl of Pembroke (1557). The king of Spain had 
assembled an army which, after the junction of the Englishj 
amounted to 60,000 men, conducted by Philibert, duke of Savoy, 
one of the greatest captains of the age. Little interest would 
attend the narration of a campaign in which the English played 
only a subordinate part, and which resulted in their loss and 
disgrace. By Philibert's victory at St. Quentin the whole king- 
dom of France was thrown into consternation ; and had the 
Spaniards marched to the capital, it could not have failed to fail 
into their hands. But Philip's caution was unequal to so bold 
a step, and the opportunity was neglected. In the following 
-winter the duke of Guise succeeded in surprising and taking 
Calais, deemed in that age an impregnable fortress (January 7, 
1558). Calais was surrounded with marshes which, during the 
winter, were impassable, except over a dyke guarded by two 
castles, St. Agatha and Newnham bridge. The English were of 
late accustomed, on account of the lowness of their finances, to 
dismiss a great part of the garrison at the end of autumn, and to 
recal them in the spring, at which time alone their attendance was 
judged to be necessary. It was this circumstance that insured the 
success of the French ; and thus the duke of Guise in eight days, 
during the depth of winter, made himself master of this strong for- 



290 



MARY. 



Chap. xvii. 



tress, that had cost Edward III. a siege of eleven months, at the 
head of a numerous army, The English had held it above 200 
years ; and, as it gave them an easy entrance into France, it was 
regarded as the most important possession belonging to the crown. 
Guisnes fell two weeks later (January 21), and thus the English 
lost their last hold on French soil. The people murmured loudly 
against the improvidence of the queen and her council ; who, after 
engaging in a fruitless war for the sake of foreign interests, had 
thus exposed the nation to so severe a disgrace. Philip had indeed 
offered his aid to recover it, and his proposal was strongly seconded 
by Mary in person, but the council pleaded inability to bear the 
expense. 

§ 8. The queen had long been in a declining state of health ; and, 
having mistaken her dropsy for a pregnancy, she had made use of 
an improper regimen, and her malady daily augmented. Appre- 
hensions of the danger to which the catholic religion stood exposed, 
dejection for the loss of Calais, concern for the ill state of her affairs, 
and, above all, anxiety for the absence of her husband, preyed upon 
her mind, and threw her into a lingering fever, of which she died, 
after a short and unfortunate reign of five years (November 17, 
1558). It is not necessary to employ many words in drawing 
the character of this princess. She was obstinate and bigoted: but, 
among many defects, it must be admitted that she was sincere in 
her religion, high-spirited, courageous, and resolute in danger. Not 
naturally cruel, she was soured by a sense of wrongs done to herself 
by her father and by the remembrance of her mother's sufferings. 
Extremely beautiful as a child, she had lost all traces of beauty 
when she arrived at womanhood. Like all the Tudors, she was 
highly accomplished; an excellent linguist; a finished musician, 
and skilled, like her mother, in all sorts of embroidery. 

Cardinal Pole died the same day as the queen. 

A passage to Archangel had been discovered by the English 
during the last reign, and a beneficial trade with Muscovy estab- 
lished. A solemn embassy was sent by the tsar to Mary, which 
seems to have been the first intercourse which that empire had 
with any of the western potentates of Europe.* 



* " She was a little, slim, delicate, sickly 
woman, with her hair already turning 
grey. . . On personal acquaintance she 
made the impression of goodness and 
mildness. But yet there was something 



in her eyes that could even rouse fear." 
— Ranke's Hist, of Eng. i. 208, E.T. He 
adds that Mary had a loud voice, and all 
her sympathies leaned to the land of hex 
mother. 




Queen Elizabeth. 

Ornament formed of bust of Queen Elizabeth, cut from a medal and enclosed in a 

border of goldsmith's work representing Lancaster, York, and Tudor roses. 

CHAPTEE XYIII. 

ELIZABETH. FROM HER ACCESSION TO THE DEATH OF MART QUEEN 

of scots.— b. 1533 ; r. a.d. 1558-1603. 

§ 1. Accession of the queen. Re-establishment of protestantism. §2. Peace 
with France. The Reformation in Scotland : supported by Elizabeth. 
§3. French affairs. Arrival of Mary in Scotland. Her administration. 
§ 4. Wise government of Elizabeth. Proposals of marriage. § 5; Civil 
wars of France. Elizabeth assists the Huguenots. §6. The Thirty-nine 
Articles. Scotch affairs. The queen of Scots marries Darnley. Hostility 
of Elizabeth. § 7. Murder of Rizzio. Murder of Darnley. Bothwell 
marries the queen of Scots. Battle of Carberry Hill. § 8. Mary confined 
in Lochleven castle. Murray regent. James VI. proclaimed. Mary's 
escape and flight to England. § 9. Proceedings of the English court. 
§ 10. Duke of Norfolk's conspiracy. Elizabeth excommunicated by the 
pope. § 11. Rise of the Puritans. Their proceedings in parliament. 
% 12. Foreign affairs. France and the Netherlands. § 13. .New 
conspiracy and execution of the duke of Norfolk. § 14. Massacre of 
St. Bartholomew. Civil war in France. Affairs of the Netherlands. 
§ 15. Elizabeth's prudent government. Naval enterprise of Drake 
§ 16. Negociations of marriage with the duke of Anjou. § 17. Con- 
spiracies in England. The High Commission court. Parry's conspiracy. 
§ 18. Affairs of the Low Countries. Hostilities with Spain. Battle 
of Zutphen and death of Sidney. § 19. Babington's conspiracy. § 20 
Trial and condemnation of the queen of Scots. § 21, Her execution. 
§ 22. Elizabeth's sorrow. Her apologies to James. 



292 ELIZABETH. Chap, xviii. 

§ 1. Elizabeth was at Hatfield when she heard of her sister's 
death ; and after a few days she went to London (November 24), 
through crowds of people, who strove with each other in giving her 
the strongest testimony of their affection. With a prudence and 
magnanimity truly laudable, she buried all offences in oblivion, 
and received with affability even those who had taken part against 
her. « 

Philip, who still hoped, by means of Elizabeth, to obtain domi- 
nion over England, immediately made her proposals of marriage, 
and offered to procure from Rome a dispensation for that purpose ; 
but Elizabeth saw that the nation had entertained an extreme 
aversion to the Spanish alliance during her sister's reign.' She 
was sensible that her affinity with Philip was exactly similar to 
that of her father with Katharine of Arragon ; and that her marry- 
ing that monarch was in effect declaring herself illegitimate, and 
incapable of succeeding to the throne. She therefore gave him an 
obliging though evasive answer ; and he still retained such hopes of 
success that he sent a messenger to Rome with orders to solicit the 
dispensation. 

Elizabeth, not to alarm the partisans of the catholic religion, 
retained many of her sister's counsellors ; but in order to balance 
their authority, she added others who were known to be inclined 
to the protestant communion, among whom were sir Nicholas Bacon, 
created lord keeper, and sir William Cecil, secretary of state. 
With these counsellors, particularly Cecil, she frequently deliberated 
on the expediency of restoring the protestant religion. She re- 
solved to proceed by gradual and secure 'teps, but at the same 
time to discover such symptoms of her intentions as might give 
encouragement to the protestants, so much depressed by the late 
violent persecutions. She allowed the exiles to return, and gave 
liberty to the prisoners who were confined on account of religion. 
But she published a proclamation forbidding all preaching, and 
confining all teaching to the epistle and gospel for the day and 
the Ten Commandments, without any exposition. 

As the primacy was vacant, and Heath objected to officiate at the 
coronation, Oglethorpe, bishop of Carlisle, was prevailed on to perform 
the ceremony (January 15, 1559). In the parliament, which met 
soon after, the validity of the queen's title was declared. A bill was 
passed for suppressing the monasteries lately erected, and for restor- 
ing the tenths and first-fruits to the queen ; and another for restoring 
to the crown the supremacy in ecclesiastical affairs.* In order to 
exercise this authority, the queen, by a clause of the act, was 
empowered to name such commissioners, either laymen or clergy- 

* Instead of Supreme Head, Elizabeth assumed the title of Supreme Governor. 



A.D. 1558-1559. PEACE WITH FRANCE. 293 

men, as she should think proper ; and on this clause was founded 
the court of High Commission.* Whoever refused to take the oath 
of supremacy was incapacitated from holding office, and whoever 
maintained the authority of any foreign potentate, by word or deed, 
forfeited, for the first offence, all his goods and chattels; for the 
second, was subjected to the penalty of a prcemunire ; but the third 
offence was declared treason. Lastly, an act was passed for establish- 
ing the second Prayer-book of Edward VI. (1552), with some altera- 
tions, and prohibiting any minister, whether beneficed or not, from 
using any other form, under pain for the first offence of forfeiting 
goods and chattels, for the second of a year's imprisonment, and for 
the third of imprisonment during life. Thus in one session, without 
any violence, tumult, or clamour, was the whole system of religion 
altered. The laws enacted with regard to religion met with little 
opposition from any quarter. The liturgy was again introduced in 
the vulgar tongue, and the oath of supremacy was tendered to the 
clergy. The bishops had taken, such an active part in the restora- 
tion of popery under Mary, that, with the exception of the bishop 
of Llandaff, they felt themselves bound to refuse the oath, and 
were accordingly degraded ; but of the inferior clergy through all 
England, amounting to nearly 10,000, only about 100 dignitaries 
and 89 parochial priests sacrificed their livings to their religious 
principles. The archbishopric of Canterbury, which was vacaut by 
the death of cardinal Pole, was conferred upon Parker. 

The two statutes above mentioned, usually called the Acts of 
Supremacy and Uniformity, were the great instruments for oppress- 
ing the catholics during this and many subsequent reigns. On 
the 10th of February the House of Commons made the queen 
an importunate but tespectful address that she should fix her choice 
of a husband.. After thanking them for this expression of their love 
for her, she told them that if ever she married it should be to the 
contentment of the realm ; but she preferred to live " out of the 
state of marriage." " This," she added, " shall be for me sufficient, 
that a marble stone shall declare that a queen, having reigned such 
a time, lived and died a virgin." 

§ 2. The negociations for a peace with France, in progress at 
the time of Mary's death, were concluded at Cateau Cambresis 
(April 12, 1559). By this treaty, Calais remained in the hands 
of the French monarch, who promised to restore it at the end of 
eight years — a stipulation, however, which was never intended or 
expected to be executed. A peace with Scotland was a neces- 
sary consequence of that with France. But notwithstanding this 

* The first body of commissioners was appointed in 1559, but the court was not 
formally established until 1583. 



294 ELIZABETH. Chap, xvm. 

peace there soon appeared a ground of quarrel of the most serious 
nature, and which was afterwards attended with the most im- 
portant consequences. The next heir to the English throne was 
Mary queen of Scots, now married to the dauphin; and the 
king of France, at the persuasion of the duke of Guise and his 
brothers, ordered his son and daughter-in-law to assume openly the 
arms as well as title of king and queen of England, and to quarter 
these arms on all their equipages, furniture, and liveries. When the 
English ambassador complained of this injury, he could obtain 
nothing but an evasive answer ; and Elizabeth plainly saw that the 
king of France intended, on the first opportunity, to dispute her 
legitimacy and her title to the crown. Alarmed at the danger, she 
determine<l, as far as possible, to incapacitate Henry from the exe- 
cution of his project. The sudden death of that monarch, who was 
killed in a tournament at Paris (1559), while celebrating the espousals 
of his daughter, Elizabeth, with Philip of Spain, altered not her 
views. Being informed that his successor Francis II., the husband 
of Mary, still continued to assume, without reserve, the title of king 
of England, she began to consider him and his queen as her mortal 
enemies ; and the present situation of affairs in Scotland afforded her 
a favourable opportunity both of revenging the injury and providing 
for her own safety. 

Since the murder of cardinal Beaton the Reformation had been 
proceeding with rapid steps in Scotland. Some of the leading 
reformers, observing the danger to which they were exposed, and 
desirous to propagate their principles, entered privately, in 1557, 
into a bond or association, and called themselves the Lords of the 
Congregation. The zeal and fury of this league was further stimu- 
lated by the arrival of John Knox from Geneva, where he had 
passed some years in exile, and had imbibed, from his commerce 
with Calvin, the sternness of his sect (May 2, 1559). Many acts 
of violence were committed upon the clergy, as well as upon the 
monasteries and churches, which produced a civil war. At length 
the leaders of the Congregation, encouraged by the intelligence 
received of the sudden death of Henry II., passed an act, on their 
own authority, depriving the queen-dowager of the regency, and 
ordering all the French troops to evacuate the kingdom. To put 
their edict into execution they collected forces, and solicited suc- 
cours from Elizabeth. The council of Elizabeth did not long: 
deliberate in agreeing to this request ; and though the Scotch 
presbyterians, and especially their leader Knox, were hateful to the 
queen, Cecil at length persuaded her to support, by arms and 
money, the Congregation in Scotland. She concluded a treaty of 
mutual defence with them, and she promised never to desist till 



a.d. 1559-1561. REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. 295 

the French had entirely evacuated Scotland. The appearance of 
Elizabeth's fleet in the Firth of Forth, in January, 1560, discon- 
certed the French army, who shut themselves up in Leith ; whilst 
the English army, reinforced by 5000 Scots, sat down before it. 
The French were obliged to capitulate ; and plenipotentiaries from 
France signed a treaty at Edinburgh with Cecil and Dr. Wotton, 
whom Elizabeth had sent thither for that purpose. It was there 
stipulated that the French should instantly evacuate Scotland, and 
that the king and queen of France and Scotland should thenceforth 
abstain from bearing the arms of England, or assuming the title of 
that kingdom (July 6, 1560). The subsequent measures of the 
Scottish reformers tended still more to cement their union with 
England. Being now entirely masters of the' kingdom, they made 
no further ceremony or scruple in fully effecting their purpose. 
Laws were passed abolishing the mass and the papal jurisdiction in 
Scotland. The presbyterian form of discipline was settled, leaving 
only at first some shadow of authority to certain ecclesiastics who 
were called superintendents. 

§ 3. Elizabeth soon found that the house of Guise, notwithstand- 
ing their former disappointments, had not laid aside the design of 
contesting her title and subverting her authority. But the progress 
of the Beformation in France, as well as the sudden death of Francis 
II., interrupted the prosperity of the duke of Guise (December 5, 
1560). Catherine de Medici, the queen-mother, was appointed 
regent to her son, Charles IX., now in his minority ; and the king 
of Navarre, who was favourable to the protestants, was named 
lieutenant-general of the kingdom. Catherine, who imputed to 
Mary all the mortifications which she had met with during Francis's 
lifetime, took care to retaliate ; and the queen of Scots, finding her 
abode in France disagreeable, resolved to return to Scotland, and 
landed at Leith, August 19, 1561. This change of abode and situa- 
tion was very little agreeable to that princess. It is said that after 
she had embarked at Calais she kept her eyes fixed on the coast of 
France, and never turned them from that beloved object till dark- 
ness fell and intercepted it from her view. She then ordered a couch 
to be spread for her in the open air ; and charged the pilot, that, if 
in the morning the land were still in sight, he should wake her, and 
afford her one parting view of that country on which all her affec- 
tions were centred. The weather proved calm, so that the ship made 
little way in the night-time ; and Mary had once more an oppor- 
tunity of seeing the French coast. She sat up on her couch, and, 
still looking towards the land, often repeated these words : " Fare- 
well, France, farewell ! I fear I shall never see thee more ! " The 
first aspect, however, of things in Scotland was more favourable, if 



296 ELIZABETH. Chap, xviii. 

not to her pleasure and happiness, at least to her repose and her 
security, than she had reason to apprehend. No sooner did the 
French galleys appear off Leith than people of all ranks, who had 
long expected their arrival, flocked to the shore impatient to behold 
their youthful sovereign. She had now reached her 19th year ; and 
the bloom of her youth and the beauty of her person were further 
recommended by her address, her manners, and her genius. The 
first measures of Mary confirmed the prepossessions entertained in 
her favour : she bestowed her confidence entirely on the leaders of 
the reformed party, who had greatest influence over the people, and 
who she found were alone able to support her government. But 
there was once circumstance which blasted all these promising 
appearances. She was still a papist ; and though she published, 
soon after her arrival, a proclamation enjoining every one to submit 
to the established religion, the preachers and their adherents could 
neither be reconciled to a person polluted with so great an abomina- 
tion, nor lay aside jealousies of her future conduct. On the Sunday 
of her arrival, while mass was said in her private chapel, the mob 
threatened to force the door. The clergy and the preachers in par- 
ticular took a pride iu vilifying her; even to her face. The ring- 
leader in these insults was John Knox, who possessed an uncontrolled 
authority in the church, and even in the civil affairs of the nation, 
and who triumphed in the contumelious usage of his sovereign. 
Mary, whose age, condition, and education invited her to liberty 
and cheerfulness, was curbed in all her amusements by the absurd 
severity of these reformers ; and she found every moment reason 
to regret leaving that country from whose manners she had in her 
early youth received the first impresssions. 

§ 4* Meanwhile Elizabeth employed herself in regulating the 
affairs of her own kingdom. She made some progress in paying 
the great debts which lay upon the crown : she regulated the coin, 
which had been much debased by her predecessors : she introduced 
into the kingdom the art of making gunpowder and brass cannon ; 
fortified her frontiers on the side of Scotland ; held frequent reviews 
of the militia ; promoted trade and navigation ; and so much in- 
creased the shipping of her kingdom, both by building vessels of 
force herself, and suggesting like undertakings to the merchants, 
that she was justly styled the Restorer of Naval Glory and the 
Queen of the Northern Seas. It is easy to imagine that so great a 
princess, who enjoyed such singular felicity and renown, would 
receive proposals of marriage from several foreign princes — as the 
archduke Charles, second son of the emperor ; Casimir, son of the 
elector palatine ; Eric, king of Sweden ; Adolphus, duke of Holstein ; 
and the earl of Arran, heir-presumptive to the crown of Scotland. 



a.d. 1561-1562. ASSISTS THE HUGUENOTS. 297 

Even some of hev own subjects, though they did not openly declare 
their pretensions, entertained hopes of success. Among the latter, 
the person most likely to succeed was a younger son of the late 
duke of Northumberland, lord Robert Dudley, who, by the graces of 
his person, joined to address and flattery, had become in a manner 
her declared favourite, and had great influence in all her councils. 
But the queen gave all these suitors a gentle refusal, which still 
encouraged their pursuit ; and she thought that she should the 
better attach them, to her interests if they were still allowed to 
entertain hopes of succeeding in their pretensions. 

§ 5. The progress of the Reformation in France threatened not 
only to involve that country in a civil war, but also to embroil other 
nations in the quarrel. The change produced in the political parties 
of that country by the death of Francis II. has been already men- 
tioned. The queen-regent had formed the project of governing both 
parties by playing one against the other ; for, though religion was 
the pretence, ambition and the love of power were the real motives 
of the leaders. But faction, further stimulated by religious zeal and 
hatred, soon grew too violent to be controlled. The constable, Mont- 
morency, joined himself to the duke of Guise : the king of Navarre 
embraced the same party : and Catherine, finding herself depressed 
by this combination, had recourse to Conde and the Huguenots,* as 
the French protestants were called, who gladly embraced the oppor- 
tunity of strengthening themselves by her countenance and protec- 
tion. Conde, Coligny, and the other protestant leaders, assembled 
their friends, and flew to arms : Guise and Montmorency got posses- 
sion of the king's person, and constrained the queen-regent to em- 
brace their party : armies were levied and put in motion in different 
parts of France : and each province, each city, each family, was 
agitated with intestine rage and animosity. The prince of Conde 
applied to Elizabeth for assistance, and offered to put Havre into the 
hands of the English (1562). This offer was accepted by Elizabeth. 
An English army took possession of the town, and rendered important 
service to the Huguenots. But the captivity of Conde and Mont- 
morency, who were soon afterwards taken prisoners in battle, and 
the assassination of the duke of Guise, made both parties anxious 
for peace ; and the Huguenots accordingly concluded a treaty with 
the queen-mother without consulting Elizabeth (March 19). The 
English queen, however, refused to surrender Havre, and she sent 
orders to the earl of Warwick, the commander of the town, to 
prepare himself against an attack from the now united power of the 
French monarchy. The plague, however, crept in among the Eng- 

* This word is a corruption of the German Eidgenossen, i.e. " bound together by 
oath." 



298 ELIZABETH. Chap, xviii. 

lish soldiers ; and, being increased by their fatigue and bad diet, it 
made such ravages that "Warwick found himself obliged to capitulate, 
and to content himself with the liberty of withdrawing his garrison 
(July 28). To increase the misfortune, the infected army brought 
the plague with them into England, where it swept off great mul- 
titudes, particularly in the city of London. About 20,000 persons 
there died of it in one year. Elizabeth was glad to accommodate 
matters ; and, as the queen-regent desired to obtain leisure, in order 
to prepare measures for the extermination of the Huguenots, a treaty 
of peace was concluded between the two countries (April 1, 1564). 
§ 6. In the convocation which assembled in 1563 the last hand 
was put to the Reformation in England, by the establishment of the 
Thirty-nine Articles in the form in which they now exist. But it 
was not until 1571 that the clergy were required to subscribe 
them, by act of parliament. The peace still continued with Scot- 
land ; and even a cordial friendship seemed to have been cemented 
between Elizabeth and Mary. These princesses made profession 
of the most entire affection, wrote amicable letters to each other, 
and adopted, in all appearance, the sentiments as well as style of 
sisters. But Mary's close connection with the house of Guise, and 
her refusal to ratify the treaty of Edinburgh, occasioned just and 
insurmountable jealousy to Elizabeth. She recommended Mary to 
espouse some English nobleman; and named lord Robert Dudley, 
now created earl of Leicester, as the person on whom she desired 
Mary's choice should fall. The earl of Leicester, the great and 
powerful favourite of Elizabeth, possessed all those qualities which 
are naturally alluring to the fair sex : a handsome person, a polite 
address, and insinuating behaviour. But he was insolent and am- 
bitious, without honour or generosity ; and atoned not for these 
bad qualities by such abilities or courage as could fit him for that 
high trust and confidence with which the queen honoured him. 
Her partiality had naturally emboldened him to aspire to her hand ; 
and, in order to make way for these nuptials, he was thought to 
have murdered his wife, the heiress of sir John Robsart.* The pro- 
posal of espousing Mary was by no means agreeable to him ; and he 
always ascribed it to the contrivance of Cecil, his enemy. After 
two years had been spent in evasions and artifices, Mary began to 
think it full time some marriage were concluded ; and lord Darn- 
ley, son of the earl of Lenox, was the person she selected for her 
consort. He was Mary's cousin-german, by the lady Margaret 



* Dudley's marriage with Amy Robsart 
took place in 1550, and, so far from being 
secret, it is mentioned in EdwaTd VI.'s 
diary. Dudley kept his wife in retire- 
uient at Curnnor Place, near Oxford, where 



she was found dead at the foot of a stair- 
case in 1560, three years before he was 
made earl of Leicester, and fifteen years 
before he entertained Elizabeth at Kenil- 
worth. 



a.d. 1562-1565. MARRIAGE OF QUEEN OF SCOTS. 299 

Douglas, niece to Henry VIIL, and was, after Mary, next heir to 
the crown of England.* He had been born and educated in Eng- 
land, where the earl of Lenox had constantly resided, since he had 
been banished by the prevailing power of the house of Hamilton. 
Alarmed at a union between the two, each of whom was thought by 
some to have a better claim to the throne than herself, Elizabeth 
used all her efforts to prevent this marriage. She ordered Darnley 
and Lenox immediately, upon their allegiance, to return to Eng- 
land. The countess of Lenox was rigorously confined in the Tower. 
But these measures proved fruitless. The marriage was celebrated 
on July 29, 1565. It gave great offence to the Scotch reformers, 
because the family of Lenox was believed to adhere to the catholic 
faith ; and, though Darnley went often to the protcstant church, 
he could not, by this ostensible compliance, gain the confidence and 
regard of the ecclesiastics. The earl of Murray, the half-brother of 
Mary, being an illegitimate son of James V , and other Scottish 
lords, being secretly encouraged by Elizabeth, had recourse to arms. 
But the nation was in no disposition for rebellion. As the king and 
queen advanced to Edinburgh at the head of their army, the rebels 
found themselves under a necessity of abandoning their country, and 
of taking shelter in England. When Elizabeth found the event 
so contrary to her expectations, she thought proper to disavow 
all connection with the Scottish malcontents ; and it was only by 
a sudden and violent incident, which, in the issue, brought on the 
ruin of Mary herself, that they were enabled to return to Scotland. 
§ 7. The marriage of the queen of Scots with Darnley was so 
natural and so inviting in all its circumstances, that it had been 
precipitately agreed to by that princess and her council. While Mary 
was allured by his youth and beauty, she had overlooked the 
qualities of his mind, which nowise corresponded to the excellence" 
of his person. She had loaded him with benefits and honours ; 
but, having leisure afterwards to remark his weakness and vices, she 
began to see the danger of her profuse liberality, and was resolved 
thenceforth to proceed with more reserve in the trust which she 
should confer upon him, and withheld from him the crown matri- 
monial. His resentment against this conduct served but the more 
to increase her disgust ; and the young prince, enraged at her 
imagined slights, pointed his vengeance against one whom he deemed 
to be the cause of this change in her measures and behaviour. 
There was in the court one David Rizzio, a Piedmontese, who had 
come into Scotland in the train of the Piedmontese ambassador, 
and had entered Mary's service as a musician. Being skilled in 
languages, he had become her secretary, and this office gave him 

* See the Genealogical Table of the House of Tudor at the end of the volume. 



300 ELIZABETH. Chap. xvhi. 

frequent opportunities of approaching her person and insinuating 
himself into her good graces. 

Eizzio thus drew upon himself the jealousy of Darnley ; and, as his 
interests were connected with the Roman catholics, he was the 
declared enemy of the banished lords. By promoting the violent 
persecutions against them, he had exposed himself to the animosity 
of their numerous friends and retainers. Morton, the chancellor, 
insinuating himself into Darnley's confidence, employed every art 
to inflame his discontent and jealousy ; and he persuaded Darnley 
thflt the only means of freeing himself from the indignities under 
which he laboured was to bring the base stranger to the fate he had 
so well merited. George Douglas, natural brother to the countess 
of Lenox, with the lords Ruthven and Lindesey, concurred in this 
advice. A messenger was despatched to the banished lords, who 
were hovering near the borders ; and they were invited by the king 
to return to their native country. The design, so atrocious in itself, 
was rendered still more so by the circumstances which attended its 
execution. Mary, who was in the sixth month of her pregnancy, 
was supping in private (March 9, 1566) with Rizzio and others of 
her servants. The king entered the room by a private passage, 
and sat down on the sofa occupied by Mary. Ruthven followed In 
complete armour. The queen, terrified by their appearance, de- 
manded the reason of this rude intrusion. Darnley told her that 
they intended no violence against her person, but meant only 
to bring that villain, pointing to Rizzio, to his deserved punish 
ment. Rizzio, aware of the danger, clung to Mary's robes, calling 
aloud to her for protection ; while she interposed in his behalf, 
with cries, menaces, and entreaties. Then Douglas and the other 
assassins, regardless of her efforts, rushed upon their prey. Seizing 
Henry's dagger, Douglas stuck it in the body of Rizzio, who, scream- 
ing with fear and agony, had been torn from Mary by the other con- 
spirators, and pushed into the ante-chamber, where he was despatched 
with fifty-six wounds, The unhappy princess, informed of his fate, 
immediately dried her tears, and said she would weep no more, but 
would now think of revenge. The insult to her person, the stain 
attempted to be fixed on her honour, the danger to which her life 
was exposed on account of her pregnancy, were injuries so atrocious 
and so complicated, that they scarcely left room for pardon, even 
from the greatest lenity and mercy. 

Mary shortly afterwards brought forth a son, afterwards James 
I. of England, in the castle of Edinburgh (June 19). This event 
caused the English parliament again to press Elizabeth for her 
marriage and settlement of the succession, at which she expressed 
her high displeasure, and eluded the application. It also gave addi- 



a.d. 1566-1567. MURDER OF DARNLEY. 301 

tional zeal to the English party which favoured Mary's claims 
The friends of the queen of Scots multiplied every day ; and most 
of the considerable men in England, except Cecil, seemed con- 
vinced of the necessity of declaring her the successor. But all 
these flattering prospects were blasted by subsequent events, when 
Mary's egregious indiscretions threw her from the height of her 
prosperity, and involved her in infamy and in ruin. 

James Hepburn, earl of Bothwell, a man of considerable family 
and power in Scotland, but of profligate manners, had of late ac- 
quired the favour and confidence of Mary. All her measures were 
directed by his advice and authority Beports were spread of more 
particular intimacies between them ; and these reports gained 
ground from the continuance, or rather increase, of her hatred 
towards her husband. Darnley was reduced to such a state of 
desperation by the neglects which he underwent from his queen 
and the courtiers, that he had once resolved to fly secretly into 
France or Spain, and had even provided a. vessel for that pur- 
pose. Suddenly, however, Mary seemed to be reconciled to him, 
on occasion of his dangerous illness (January, 1567). She lived 
in the palace of Holyrood House, but for the sake of purer air an 
apartment was assigned him in a solitary house at some distance, 
called the Kirk of Field. Mary here gave him many marks of 
kindness and attachment; she conversed cordially with him, and 
she lay some nights in a room below his ; but on the 9th of February 
she told him that she would pass that night in the palace, because 
the marriage of one of her servants was to be celebrated there in 
her presence. About two o'clock in the morning the whole town 
was much alarmed at hearing a great noise, and was still more 
astonished when it was discovered that the noise came from the 
king's house, which was blown up by gunpowder. Darnley's dead 
body was found at some distance in a neighbouring field. No 
marks, either of fire, contusion, or violence, appeared upon it. 

No doubt could be entertained that Darnley had been murdered ; 
and general conjecture soon pointed towards the earl of Bothwell 
as the author of the crime. But as his favour with Mary was 
visible, and his power great, no one ventured to declare openly his 
sentiments. Mary's subsequent conduct justified these suspicions. 
The earl of Lenox demanded speedy justice on his son's assassins. 
Mary took his demand very literally, assigned only 15 days for the 
examination of the matter, and cited Lenox to appear and prove 
his charge. But that nobleman was afraid to trust himself in 
Edinburgh ; and, as neither accuser nor witness appeared at the 
trial, Bothwell was acquitted (April 12). Tn the parliament which 
met two days after, he was the person chosen to carry the royal 
15 



302 ELIZABETH. Chap. xvih. 

sceptre; and no notice was taken of the king's murder. On its 
dissolution, several of the nobility signed a paper promising their 
support to Bothwell, in general terms (April 19). Shortly after- 
wards, Mary having gone to Stirling to pay a visit to her son, 
Bothwell assembled a body of 800 horse, on pretence of pursuing 
some robbers on the borders, and, having waylaid her on her 
return, he seized her person near Edinburgh and carried her to 
Dunbar, with an avowed design of forcing her to yield to his purpose 
(April 24). Sir James Melvill, one of her retinue, was carried along 
with her, and says that he saw no signs of reluctance or constraint : 
he was even informed, as he tells us, by BothweU's officers, that the 
whole transaction was managed in concert with her. Bothwell, 
who was married to Lady Jane Gordon, sister of the earl of Huntley, 
had been divorced from his wife, a short time before, on the plea 
of consanguinity. The suit was prosecuted at the same instant 
in two different or rather opposite courts — one popish, the other 
protestant ; was pleaded, examined, and decided in four days. A 
prisoner in BothweU's hands and surrounded by his audacious as- 
sociates, some say by compulsion, others of her own free will, Mary 
consented to marry her captor. The marriage was solemnized 
(May 15) by the chief minister of Orkney, a protestant, who was 
afterwards deposed for this scandalous compliance. 

The protestant ministers, who had great authority, had long borne 
an animosity to Mary, and the opinion of her guilt was, by her 
conduct, more widely diffused, and made the deeper impression on 
the people. Some attempts of Bothwell, with her consent, as it was 
suspected, to get the young prince into his power, excited serious 
attention. The principal nobility met at Stirling, and formed an 
association for protecting the prince and punishing the king's 
murderers. Having levied an army, they met the forces of the 
queen and Bothwell at Carberry Hill, about six miles from Edin- 
burgh (June 15). Mary soon became sensible that her own troops 
disapproved of her cause, and she saw no resource but that of 
putting herself, upon some general promises, into the hands of the 
confederates. She was conducted to Edinburgh, amidst the insults 
of the populace, who reproached her with her crimes, and even held 
before her eyes a banner, on which were painted the murder of her 
husband, and the distress of her infant son. Meanwhile Bothwell 
fled unattended to Dunbar; and eventually made his escape to 
Denmark, where he died (1578). 

§ 8. The queen of Scots was sent under a guard to the castle 
of Lochleven,- situated in the lake of that name. Touched with 
compassion towards the unfortunate queen, Elizabeth sent sir 
Nicholas Throgmorton ambassador to Scotland, in order to remon- 



a.d. 1567-1568. JAMES VI. PROCLAIMED. 303 

strate both with Mary and the associated lords. He was instructed 
to express to her Elizabeth's high dissatisfaction at her conduct, 
hut at the same time to declare that the late events had touched 
Elizabeth's heart with sympathy, and that she was determined not 
to see her oppressed by her rebellious subjects. At the same time 
he was to demand that the punishment of Darnley's assassins 
should be intrusted to Elizabeth, and that Mary's infant son should 
be sent into England to be educated. But the associated lords were 
determined to proceed with severity, and they thought proper, 
after several affected delays, to refuse the English ambassador all 
access to Mary. Some were even of opinion that the captive queen 
should be publicly tried and imprisoned for life, or capitally punished. 
Having selected the earl of Murray for regent, who possessed the 
confidence of the more zealous reformers, three instruments were 
sent to Mary, by one of which she was to resign the crown in favour 
of her son, by another to appoint Murray regent, by the third to 
make a council which should administer the government until his 
arrival in Scotland. The queen of Scots, seeing no prospect of relief, 
was prevailed on, after a plentiful effusion of tears, to sign these three 
instruments (July 24) ; and, in consequence of this forced resigna- 
tion, the young prince was proclaimed king by the name of 
James VI. He was soon after crowned at Stirling (July 29, 1567), 
and the earl of Morton took, in his name, the coronation oath ; in 
which a promise to extirpate heresy was not forgotten. The earl 
of Murray arrived soon after from France, and took possession of 
his high office. He paid a visit to the captive queen, in which he 
treated her with great harshness ; and the parliament which he 
assembled, after voting that she was undoubtedly an accomplice in 
her husband's murder, condemned her to imprisonment, ratified her 
resignation of the crown, and acknowledged her son for king, and 
Murray for regent. But many of the principal nobility, from various 
motives, and all who retained any propensity to the Roman catholic 
religion, formed a party in favour of the queen. Meanwhile Mary 
had induced a young gentleman, George Douglas, brother to the 
laird of Lochleven, to assist her in escaping. She contrived to slip 
through the gates and cross to the opposite shore (May 2, 1568). 
Escorted by Douglas, she hastened to Hamilton, where her adherents 
had already assembled ; and in a few days an army of 6000 men 
was ranged under her standard. The regent also assembled his 
forces ; and, notwithstanding that his army was inferior in number 
to that of the queen of Scots, he took the field against her. A battle 
was fought at Langside, near Glasgow (May 13), which was entirely 
decisive in favour of the regent, and was followed by a total dis- 
persion of the queen's party. That unhappy princess fled south- 



304- ELIZABETH. Chap, xviii. 

Avards from the field of battle with great precipitation, and at last 
embraced the resolution of taking shelter in England. She em- 
barked on board a fishing-boat in Galloway, and landed the same 
day at Workington, in Cumberland, about thirty miles from Carlisle 
(May 16) ; whence she immediately despatched a messenger to 
London, notifying her arrival, desiring leave to visit Elizabeth, and 
craving protection, in consequence of her former professions of 
friendship. 

§ 9. Elizabeth now found herself in a situation when it was 
become necessary to take some decisive resolution with regard to 
her treatment of tbe queen of Scots ; and upon the advice of Cecil 
it was determined that Mary should be detained in custody, and 
brought to trial for her husband's murder. A message was accord- 
ingly sent to her at Carlisle, expressing the queen's sympathy with 
her in her late misfortunes, but stating that her request of being 
allowed to visit Elizabeth could not be complied with, till she had 
cleared herself of her husband's murder, of which she was so strongly 
accused. So unexpected a check threw Mary into tears ; and the 
necessity of her situation extorted from her a declaration that she 
would willingly justify herself to her sister from all imputations, 
and would submit her cause to the arbitration of so good a friend. 
This concession, which ' Mary could scarcely avoid without an 
acknowledgment of guilt, was the point expected and desired by 
Elizabeth : she immediately despatched a message to the regent of 
Scotland, requiring him to desist from the further prosecution of 
Mary's party, and to send some persons to London to justify his 
conduct with regard to her. Murray might justly be startled at so 
violent and imperious a message ; but as his domestic enemies were 
numerous and powerful, and England was the sole ally which he 
could expect among foreign nations, he found it prudent to reply 
that he would willingly submit the determination of the cause to 
Elizabeth. 

As the queen of Scots had subsequently, as well as before, dis- 
covered great aversion to the trial proposed, and as Carlisle, by its 
situation on the borders, afforded her great opportunities of con- 
triving her escape, she was removed to Bolton, a seat of lord Scrope's 
in Yorkshire. The commissioners appointed by the English court 
for the examination of this great cause were the duke of Norfolk,* 
the earl of Sussex, and sir Ealph Sadler, who were met at York by 
several of Murray's partisans. It would be impossible within our 
limits to enter into the details of this important trial. After it had 
proceeded some time it was transferred to Hampton Court; and 
sir Nicholas Bacon, lord-keeper, the earls of Arundel and Leicester, 
* Son of the earl of Surrey executed by Henry VIII. 



a.d. 1568. PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THE QUEEN OP SCOTS. 305 

lord Clinton, admiral, and sir W. Cecil, secretary, were added to the 
English commissioners. The regent Murray, alarmed at first by 
reports of Elizabeth's partiality for the queen of Scots, had kept 
back the most grievous part of the accusation against her ; but, 
being encouraged by the assurances of Elizabeth, he at length accused 
her in plain terms of being an accomplice with Bothwell in the 
assassination of the king. The earl of Lenox too appeared before 
the commissioners, and, imploring vengeance, repeated Murray's 
charge. To this public and distinct accusation Mary's commis- 
sioners refused to reply ; and they grounded their silence on very 
extraordinary reasons. They had orders, they said, from their 
mistress, if anything were advanced that might touch her honour, 
not to make any defence, as she was a sovereign princess, and could 
not be subject to any tribunal ; and they required that she should 
previously be admitted to Elizabeth's presence, to whom, and to 
whom alone, she was determined to justify her innocence. Not 
satisfied with this reply, the English commissioners demanded from 
Murray more satisfactory proofs of Mary's guilt, and reproved 
him, in the queen's name, for the atrocious imputations which 
he had the temerity to throw upon his sovereign. Thus urged, 
Murray made no difficulty in producing the proofs; among the 
rest he sent copies of certain love-letters without signature or 
address, assumed to be written by Mary to Bothwell. These 
papers, known as the Casket Letters, were said to have been inter- 
cepted by Morton, and taken from a servant of Bothwell on his way 
to Dunbar (June 20, 1567). They contained incontestable proofs 
of Mary's criminal correspondence with Bothwell, of her consent 
to the king's murder, and of her concurrence in the violence which 
Bothwell pretended to commit upon her. Their authenticity was 
denied by Mary, and has been greatly disputed. It is certain that 
ihe professed originals were never produced before the English com- 
missioners — an omission (if such originals existed) which throws 
over the whole proceeding a great air of suspicion. As no satis- 
factory conclusion was arrived at, the conference removed to London. 
The conference lingered on, but with no better result. Elizabeth 
refused to admit the queen of Scots to her presence until she had 
received positive proof of her innocence. She condemned Mary's 
commissioners, who had been instructed to make no reply, urging 
that they could never be deemed her friends who advised her to this 
method of proceeding. The queen of Scots, as a sovereign, refused 
to justify herself before the subjects of another sovereign ; for that 
would be equivalent to the admission of a foreign jurisdiction over 
her, which all her predecessors had refused, and Elizabeth in her 
own case would have vehemently repudiated. She still insisted on 



306 ELIZABETH. Chap, xviii. 

a personal interview with Elizabeth, and as she refused all other 
concessions, orders were given for her removal from Bolton, a place 
surrounded with catholics, to Tutbury, in the county of Stafford, 
where she was put under the custody of the earl of Shrewsbury 
(1569). Elizabeth promised to bury everything in oblivion, pro- 
vided Mary would agree, either voluntarily to resign her crown, or 
to associate her son with her in the government ; the administration 
to remain, during his minority, in the hands of the earl of Murray. 
But that high-spirited princess refused all treaty upon such terms, 
and declared that her last words should be those of a queen of Scotland. 

§ 10. Soon after the trial of the queen of Scots, the ambition 
and imprudence of the duke of Norfolk engaged him in a scheme for 
marrying her, which is said to have been suggested to him by the 
regent. Mary expressed no aversion to the proposal ; but, as the 
opposition of Elizabeth was anticipated, Norfolk, previously to 
applying for her consent, gained the approbation of the most con- 
siderable of the nobility to his scheme. Even the earl of Leicester 
pretended to enter zealously into Norfolk's interests, and joined 
with other nobles in submitting a letter to Mary, recommending 
Norfolk for her husband, and stipulating conditions for the advan- 
tage of both kingdoms. Mary returned a favourable answer to this 
application, and Norfolk employed himself with new ardour in the 
execution of his project. And, though Elizabeth's consent was always 
supposed as a previous condition to the finishing of this alliance, it 
was apparently Norfolk's intention, when he proceeded to such 
lengths without consulting her, to render his party so strong that it 
should no longer be in her power to refuse. She was acquainted 
with the conspiracy through Leicester, and warned the duke to 
beware on what pillow he reposed his head ; but he never had the 
prudence or the courage to open to her his full intentions. 

Norfolk was a protestant ; but among the nobility and gentry 
who seemed to enter into his views there were many who were 
zealously attached to the catholic religion, and who would gladly, 
by a combination with foreign powers, or even at the expense of a 
civil war, have placed Mary on the throne of England. The earls 
of Northumberland and Westmorland, who possessed great power 
in the north, were leaders of this party, and, with other noblemen, 
formed a plan for liberating Mary (1569). Norfolk in appearance 
discouraged these conspiracies ; and, in order to repress the surmises 
spread against him, spoke contemptuously to Elizabeth of the Scot- 
tish alliance. But the suspicions of the government being awakened, 
he was committed to the Tower, and several other noblemen were 
taken into custody (October 11). The queen of Scots herself was 
removed to Coventry ; all access to her was, during some time, more 



A.D. 1569-1570. EXCOMMUNICATED BY THE POPE. 307 

strictly prohibited , and viscount Hereford was joined to the earls 
of Shrewsbury and Huntingdon in the office of guarding her. 

The earls of Northumberland and Westmorland now attempted 
a rising, which was put down without striking a blow ; and the 
leaders fled into Scotland (December, 1569). Great severity was 
exercised against such as had taken part in this rash enterprise. 
Norfolk, on his promise to the queen " to deal no further in the 
matter of the queen of Scots," was released from the Tower, and 
allowed to live, though under some show of confinement, in his 
own house, under the surveillance of sir Henry Neville (August 3, 
1570). 

Elizabeth soon found that she had reason to expect little tran- 
quillity so long as the Scottish queen remained a prisoner in her 
hands ; and she entered into a negociation with Murray respecting 
her liberation. It is probable that she would have been pleased, on 
any honourable or safe terms, to rid herself of a prisoner who gave 
her so much disquietude. But all these projects vanished by the 
sudden death of the regent, who was assassinated, in revenge of a 
private injury, by a gentleman of the name of Hamilton (January 
23, 1570). By the death of the regent, Scotland relapsed into 
anarchy. Mary's party assembled themselves together, and made 
themselves masters of Edinburgh ; but Elizabeth despatched an 
army into Scotland to check their progress. Her subsequent policy 
was full of duplicity. She played off one party against the other, 
and seemed sometimes to favour Mary, sometimes those who had 
set up the young king ; allowing them to choose his grandfather, 
Lenox, as regent. The queen of Scots could not but perceive 
Elizabeth's insincerity ; and, finding all her hopes eluded, was more 
strongly incited to make, at all hazards, every possible attempt for 
her liberty. An incident also happened about this time which 
tended to widen the breach between Mary and Elizabeth, and to 
increase the vigilance and jealousy of the latter. Pope Pius V., 
who had succeeded Paul, issued a bull of excommunication against 
Elizabeth, deprived her of her title to the crown, and absolved her 
subjects from their oaths of allegiance (April 27, 1570). John 
Felton affixed this bull to the gates of the bishop of London's palace 
(May 25). He was seized, and condemned (August 4), and received 
the crown of martyrdom, for which he seems to have entertained so 
violent an ambition. 

§ 11. It was at this period that the sect of the puritans, who were 
afterwards to play so great a part in the affairs of England, first 
began to make themselves considerable. It is computed that during 
the Marian persecutions 800 protestants sought an asylum in Ger- 
many and Switzerland. Among them were many who, like Hooper, 



308 ELIZABETH. Chap, xviii. 

had been desirous of carrying reforms in the church of England, 
especially in the matter of ceremonies and vestments, further than 
Cranmer had done ; and disputes upon these points broke out in 
1554 among the Marian exiles settled at Frankfort. The exiles 
carried their quarrels back with them into England after the accession 
of Elizabeth ; and these controversies excited sucb ferment among 
the people, that in some places they refused to frequent the churches 
where the habits and ceremonies were used. They would not 
salute the conforming clergy. They proceeded so far as to revile them 
in the streets, to spit in their faces, and to use them with all manner 
of contumely. But there was another set of opinions adopted by 
these innovators, which rendered them in a peculiar manner the 
object of Elizabeth's aversion. The same bold and daring spirit 
which accompanied them in their addresses to the Divinity, 
appeared in their political speculations ; and the principles of 
civil liberty, which, during some reigns, had been little avowed in 
the nation, and were totally incompatible with the royal preroga- 
tive, had been strongly adopted by this new sect. They denied 
the supremacy of the queen in matters of religion. Elizabeth 
neglected no opportunity of depressing these innovators; and, 
while they were secretly countenanced by some of her most 
favoured ministers, Cecil, Leicester, Knolles, Bedford, Walsing- 
ham, she was never, to the end of her life, reconciled to their 
principles and practices. 

§ 12. The affairs of religion were in that age not only the cause 
of internal seditions and rebellions in various states, but also played 
a great part in the foreign policy of kingdoms. The cause of the 
queen of Scots was identified with that of the Koman catholic party 
in Europe, and was secretly favoured by the courts of France and 
Spain and Elizabeth therefore could not regard with indifference 
the events that were passing in those countries. In France the 
wars of religion had already broken out, and the respective heads of 
the Koman catholic and Huguenot parties had fallen in the open 
field ; the constable Montmorency on the plains of St. Denis, the 
duke of Conde at the battle of Jarnac. But their places were 
supplied by leaders of equal zeal and ability. The young duke of 
Guise was destined to eclipse the fame of his father ; while, on the 
other side, the indomitable admiral Coligny had placed the young 
Conde and the prince of Navarre, then only 16, at the head of 
the Huguenots. To the latter party Elizabeth had secretly lent 
assistance ; but in 1570 the court of France concluded a short-lived 
and hollow peace with them. Charles IX. of France affected to enter 
into close connection with Elizabeth. Proposals were offered for her 
marriage with the king's brother, the duke of Anjou ; the terms of 



a.d. 1570. FOREIGN AFFAIRS. 309 

the contract were submitted, difficulties were started and removed, 
and the two courts seemed to approach every day nearer to each other 
in their demands and concessions. The queen had several motives 
for her conduct. Besides the advantage of discouraging Mary's 
partisans by the prospect of an alliance between France and Eng- 
land, her situation with Philip demanded the utmost vigilance and 
circumspection. It was to Philip that Mary and her partisans were 
now driven to look for assistance, and the violence of his proceedings 
in the Low Countries made Elizabeth desirous of fortifying herself 
even with the appearance of a new confederacy. 

Philip had left the duchess of Parma governess in this portion of 
his dominions ; and the plain good sense and good temper of that 
princess, had she been intrusted with the sole power, would have 
preserved the submission of those opulent provinces, which were 
lost from that refinement of suspicious and barbarous politics on 
which the king of Spain so highly valued himself. The cruelties 
exercised in the name of religion, and the establishment of the 
Inquisition, had excited a disposition to revolt ; and Philip deter- 
mined to lay hold of the popular disorders as a pretence for entirely 
abolishing the privileges of the Low Countries, and for ruling 
them thenceforth with military and arbitrary authority. In the 
execution of this violent design he employed the duke of Alva, a 
proper instrument in the hands of such a tyrant (1567). All the 
privileges of the provinces, the gift of so many princes, and the in- 
heritance of so many ages, were openly and expressly abolished by 
edict ; arbitrary and sanguinary tribunals were erected ; the counts 
Egmont and Horn, in spite of their great merits and past services, 
were brought to the scaffold ; multitudes of all ranks were thrown 
into confinement, and thence delivered over to the executioner; and, 
notwithstanding the peaceable submission of all men, nothing was 
heard of but confiscation, imprisonment, exile, torture, «,nd death. 
Elizabeth gave protection to all the Flemish exiles who took 
shelter in her dominions ; and, as many of these were the most 
industrious inhabitants of the Netherlands, and had rendered that 
country celebrated for its arts, she reaped the advantage of intro- 
ducing into England useful manufactures formerly unknown in 
her kingdom. She also seized some Genoese vessels which were 
carrying a large sum of money to Alva, and which had been obliged 
to take refuge in Plymouth and Southampton. These measures 
led to retaliations ; but nothing could repair the loss which so 
well-timed a blow inflicted on the Spanish government in the Low 
Countries. 

•§ 13. Alva resolved to revenge the insult by exciting a rebellion 
in England, and by procuring the marriage of the duke of Norfolk 
15* 



310 ELIZABETH. Chap, xviii. 

with the queen of Scots. Norfolk, finding that he had lost the 
confidence and favour of Elizabeth, was tempted to violate his 
word, and to open anew his correspondence with Mary. A promise 
of marriage was renewed between them. Through the scheming of 
one Ridolphi, an Italian money-changer, the duke was drawn into 
an enterprise still more criminal. Ridolphi undertook, in his behalf, 
that if the Spaniards landed in England, the duke should join them 
with all his friends, and oblige the queen to submit to whatever 
terms he and his friends should please to dictate. The conspiracy, 
however, was discovered by means of a merchant, who, being in- 
trusted with a bag of gold and a letter for transmission to Scotland, 
became suspicious, and carried the letter to Cecil (now lord Bur- 
leigh). Of three of the duke's agents who were arrested, one was 
put to the torture ; the others confessed the whole truth at once. 
The duke was brought to trial, and was condemned of treason by 
27 of his peers (January 16, 1572). The queen long hesitated to 
sign his death-warrant, but at last, at the urgent entreaty of the 
commons, he was executed (June 2, 1572). The earl of Northum- 
berland, being delivered up to the queen by the regent of Scotland, 
was also, a few months after, brought to the scaffold for his re- 
bellion (August 22). 

The queen of Scots was either the occasion or the cause of all 
these disturbances ; but as she was a sovereign princess, Elizabeth 
durst not, as yet, take any resolution of proceeding to extremities 
against her. In parliament the advisableness of severe measures 
against Mary and the duke of Norfolk — for he was not then exe- 
cuted — was canvassed with no little earnestness. On the 28th of 
May, Elizabeth was attended by the committees of both houses, 
urging that it was not only consistent with justice, but with the 
queen's honour and safety, " to proceed criminally against the pre- 
tended Scottish queen." But Elizabeth, satisfied with this indi- 
cation of the zeal of her subjects, thought good for the time to 
defer, but not absolutely to reject, the course thus proposed to her. 

§ 14. Shortly afterwards there was perpetrated at Paris (August 
24, 1572) that inhuman slaughter of the protestants which, from 
the day of its execution, has been called the Massacre of St. Bar 
tholomew. The admiral Coligny, together with about 500 noble- 
men and gentlemen, and nearly 10,000 persons of inferior rank, 
were butchered on this occasion. Charles, in order to cover this 
barbarity, pretended that a conspiracy of the Huguenots to seize his 
person had been suddenly detected, and that he had been neces- 
sitated, for his own defence, to proceed to this severity against 
them. He sent orders to Fenelon, his ambassador in England, to 
ask an audience, and to give Elizabeth this account of the late 



a:d. 1572-1574. 



CIVIL WAR IN FRANCE. 



311 



transaction. The queen heard his apology without discovering any- 
visible symptoms of indignation. She blamed the conduct of 
Charles, but, being sensible of the dangerous situation in which she 
now stood, she did not think it prudent to reject all intercourse 
with him. She therefore allowed the rumour to be renewed 
of her marriage with the duke of Alecon, Charles's third brother : 




Medal of Pope Gregory XIII. commemorating the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. 
Obv. : geegorivs . xin . pont . max . an . i : bust to left. Rev. : vgonottorvm . 
steages . 1572: an angel slaying the Huguenots. 

that with the duke of Anjon, never seriously intended on either 
side, had already been broken off. But her best security lay 
in the strength of the Huguenots themselves. The sect which 
Charles had hoped at one blow to exterminate had soon an army 
of 18,000 men on foot, and possessed in different parts of France 
above 100 cities, castles, or fortresses. By the death of Charles 
(May 30, 1574) without issue, at the age of 25, the crown 
devolved on his brother, the duke of Anjou, now Henry III. ; 
but his counsels were directed by the duke of Guise and his family. 
Henry was desirous of increasing his power by acting as umpire 
between the two parties. Guise, however, having formed the 
famous League, which, without paying any regard to the royal 
authority, aimed at the entire suppression of the Huguenots, the 
king was forced to declare himself the head of it. Elizabeth 
secretly supported the Huguenots ; but it was some years before 
any important transactions took place between her and France. 

The affairs of the Netherlands were in as disturbed a state as 
those of France. In 1572 the provinces of Holland and Zealand 
revolted from the Spaniards and the tyranny of Alva. William, 
prince of Orange, who had been declared a rebel, and whose ample 
possessions in the Low Countries had been confiscated, emerged from 
his retreat in Germany to put himself at the head of the insurgents. 
By uniting the revolted cities in a league, he laid the foundation of 
that illustrious commonwealth, the offspring of industry and liberty, 



312 ELIZABETH. Chap, xvtii. 

-whose arms and policy long made so signal a figure in every trans- 
action of Europe. The Hollanders, anxious to secure the assistance 
of Elizabeth, offered her the possession and sovereignty of their 
provinces, if she would exert her power in their defence. But as an 
open war with the Spanish monarchy was the apparent consequence 
of her- accepting this offer, she refused, in positive terms, the 
sovereignty thus proffered her. At present she confined her efforts 
in their favour to an attempt at a mediation with Philip (1575). 
But a few years afterwards (1585), Elizabeth, seeing from the union 
of all the provinces a fair prospect of their making a long and 
vigorous defence against Spain, no longer scrupled to embrace the 
protection of their liberties. She concluded a treaty with them, 
in which she stipulated to assist them with 5000 foot and 1000 
horse, and to lend them 100,000Z., on receiving the bonds of the 
most considerable towns of the Netherlands, for repayment within 
the year. 

§ 15. During these years, while Europe was almost everywhere 
in great commotion, England enjoyed profound tranquillity — owing 
chiefly to the prudence and vigour of the queen's administration, 
and to the wise precautions which she employed in all her measures. 
By means of her rigid economy she paid all the debts due from the 
crown, with full interest, though some of these debts had been con- 
tracted during the reign of her father. Loans exacted by her at the 
commencement of her reign were repaid — a practice in that age 
somewhat unusual. During this peaceable and uniform government 
England furnishes few materials for history ; and, except the small 
part which Elizabeth took in foreign transactions, there scarcely 
passed any occurrence which requires a particular detail. 

Though Philip had not yet come to an open rupture with the 
queen, he grew every day more exasperated against her, both by 
the injuries which he committed and those he suffered. With 
the connivance, if not the aid, of the Spaniards, a body of troops 
landed in Ireland, for the purpose of fomenting a rebellion (1580). 
When the English ambassador complained of this invasion, he was 
answered by like complaints of the piracies committed by Erancis 
Drake, a bold seaman, who had assaulted the Spaniards in the New 
World, where they deemed themselves most secure. Drake, with 
the queen's consent and approbation, had set sail from Plymouth 
in December, 1577, with four ships and a pinnace, on board of which 
were 164 able sailors. He passed into the South Sea by the Straits 
of Magellan, and, attacking the Spaniards, who expected no enemy 
in those quarters, he took many rich prizes, and prepared to return 
with the booty which he had acquired. Apprehensive of being 
intercepted by the enemy if he took the same way homewards by 



A.D. 1575—1580. NEGOCIATIONS OF MARRIAGE. 313 

which he had reached the Pacific Ocean, he attempted to find a 
passage by the north of California ; and failing in that enterprise, he 
set sail for the East Indies, and returned safely by the Cape of Good 
Hope (1580). He was the first Englishman who sailed round the 
globe, and the first commander-in-chief: for Magellan, while accom- 
plishing the same feat, died on the passage. His name became 
celebrated for so bold and fortunate an attempt ; but many, appre- 
hending the resentment of the Spaniards, endeavoured to persuade 
the queen that it would be more prudent to disavow the enterprise, 
to punish Drake, and to restore the treasure — a proceeding more 
strictly just than popular, for England at that time was at peace 
with Spain. Elizabeth, who admired valour, determined to coun- 
tenance the gallant sailor: she conferred on him the honour of 
knighthood, and accepted of a banquet from him at Deptford, on 
board the ship which had achieved so memorable a voyage. 

§ 16. The duke of Alengon, now created duke of Anjou, had 
never entirely dropped his pretensions to Elizabeth; and that 
princess, though her suitor was nearly 25 years younger than her- 
self, and had no knowledge of her person but by pictures or 
descriptions, affected to be pleased with his attentions. Encouraged 
by the accounts sent him of the queen's prepossessions in his 
favour, the duke paid her secretly a visit at Greenwich ; and after 
some conference with her, the purport of which is not known, he 
departed (1579). Though his figure was not advantageous, he 
had lost no ground by becoming personally known to her. Soon 
after she commanded her miuisters to draw up the terms of a 
contract of marriage, which was to be celebrated six weeks after 
the ratification of the articles. But, though Elizabeth had pro- 
ceeded thus far, she betrayed a constant vacillation of purpose. 
She was well aware how much, in her sister's case, a foreign marriage 
had been distasteful to the nation. A union with a Eoman catholic 
was looked upon with the greatest alarm by her protestant subjects ; 
and seemed to lend currency to the disaffected puritans, who 
charged the queen with being a catholic in her heart already. She 
had resolved never to marry ; and this resolution was strengthened 
in her by experience of the unhappy consequences attending such 
connections in her own family. But she could not afford to offend 
the duke or alienate Prance at this conjuncture. Spain was for- 
midable ; Scotland was uncertain ; Ireland was prepared for 
rebellion. Seminary priests and Jesuits were everywhere dis- 
seminating treason and disaffection throughout her dominions. 
Her vacillation was not the result of her love — a passion she pro- 
bably never experienced — but of her policy ; and one great object 
of that policy was to prevent a closer union with France and 



314 ELIZABETH. Chap, xviii. 

Spain. Meanwhile the duke continued to press his suit. In the 
midst of the pomp which attended the anniversary of her accession 
(November 17, 1581), she was seen, after long and intimate dis- 
course with him, to take a ring from her finger aud place it on his. 
The spectators concluded that in this ceremony she had given him 
a promise of marriage, and was even desirous of signifying her in- 
tentions to all the world. In 1582 the States of the Netherlands 
chose the duke for their governor ; and, having been successful in 
raising the siege of Cambray, he put his army into winter quarters, 
and came over to England, in order to prosecute his suit. Elizabeth 
still hesitated; she was observed to pass several nights without 
sleep or repose. This struggle in her breast is attributed by some 
to the difficulties of her position ; by others, less probably, to a 
tenderer passion. At last her settled habits of prudence and am- 
bition prevailed. She sent for the duke, and had a long conference 
with him in private. He left her in disgust, threw away the ring 
which she had given him, cursing the mutability of women and 
of the English in particular * (1 582). 

§ 17. As several conspiracies, real and imaginary, in which the 
Jesuits were active, had excited the suspicion of the government, 
and were imputed to the intrigues of the queen of Scots, an 
association was set on foot by the earl of Leicester and others to 
defend Elizabeth, to revenge her death or any injury committed 
against her, and to exclude from the throne all claimants, by whose 
suggestion, or in whose behalf, any violence should be offered to 
her majesty. The proposal was received with acclamation. Sen- 
sible that this association was levelled against herself, Mary, to 
remove all suspicion, desired to subscribe it ; but her offer was 
declined. Elizabeth, that she might the more discourage malcon- 
tents by showing them the concurrence of the nation in her favour, 
summoned a new parliament, and she met with that dutiful attach- 
ment which she expected (November 23, 1584). The association 
was confirmed by parliament, and a clause was added, by which 
the queen was empowered to name 24 commissioners to make in- 
quisition after all such "as should invade the kingdom, raise 
rebellion, attempt to hurt or destroy the queen's person, by whom- 
soever employed, that might lay claim to the crown of England. 
And that the person for whom or by whom they should attempt the 
same should be utterly incapable of any title to the crown, and 
be prosecuted to death by all faithful subjects." A severe law 
was also passed, that all Jesuits and popish priests should depart 
the kingdom within 40 days. The exercise of the catholic religion, 
which had formerly been prohibited under lighter penalties, and 

* But he wisely picked it up again, 



A,D. 1581-1584. COURT OF HIGH COMMISSION. 315 

which was in many instances connived at, was totally suppressed. 
In 1568 a popish seminary for refugee priests had been established 
at Douay by doctor Allen, under the auspices of Philip. Priests 
continually passed from this and other colleges into England, to 
keep alive tbe expiring faith, and sometimes to excite sedition. 
Thus Parsons and Campion, two Jesuits, had made themselves 
busy in England in 1581, by carrying out the sentence of excom- 
munication launched by Pius V. against the queen arid all who 
adhered to her. 

But the most material subject agitated in this session was the 
ecclesiastical court of High Commission, and the oath ex officio] as it 
was called, exacted by that court. This is a subject of such im- 
portance as to merit some explanation. The first primate after the 
queen's accession was Parker, who, in consequence of the dis- 
affection to the church of England exhibited by the exiles from 
Frankfort, had grown more rigid in exacting conformity. He died 
in 1575, and was succeeded by Grindal, who, as he himself was in- 
clined to the new sect, was with great difficulty brought to execute 
the laws against them, or to punish the cl°rgy for nonconformity. 
He declined obeying the queen's orders for the suppression of pro- 
phesyings, or the assemblies of the zealots in private houses ; and 
for this offence she had, by an order of the Star-chamber, sequestered 
him from his archie piscopal function, and confined him to his own 
house. Upon his death, in 1583, she determined not to fall again 
into the same error ; and she named Whitgift, a zealous church- 
man, who had already signalized his pen in controversy with the 
puritans. At his advice the queen issued a new commission more 
arbitrary than any of the former, and conveying more unlimited 
authority. She appointed 44 commissioners, 12 of whom were 
bishops: three commissioners made a quorum ; and the jurisdiction 
of the court extended over the whole kingdom, and over all orders of 
men, but was particularly directed against the clergy. The com- 
missioners were empowered to visit and reform all errors, heresies, 
schisms; they were directed to make inquiry, not only by the legal 
methods of juries and witnesses, but by all other means and ways 
they could devise. Where they found reason for suspicion, they 
might administer an oath called ex officio, by which the accused 
was bound to answer all questions, and might thereby be obliged 
to betray himself or his most intimate friend. Censure and de- 
privation were their usual punishments. Sometimes they resorted 
to fine and imprisonment. Their proceedings were regarded with 
great jealousy by the courts at Westminster, and often led to 
serious collisions. In a speech from the throne at the end of the 
session, the queen reproved the commons for touching upon this 



316 ELIZABETH. Chap, xviii. ' 

grievance in their petition. But she, so far from yielding to the 
displeasure of the parliament, granted, hefore the end of her reign, 
a new commission, in which she enlarged, rather than restrained, 
the powers of the commissioners. 

The act against Jesuits and seminary priests was violently 
opposed hy doctor William Parry, member for Queenborough, who 
was consequently placed under arrest by the commons, but at the 
interposition of the queen was set at liberty. He had acted as a 
spy and informer on the continent for the English government, 
and had entrapped English priests and others into treasonable 
discussions against the queen, with the purpose of betraying them. 
Having obtained permission to travel, he retired to Milan, where, 
according to his own confession, he was persuaded by a Jesuit that 
he could not perform a more meritorious action than to take away the 
life of his sovereign and benefactress ; and his design, having been 
communicated to the pope through cardinal Como, received the 
approbation of the holy father.* On his return to England Parry 
communicated his intention to Neville, his associate and a catholic, 
by whom it was betrayed to the ministers, and he was condemned 
and executed as a traitor (1585). (Supplement, Note II.) 

§ 18. These bloody projects now appeared everywhere. In the 
year 1584 Baltazar Gerard, a Burgundian, undertook and executed 
a similar design against William the Silent, prince of Orange ; and 
that great man perished at Delft, by the hands of an assassin. The 
States of the Netherlands now renewed their offer to Elizabeth, of 
acknowledging her for their sovereign, on condition of obtaining 
her protection and assistance. Elizabeth declined this proposal ; but 
being determined not to permit, without opposition, the total sub- 
jection of the revolted provinces, she accepted the protectorate, and 
agreed to send over an army to their assistance (1585). The earl 
of Leicester was sent over to Holland, at the head of the English 
auxiliary forces. Elizabeth, finding that an open breach with 
Philip was unavoidable, resolved not to leave him unmolested in 
America. A fleet of 20 sail was equipped to attack the Spaniards 
in the West Indies, of which sir Francis Drake was appointed 
admiral. They made several conquests; and, sailing along the 
coast of Virginia, they found the small remains of a colony which 
had been planted there two years before by sir Walter Raleigh. , 
This was the first attempt of the English to form such settlements ; 
and though they have since surpassed all European nations, both 
in the situation of their colonies, and in the noble principles of 
liberty and industry on which they are founded, they had here 

* Such was the interpretation put upon I correctness ; and there is nothing in the 
ihe cardinal's letter. But Parry denied its | letter explicitly approving such a design. 



a.d. 1584-1586. BATTLE OF ZUTPHEN. 317 

been so unsuccessful, that the miserable planters abandoned their 
settlements, and prevailed on Drake to carry them with him 
to England. He returned with so much riches as encouraged 
volunteers, and with such accounts of the Spanish weakness in those 
countries as served to inflame the spirits of the nation to future 
enterprises. 

Leicester's operations were much less successful than those of 
Drake. He possessed neither the courage nor capacity required for 
the trust reposed in him. Instead of remaining in his post, as 
commander merely of the English forces, to which the queen had 
appointed him, the estates of the Netherlands conferred upon him 
supreme command and absolute authority, under the title of 
his Excellency, to Elizabeth's great displeasure. He gained indeed 
advantages at first, but failed in an attempt which he made upon 
Zutphen. In a skirmish under the walls of this town, his nephew, 
sir Philip Sidney, was mortally wounded, and soon after died 
(October 7, 1586). This person is described by the writers of 
that age as the most perfect model of an accomplished gentleman 
that could be formed even by the wanton imagination of poetry or 
fiction. Virtuous conduct, polite conversation, heroic valour, and 
love of learning, all concurred to render him the ornament and 
delight of the English court; and, as the credit which he possessed 
with the queen and the earl of Leicester was wholly employed in 
the encouragement of genius and literature, his praises have been 
transmitted with advantage to posterity. After this last action, 
while he was lying on the field mangled with wounds, a bottle of 
water was brought him to relieve his thirst ; but, observing a 
soldier near him in a like miserable condition, he said, " This 
man's necessity is still greater than mine : " and resigned the water 
to him. 

§ 19. Some priests of the English seminary at Rheims had 
wrought themselves up to a high pitch of zeal and animosity 
against the queen. The assassination of heretical sovereigns, and 
of Elizabeth in particular, was represented as the most meritorious 
of all enterprises ; and they were taught that whosoever perished in 
such an attempt enjoyed, without dispute, the glorious and never- 
fading crown of martyrdom. By such doctrines, John Savage, a 
man of desperate courage, who had served some years in the Low 
Countries, was induced to attempt the life of Elizabeth ; and this 
assassin, having made a vow to prosecute his design, was sent over 
to England, and recommended to the confidence of the more zealous 
catholics. About the same time John Ballard, a priest of that 
seminary, when on a mission in England and Scotland, had observed 
a spirit of mutiny and rebellion to be very prevalent among the 



318 ELIZABETH. Chap, xviit. 

Koman catholic devotees in these countries, and had founded on that 
disposition the project of dethroning Elizabeth, and of restoring, 
by force of arms, the exercise of the ancient religion. Mendoza, 
the Spanish ambassador at Paris, encouraged Ballard to hope for 
succours. He accordingly returned to England in the disguise of 
a soldier, and assumed the name of captain Fortescue ; and he bent 
his endeavours to effect at once the project of an assassination, an 
insurrection, and an invasion (1586). With this view he addressed 
himself to Anthony Babington, a young gentleman of good family and 
fortune, who had discovered an excellent capacity, and was accom- 
plished in literature beyond most of his years or station. Babington 
had before been engaged with one Morgan in a secret correspondence 
with the queen of Scots ; but after she was placed under the custody 
of sir Amyas Poulet, and reduced to a more rigorous confinement, 
he had desisted from every attempt of that nature. When Ballard 
began to open his intentions to Babington, he found his zeal sus- 
pended, not extinguished : his former ardour revived on the mention 
of any enterprise which seemed to promise success in the cause of 
Mary and of the catholic religion. Ballard proceeded to discover to 
him the design undertaken by Savage, and was well pleased to 
observe that, instead of being shocked with the project, Babington 
only thought it not secure enough when entrusted to one single 
hand, and proposed to join five others with Savage in this desperate 
enterprise. In prosecution of these views, Babington employed 
himself in increasing the number of his associates, as he aimed at 
the deliverance of the queen of Scots at the very same instant when 
Elizabeth should be assassinated ; and he secretly drew into the 
conspiracy many catholic gentlemen discontented with the present 
government (September, 1586). 

These desperate projects had not escaped the vigilance of Eliza- 
beth's council, particularly of Walsingham, secretary of state, who 
by means of his spies had got a hint of the designs entertained by the 
fugitives. He was not sorry to hear of a plot, which might involve 
the destruction of Mary, and get rid of a sovereign whose succession 
to the crown would prove fatal to himself and his associates. To 
control the measures of the conspirators he employed one Gifford, a 
seminary priest, who professed his approval of their intentions in order 
to betray them. Gifford communicated with a brewer who supplied 
Poulet's family with ale, and bribed him to convey letters to the 
captive queen. The letters were placed in a box concealed in a 
beer-barrel, and answers were returned by the same conveyance. 
Ballard and Babington, deceived by Gifford's professions of fidelity, 
laid aside all further scruple, and conveyed to Mary by his hands 
the particulars of the whole conspiracy. According to their indict- 



a.d. 1586. TRIAL OF THE QUEEN OF SCOTS. 319 

merit, which must not, however, be implicitly trusted, Mary replied 
that she approved highly of the design ; that the gentlemen might 
expect all the rewards which it should ever be in her power to 
confer ; and that the death of Elizabeth was a necessary circum- 
stance, before any attempts were made, either for her own deliver- 
ance or an insurrection. These and other letters were carried by 
Clifford to Phillipps, secretary to Walsingham, and copies taken of 
them. At length Ballard was seized; and Babington, observing 
that he was watched, made his escape, and gave the alarm to the 
other conspirators. They all took to flight, covered themselves 
with several disguises, and lay concealed in St. John's wood and 
other places, but were soon discovered and thrown into prison. In 
their examinations they contradicted each other, and the leaders 
were obliged to make a full confession of the truth. Fourteen 
were condemned and executed, of whom seveu pleaded guilty on 
their trial ; the rest were convicted by evidence (September 20, 21). 
§ 20. The lesser conspirators being despatched, measures were 
taken, after much deliberation, for the trial and conviction of the 
queen of Scots. She was conducted to Fotheringay castle, in the 
county of Northampton, which it was determined to make the last 
stage of her trial and sufferings. Her two secretaries, Nau, a 
Frenchman, and Curie, a Scot, were immediately arrested: her 
papers were sent up to the council, among which were found many 
letters from persons beyond sea, and several also from English noble- 
men, containing expressions of respect and attachment. It was 
resolved to try Mary, not by the common statute of treasons, but by 
the act which had passed two years before with a view to this very 
event ; and the queen, in the terms of that act, appointed a com- 
mission, consisting of 47 noblemen and privy councillors, and em- 
powered them to examine and pass sentence on Mary, whom sho 
denominated the late queen of Scots and heir to James V. of 
Scotland. Mary at first refused to answer, pleading her royaL 
dignity ; but the commissioners would not admit her objection. At 
length, by a well-timed speech of sir Christopher Hatton, the vice- 
chamberlain, she was persuaded to answer before the court, though, 
on her first appearance before the commissioners, she renewed her 
protestation against the authority of her judges. She admitted 
negociating with foreign powers to obtain her liberty, but earnestly 
disclaimed any intention on the life of Elizabeth. This article, 
indeed, was the most heavy, and the only one that could fully 
justify the queen in proceeding to extremities against her. In order 
to prove the accusation, the crown lawyers produced the following 
evidence : copies taken in secretary Walsingham's office of the in- 
tercepted letters between her and Babington, in which her appro- 



320 ELIZABETH. Chap, xviii. 

bation of the murder was clearly expressed ; * the evidence of her 
two secretaries, Nau and Curie; the confession of Babington that 
he had written the letters and received the answers ; and the con- 
fession of Ballard and Savage that Babiogton had showed them 
these letters of Mary written in the cipher which had been settled 
between them. In reply she charged Walsingham with forging the 
letters (which he denied), and desired to be confronted with Nau, 
one of her secretaries, whom she accused of treachery. But her 
request was refused (October 15). Ten days after, the commis- 
sioners re-assembled in the Star-chamber, and pronounced her guilty 
of death. It was declared " that Babington's conspiracy was with 
Mary's privity " — that she had compassed divers matters, tending 
to the hurt, death, and destruction of the queen. That she was 
privy to Babington's conspiracy is admitted by all ; but whether 
Babington contemplated more than the liberation of Mary, or if 
he did, whether Mary herself was cognizant of those intentions or 
any such treasonable design as was imputed to her, has been greatly 
disputed. The inferior agents in all these conspiracies were so 
utterly false, worthless, and unscrupulous, that no reliance can be 
put on their most solemn asseverations. 

Parliament met four days after Mary's condemnation (October 
29). Elizabeth was not present; she probably anticipated their 
intentions. The great business was opened by sir Christopher 
Hatton, who, after insisting with great emphasis on " the execrable 
treacheries and conspiracies " of the queen of Scots, concluded his 
speech with demanding her execution : Ne pereat Israel pereat 
Absalon. It is needless to state that the debate was unanimous, 
every orator enlarging on the horrors of popery, its wicked and 
detestable treacheries, of which Mary "was a principal branch." 
Both houses joined in petition to the queen that sentence should be 
executed, insisting that there was no other possible means of pro- 
viding for the queen's safety ; and that the neglect of it would 
"procure the heavy displeasure and punishment of Almighty God, 
as appeared by sundry examples in Holy Scripture." But Elizabeth 
was more wise and considerate than her parliaments. She fore- 
saw the invidious colours in which this example of extraordinary 
jurisdiction would be represented by the numerous partisans of 
Mary, and the reproach to which she herself might be exposed 
with all foreign princes, perhaps with all posterity. She gave an 
embarrassed and ambiguous answer ; and begged of them to think 
once again, whether it were not possible to find some other ex- 

* It has been urged that these copies I capable, without Walsingham's privacy, 
were manipulated by Walsingham's None of the letters were in Mary's own 
agents — a crime of which they were fully | hand. 



a.d. 1586. JAMES REMONSTRATES WITH ELIZABETH. 321 

pedient for securing the public tranquillity, besides the death of 
the queen of Scots. Parliament declared it could find no other. 
The queen then published the sentence by proclamation. This 
act was attended with the unanimous and hearty rejoicings of the 
people, "ringing of bells," and "making of bonfires" (Decem- 
ber 6). When the sentence was notified to her, Mary was nowise 
dismayed at the intelligence ; and, as she was told that her death 
was demanded by the protestants for the establishment of their 
faith, she insisted that she was a martyr for her religion. In her 
last letter to Elizabeth, which was full of dignity, without depart- 
ing from that spirit of meekness and of charity which appeared 
suitable to this concluding scene of her unfortunate life, she pre- 
ferred no petition for averting the fatal sentence ; on the contrarv, 
she expressed her gratitude to Heaven for thus bringing to a speedy 
period her sad and lamentable pilgrimage. She merely desired to 
be buried in France, and made some requests in favour of her 
servants. The king of France sent an ambassador to intercede for 
her. The object of his mission was regarded by the people with 
the greatest possible aversion. It was even proposed in the com- 
mons that he should not be allowed access to her majesty's person. 
The interposition of the young king of Scots, though not able 
to change Elizabeth's determination, seemed, on every account, to 
merit more regard. As soon as James heard of the trial and con- 
demnation of his mother, he sent sir William Keith, a gentleman 
of his bed-chamber, to London, and wrote a letter to the queen, in 
which he remonstrated, in very severe terms, against the indignity 
of the procedure. Soon after, James sent the Master of Gray 
and sir Eobert Melvil to enforce the remonstrances of Keith, and 
to employ with the queen every expedient of argument and menaces. 
Elizabeth, however, still retained her resolution of executing the 
sentence against Mary ; and it is believed that the Master of Gray, 
gained by the enemies of that princess, secretly gave his advice 
not to spare her, and undertook, in all events, to pacify his master. 
§ 21. Christmas had passed, the New Year had come, yet Mary 
still remained at Fotheringay expecting her execution. All sorts of 
rumours were dispersed respecting invasions from France, Spain, 
and Scotland, and of attempts and projects against the queen's life. 
Popular preachers in the London pulpits excited the apprehensions 
and passions of their audience by violent harangues against the 
unfortunate queen and the religion of which she was supposed to 
be the chief maintainer in England. But Elizabeth continued 
undecided. She could not be ignorant that the whole nation 
passionately desired Mary's death, and regarded it as the triumph 
of protestantism. She was observed to sit silent, pensive, and alone ; 



322 ELIZABETH. Chap, xviii. 

to mutter to herself half sentences importing the difficulty and 
distress to which she was reduced. At length she signed the 
warrant for Mary's execution (February 1), and entrusted it to 
secretary Davison. But next day she enjoined him to delay ; and 
when Davison told her that the warrant had already passed the 
great seal, she seemed to be somewhat moved, and blamed him for 
his precipitation. But the council persuaded him to send off the 
warrant, and promised to justify his conduct, and to take on them- 
selves the whole blame of this measure. The warrant was accord- 
ingly despatched to the earls of Shrewsbury and Kent, and some 
others, ordering them to see the sentence executed upon the queen 
of Scots. 

The two earls came to Fotheringay castle (February 7), and, 
being introduced to Mary, informed her. of their commission, and 
desired her to prepare for death next morning at eight o'clock. She 
seemed nowise terrified, though somewhat surprised, with the 
intelligence. She said, with a cheerful and even a smiling counte- 
nance, that she did not think the queen, her sister, would have 
consented to her death, or have executed the sentence against a 
person not subject to the laws and jurisdiction of England. " But 
as such is her will," said she, " death, which puts an end to all my 
miseries, shall be to me most welcome ; nor can I esteem that soul 
worthy the felicities of heaven which cannot support the body under 
the horrors of the last passage to those blissful mansions." When 
the earls had left her, she ordered supper to be hastened, that she 
might have the more leisure after it to finish the few affairs which 
remained to her in this world, and to prepare for her passage to 
another. She supped sparingly, as her manner usually was, and 
her wonted cheerfulness did not even desert her on this occasion. 
She comforted her servants under the affliction which overwhelmed 
them, as it was too violent for them to conceal it from her. Towards 
morning she arose and dressed herself in a rich habit of silk and 
velvet,* the only one which she had reserved to herself. Before she 
passed into the hall, where the scaffold was erected covered with 
black, she took an affecting leave of her old servant, sir Andrew Melvil. 
With an undismayed countenance she looked round on the execu- 
tioners and all the preparations of death. The warrant for her 
execution was then read to her ; she heard it attentively, but showed 
in her behaviour an indifference and unconcern as if the business 
had nowise regarded her. Before the executioners performed their 
office, the dean of Peterborough stepped forth; and, though the 

* It waB usual for noble criminals to I in Mary's case, was red or crimson, for 
appear at their execution in their best very obvious reasons, 
dress— of which the vest, or cotillon, as | 



a.d. 1587. EXECUTION OF THE QUEEN OF SCOTS. 323 

queen frequently told him that he needed not concern himself 
about her, that she was settled in the ancient catholic and Eoman 
religion, and that she meant to lay down her life in defence of that 
faith, he still thought it his duty to persist in his lectures and 
exhortations. She now began, with the aid of her two women, to 
disrobe herself; and the executioner also lent his hand to assist 
them. She smiled, and said that she was not accustomed to undress 
herself before so large a company, nor to be served by such grooms. 
Her servants, seeing her in this condition ready to lay her head 
upon the block, burst into tears and lamentations. She turned 
about to them, put her finger upon her lips as a sign of imposing 
silence upon them, and, having kissed them and signed her male 
attendants with the sign of the cross, she desired them to pray for her. 
Jane Kennedy, one of her maids, whom she had appointed for that 
purpose, covered her eyes with a linen handkerchief. Then, laying 
herself down at the block without any sign of fear or trepidation, 
as she repeated the words, " In Thee, Lord, do I put my trust ; 
let me never be confounded," her head was severed from her body 
at two strokes by the executioner. He instantly held it up to the 
spectators, streaming with blood and agitated with the convulsions 
of death. Fletcher, dean of Peterborough, alone exclaimed, " So 
let queen Elizabeth's enemies perish!" The earl of Kent alone 
replied, " Amen ! " The attention of all the other spectators was 
fixed on the melancholy scene before them, and zeal and flattery 
alike gave place to present pity and admiration of the expiring 
princess (February 8, 1587). 

Thus perished, in the 45th year of her age and 19th of her cap- 
tivity in England, Mary queen of Scots, a woman of great accom- 
plishments both of body and mind, natural as well as acquired, but 
unfortunate in her life, and during one period very unhappy in her 
conduct. It is difficult to form a just idea of her character — to 
determine how much of what was condemnatory is to be ascribed 
to human frailty, how much to imperious circumstances. "We 
princes," remarked queen Elizabeth, "are set as it were upon 
stages, in the sight and view of all the world ; the least spot is soon 
spied in our garments, the smallest blemish presently observed in 
us at a great distance." As men fix their exclusive attention or 
not on such blemishes they are apt to determine their judgment. 
The estimate of Mary's character by the contemporary historian 
Camden is, on the whole, both considerate and candid. " She was a 
lady," he says, " fixed and constant in her religion, of singular piety 
towards God, invincible magnanimity of mind, wisdom above her 
sex, and admirable beauty. By Murray, her base brother, and others 
of her ungrateful and ambitious subjects, she was much tossed and 



324 ELIZABETH. Chap. xvm. 

disquieted, deposed from her throne, and driven into England. By 
some Englishmen who were careful for preserving their religion and 
providing -for the queen's safety, she was, as indifferent (impartial) 
censurers have thought, circumvented ; and by others that were 
desirous to restore the Romish religion, thrust forward to dangerous 
undertakings, and overborne by the testimonies of her secretaries, 
who seemed to have been bribed and corrupted with money." 

§ 22. When the queen was informed of Mary's execution, she 
expressed the utmost surprise and indignation. She shed tears and 
put on mourning. She protested that Davison had betrayed her. 
When her sorrow was abated, she wrote a letter of apology to the 
king of Scots, committed Davison to prison, and ordered him to 
be tried in the Star-chamber. He was condemned to imprisonment 
during the queen's pleasure, and to pay a fine of 10,C00Z. Here he 
remained four years, and was never restored to favour. James 
discovered the highest resentment, and refused to admit Elizabeth's 
envoy into his presence. He recalled his ambassadors from Eng- 
land, and seemed to breathe nothing but war and vengeance. The 
states of Scotland, being assembled, took part in his anger; and 
professed that they were ready to spend their lives and fortunes in 
revenge of his mother's death, and in defence of his title to the 
crown of England. But the judicious representations made to him 
by Walsingham, joined to the peaceable, unambitious temper of 
the young prince, prevailed over his resentment •, and he fell 
gradually into a good correspondence with the court of England. 




Dutch medal on the overthrow of the Armada. Obv. : flavit . HI IT 1 ET • dissipati ■ 
svnt . 1588 : the Armada advancing in order. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

ELIZABETH — CONTINUED. FROM THE EXECUTION OP THE QUEEN 
OF SCOTS TO THE DEATH OF ELIZABETH. A.D. 1587-1603. 

§ 1. Preparations of Philip for an invasion of England. The Invincible 
Armada. § 2. Defeat of the Spanish Armada. § 3. Expedition against 
Portugal. § 4. French affairs. Elizabeth assists Henry IV. Naval 
enterprises against Spain. § 5. Elizabeth's proceedings with her parlia- 
ment. § 6. Affairs of France. Raleigh's expedition to Guiana. § 7. 
Expeditions to Cadiz and Ferrol. The earl of Essex. Death of Burleigh, 
and of Philip II. § 8. Affairs of Ireland. Tyrone's rebellion. Essex 
lord-lieutenant of Ireland. Disgrace of Essex. § 9. His insurrection. 
His trial and execution. § 10. Death and character of Elizabeth. § 11. 
General reflections ou the period of the Tudors. Power of the crown 
under that dynasty. § 12. The constitution intact in theory. Bene- 
volences. Monopolies. § 13. Relations of the crown and commons. 
14. Administration of justice. §15. Consequences of the Reformation. 
Court of High Commission. § 16. General state of the nation. 

§ 1. While Elizabeth insured tranquillity from the attempts of her 
nearest neighbour, she was not negligent of more distant dangers. 
She knew that Philip, eager for revenge and zealous to exterminate 
heresy, had formed, with the sanction and co-operation of the pope 
and of the Guises in France, the ambitious project of subduing 
England, and was secretly preparing a great navy for that purpose. 
Accordingly she sent sir Francis Drake with a fleet, soon after 
Mary's death (April, 1587), to pillage the Spanish coast and destroy 
16 



326 



ELIZABETH. 



Chap. xix. 




Reverse of medal on preceding page . allidoe . non . l^idor . the Church on a rock 
in the midst of a stormy sea. 

the shipping. He had already, in 1585, taken St. Domingo and 
Carthagena, and ravaged the West Indies, inflicting serious damage. 
Drake burned more than 100 ships off Cadiz, and destroyed a vast 
quantity of stores which had been collected for the invasion of 
England. Meanwhile Philip continued his preparations with the 
greatest energy ; every part of his vast empire resounded with the 
noise of armaments ; and all his ministers, generals, and admirals 
were employed in forwarding the design. Vessels of uncommon size 
and force were built ; immense armies were assembled ; nor were any 
doubts entertained but such vast preparations, conducted by officers 
of consummate skill, must finally be successful. Already the 
Spaniards, ostentatious of their power, and elated with vain hopes, 
had denominated their navy the Invincible Armada. Elizabeth 
meantime made preparations for resistance ; nor was she dismayed 
with that power by which all Europe apprehended she must of 
necessity be overwhelmed. Her force indeed seemed very unequal 
to resist so potent an enemy. All the sailors in England amounted 
at that time to about 15,000 men. The size of the English shipping 
was in general so small, that, except a few of the queen's ships of 
war, there were not four vessels belonging to the merchants which 
exceeded 400 tons. The queen's navy consisted of only 34 sail, 
many of which were of small size ; none of them exceeded the 
bulk of our modern frigates, and most of them deserved rather the 
name of pinnaces than of ships. The only advantage of the English 
fleet consisted in the dexterity and courage of the seamen, and 
their knowledge of the seas. All the commercial towns of England 



A.D. 1587-1588. THE ARMADA. 327 

were required to furnish ships for reinforcing this small navy, 
which amounted at most to 140 sail. To show their zeal in the 
common cause, the citizens of London, instead of 15 vessels which 
they were commanded to equip, voluntarily fitted out double that 
number. The gentry and nobility hired, armed, and manned 43 
ships at their own charge ; and all the loans of money which the 
queen demanded were frankly granted. L^rd Howard of Effingham, 
a man of courage and capacity, was admiral-in-chief; Drake, 
Hawkins, and Frobisher, the most renowned seamen in Europe, 
served under him. On land three large armies were assembled ; but 
the men were raised in haste, and such levies were much inferior to 
the Spaniards in discipline and reputation. The queen did every- 
thing in her power to animate her soldiers and excite the martial 
spirit of the nation. On one occasion she appeared on horseback in 
the camp that was formed at Tilbury ; and, riding through the lines, 
discovered a cheerful and animated countenance. " I am come 
amongst you," she said, " not for my recreation and sport, but re- 
solved, in the heat of the battle, to live or die amongst you ; to lay 
down my crown and my blood, even in the dust, for my God and 
my people. I know that I have but the body of a weak and feeble 
woman, but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England.*' 
§ 2. The sailing of the Spanish Armada was delayed by the death 
of the admiral and vice-admiral ; and Philip ap| ointed the duke of 
Medina Sidonia to the command, a nobleman of great family, but 
entirely unacquainted with the sea. The Armada at last set sail 
from Lisbon (June, 1588) ; but, being dispersed by a storm, was 
obliged to put into the Groyne (Corunna) to refit. When this was 
accomplished, the Spaniards with fresh hopes set out again to sea, 
in prosecution of their enterprise. The fleet consisted of 130 vessels 
of war. Nearly 100 of these were galleons, of greater size than any 
ever before used in Europe. It was manned by 11,000 seamen and 
galley slaves, carried 3000 pieces of cannon, and had on board 22,000 
troops officered by the best families in Spain, and many priests and 
friars to lend the enthusiasm and sanction of religion to the enter- 
prise. It was Philip's intention that the Armada should sail to 
Dunkirk, take on board the veteran Spanish troops in the Nether- 
lands under the command of the duke of Parma, and, having landed 
them, make sail to the Thames in three different divisions. But these 
plans were disarranged by the storm ; and in consequence the duke 
of Guise withdrew the troops he had collected in Normandy, and 
Parma relaxed in his preparations. A report was spread that the 
design was abandoned; but on the 19th of July the Spaniards 
were descried off the Lizard; and Effingham had just time to get 
out of Plymouth, when he saw the Armada coming full sail towards 



328 ELIZABETH. Chap.xix. 

him, disposed in the form of a crescent, and stretching the distance 
of seven miles from the extremity of one division to that of the 
other. In spite of contrary winds, he continued to hang on their 
rear as they drew up the Channel. But, though his numbers had 
been augmented by perpetual reinforcements until his fleet amounted 
to 140 sail, he did not deem it prudent to come to close quarters 
with the Spaniards, the size and number of whose vessels, and their 
large body of soldiers, would be a disadvantage to the English. He 
resolved, therefore, to wait the opportunity which winds, currents, 
or various accidents might afford him of intercepting any scattered 
vessels of the enemy. Nor was it long be lore the event answered 
expectation. A great ship of Biscay, on board of which was a con- 
siderable part of the Spanish money, was blown up or took fire by 
accident ; and while all hands were employed in extinguishing the 
flames, she fell behind the rest of the Armada. The great galleon 
of Andalusia was detained by the springing of her mast; and both 
these vessels were taken, after some resistance, by sir Francis Drake. 
As the Armada advanced up the Channel, the English hung upon 
its rear, and still infesti d it with skirmishes ; whilst,- the alarm 
having now reached the coast of England, the nobility and gentry 
hastened out with their vessels from every harbour, and reinforced 
the admiral. The Armada cast anchor before Calais, in expectation 
that the duke of Parma, who had received intelligence of their 
approach, would put to sea and join their forces (July 27). The 
English admiral practised here a successful stratagem. On the 
night of July 28 he converted eight of his more worthless vessels 
into fire-ships, and let them drive in the direction of the enemy. 
Before they had suffered any injury the Spaniards were seized with 
consternation ; they immediately cut their cables, and took to 
flight with the greatest disorder and precipitation. The English 
fell upon them next morning while in confusion ; and, besides 
doing great damage to other ships, they took or destroyed about 
12 of the enemy (July 29). 

The great body of them steered for Gravelines and Dunkirk, but 
the duke of Parma positively refused to leave the harbour ; and the 
Spanish admiral, finding that in many rencounters, while he lost so 
considerable a part of his own navy, he had destroyed only one 
small vessel of the English, prepared to return homewards. As the 
wind was contrary to his passage through the Channel, he resolved 
to sail northwards, and, making the tour of the island, reach the 
Spanish harbours by the ocean. The English fleet followed him as 
far as the Orkneys ; and had not their ammunition fallen short, by 
the negligence of the officers in supplying them, they had obliged 
the whole Armada to surrender at discretion. A violent tempest 



a.d. 1588-1589. EXPEDITION INTO PORTUGAL. 329 

overtook the Armada after it passed the Orkneys, and many of the 
ships were miserably wrecked. Not half of the navy returned to 
Spain ; the seamen as well as soldiers who remained were so overcome 
with hardships and fatigue, so dispirited by their discomfiture, that 
they filled all Spain with accounts of the desperate valour of the 
English, and of the tempestuous violence of that ocean which sur- 
rounds them. Such was the miserable and dishonourable conclu- 
sion of an enterprise which had been preparing for three years, had 
exhausted the revenue and force of Spain, and had long filled alL 
Europe with anxiety or expectation. Great rejoicings followed in 
England. Elizabeth attended a solemn thanksgiving at St. Paul's, 
Spanish banners waved from the churches, and the pulpits of the 
land rung with praises for this great national deliverance. The 
two medals struck on the occasion, of which fac-similes are exhibited 
in these pages, expressed in modest and appropriate language 
Elizabeth's sense of ms glorious achievement, the greatest un- 
doubtedly in the annals of England, and rightly attributed the main 
success of it to the elements that fought against the Spaniards. 
Something also was due to the more rapid movements of the Eng- 
lish ships, which were more wisely handled, and took up their posi- 
tion without gunshot range of the huge floating batteries ; something 
also to ignorance on the part of the Spaniards, of the shoals and 
sand-banks in the Channel. If there ever was a greater victory, 
never was one celebrated with less indecent exultation, and less 
boastfulness. 

§ 3. Till now Spanish troops and the Spanish navy had with 
reason been considered the most formidable and irresistible in the 
world ; and both now, to the astonishment of the world, had been 
discomfited by the single strength of England, in wealth, territory, 
military power and resources immeasurably inferior to its formid- 
able antagonist. The spirit of the nation was excited in proportion. 
It was seized with a passionate enthusiasm for enterprises against 
Spain ; and a design was formed in the following year (1589) to 
concpier the kingdom of Portugal for Don Antonio, an illegitimate 
scion of the royal family of that country. Sir Francis Drake and 
sir John Norris were the leaders in this romantic enterprise, which 
was afterwards joined by the earl of Essex ; but the queen only 
allowed six of her ships of war to attend the expedition. The English 
gained several advantages over the Spaniards, took and burned Vigo, 
and even got possession of the suburbs of Lisbon ; but, their am- 
munition and provisions being exhausted, and the army wasted by 
fatigue and intemperance, it was found necessary to make all possible 
haste to return. It is computed that 1100 gentlemen embarked on 
board the fleet, and that only 350 survived the multiplied disasters 



330 ELIZABETH. Chap. xix. 

ro which they had been exposed through fatigue, famine, sickness, 
and the sword. 

§ 4. Meanwhile a revolution was in progress in France, which 
finally engaged Elizabeth to take a part in the affairs of that coun- 
try. Henry III., to disembarrass himself of the tyranny of the 
league, had caused its leaders, the duke of Guise and his brother the 
cardinal, to be assassinated (December, 1588) ; and, having entered 
into a confederacy with the Huguenots and the king of Navarre, 
was himself murdered by Jaques Clement, a Dominican friar 
(August 2, 1589). The king of Navarre, next heir to the crown, 
assumed the government by the title of Henry IV. ; but the league, 
governed by the duke of Mayenne, brother to Guise, gathered new 
force, and the king of Spain entertained views either of dismember- 
ing the French monarchy or of annexing the whole to his own 
dominions. In his necessity Henry addressed himself to Elizabeth, 
who made him a present of 22,000Z., and sent him a reinforcement 
of 4000 men under lord Willoughby. In 1591 she sent over, at 
two different times, a large body of men to the assistance of Henry, 
with the view of expelling the leaguers from Normandy. Kobert, earl 
of Essex, was appointed general of these forces — a young nobleman 
who, by his many accomplishments, his birth, youth, and daring, 
was daily advancing in favour with Elizabeth, and seemed to occupy 
that place in her affections which Leicester, now deceased, had so 
long enjoyed (September 4, 1588). During these operations in 
France, Elizabeth employed her naval power against Philip, and 
endeavoured to intercept his West Indian treasures, the source oi 
that greatness which rendered him formidable to all his neighbours. 
This war did great damage to Spain, but it was attended with con- 
siderable expense to England. 

§ 5. Elizabeth therefore summoned a parliament in order to obtain 
a supply of money (1593). An extraordinary grant was made 
of three subsidies, six fifteenths and tenths, greatly to the dislike 
of sir Edward Coke, chosen speaker on this occasion, who observes 
that in former times the commons never gave more than one sub- 
sidy, usually amounting to 70,000?., and two fifteenths, each 
amounting to 3O,OO0Z. The clerical subsidy was computed at 
20,000?. On this occasion sir Francis Bacon and sir Eobert Cecil 
took very prominent and opposite parts. 

But for all this the queen betrayed no inclination of relaxing her 
authority. During the session she sent Peter Wentworth to the 
Tower for petitioning the lords to join with the commons in sup- 
plicating her to settle the succession. Sir Henry Bromley, who 
had attended with him, was committed to the Fleet, together with 
Stevens and Welsh, two members who had been concerned iu draw- 



a.d. 1588-1594. FRENCH AFFAIRS. 331 

ing the petition. Morrice, chancellor of the duchy, and attorney 
of the court of wards, having made a motion for redressiug the 
abuses in the bishops' courts, but, above all, of the High Commis- 
sion, was committed to the custody of sir John Fortescue, chancellor 
of the exchequer, discharged from his office, incapacitated from 
any practice hi his profession as a common lawyer, and kept some 
years prisoner in Tutbury castle. The queen expressly forbad 
the commons to exhibit any " bills touching matters of state or 
reformation in causes ecclesiastical." In this session an act was 
passed against the puritans, who had given great offence to the 
queen in a scandalous controversy called the Martin Mar-Prelate 
tracts, in which they had attacked the bishops with great virulence, 
and had not scrupled to rail against the rule of a woman. It for- 
bad any meetings or conventicles, under pretence of religion, on 
pain of imprisonment and abjuration of the realm in the event 
of continued nonconformity. With even-handed justice, an equal 
measure of severity was dealt out to popish recusants. They were 
to confine, themselves within five miles of their homes, to pay a 
monthly fine of 201. for non-attendance at church, or abjure the 
realm. 

§ 6. Meanwhile Henry IV., moved by the necessity of his affairs, 
had resolved to renounce the protestant religion, and was solemnly 
received by the French prelates of his party into the bosom of the 
church (July 25, 1593). Elizabeth was extremely displeased with 
this abjuration of Henry ; and she wrote him an angry letter. 
Sensible, however, that the league and the king of Spain were still 
their common enemies, she hearkened to his apologies, continued her 
succours both of men and money, and formed a new treaty, in which 
they mutually stipulated never to make peace but by common agree- 
ment. She assisted Henry in finally breaking the force of the league, 
which, after the conversion of that monarch, went daily to decay, 
and was threatened with speedy ruin and dissolution. The English 
forces rendered Henry considerable assistance till he made peace with 
Spain in 1598. 

Among the designs against the life of Elizabeth at this time 
(1594), the most notorious was the attempt of her physician, Roger 
Lopez, a Portuguese Jew, who had been captured in one of the ships 
of the Armada. As early as 1590 he had entered into a secret 
correspondence with the Spanish minister to poison the queen for 
50,000 crowns. Whether he really intended to execute this in- 
famous design, or, like many others engaged in similar enterprises, 
had no other object than that of extorting money, is uncertain. 
He and his associates were executed with no little barbarity at 
Tyburn, and their quarters set on the gates of the city (June 7). 



332 ELIZABETH. Chap. xix. 

But these attempts only served to redouble the severity and the 
vigilance of the government against the catholics. Lopez's attempt 
was followed by that of Squyer in 1598. 

This was the age of naval enterprises, and several were undertaken 
about this time by sir John Hawkins and his son Richard Hawkins, 
sir Francis Drake, and others. In 1595 sir Walter Raleigh, who 
had been disgraced for an intrigue with a maid of honour, no 
sooner recovered his liberty than he was pushed by his active and 
enterprising genius to attempt some great action. It was imagined 
that in the inland parts of South America, called Guiana, a country 
as yet undiscovered, there were mines and treasures far exceeding 
any which Cortez or Pizarro had met with. Raleigh, whose turn of 
mind was somewhat romantic and extravagant, undertook, at his 
own charge, the discovery of this wonderful country. Having taken 
the small town of St. Joseph, in the isle of Trinidad, where he found 
no riches, he left his ship and sailed up the river Orinoco, but 
without meeting anything to answer his expectations. 

§ 7. In 1596 the English attempted the Spanish dominions in 
Europe, where they heard Philip was making great preparations for 
a new invasion of England. A powerful fleet was equipped at 
Plymouth, in which near 7000 soldiers were embarked. The land 
forces were commanded by the earl of Essex ; the navy by Howard, 
lord Effingham, high admiral. The fleet set sail on the 1st of 
June, and bent its course to Cadiz, which was taken and plundered, 
chiefly through the impetuous valour of Essex. The admiral was 
afterwards created earl of Nottingham, and his promotion gave 
great disgust to Essex. In the preamble of the patent it was said 
that the new dignity was conferred on him on account of his good 
services in taking Cadiz, a merit which Essex claimed solely for 
himself. Next year the queen, having received intelligence that the 
Spaniards were preparing a squadron in order to make a descent 
upon Ireland, equipped a large fleet, in which she embarked about 
6000 troops, and appointed the earl of Essex commander-in-chief 
both of the land and sea forces. The design was to attack Ferrol and 
the Groyne, where the Spanish expedition was preparing ; but the 
English fleet having been dispersed and shattered by a storm, 
Essex confined his enterprise to an ill-advised attempt of inter- 
cepting the Indian fleet; but the Spaniards contrived to reach 
Terceira. Three of their 6hips only were taken, but these were 
rich enough to repay the charges of the expedition. 

The earl of Essex continued to increase daily in the queen's favour, 
but his lofty spirit could ill submit to that deference which she 
required, and had ever been accustomed to receive from her subjects. 
On one occasion, when he was engaged in a dispute with her about 



A.D. 1595-1598. REBELLION IN IRELAND. 333 

the choice of a governor for Ireland, he was so heated in the argu- 
ment that he entirely forgot the rules both of duty and civility, and 
turned his back upon her in a contemptuous manner. Her anger 
was roused at this provocation ; and she instantly gave him a box 
on the ear, adding a passionate expression suited to his impertinence. 
Instead of recollecting himself, and making the submissions due to 
her sex and station, he clapped his hand to his sword, and swore 
that he would not bear such usage were it from Henry VIII. him- 
self; and he immediately withdrew from court. Yet the queen's 
partiality reinstated him in his former favour, and her kindness to 
him appeared rather to have acquired new force from this short 
interval of anger and resentment. The death of lord Burleigh, in 
lo98, seemed to insure Essex enlire possession of the queen's con- 
fidence ; and nothing indeed could have shaken it except his own 
indiscretion. Soon after the death of Burleigh, the queen, who 
regretted extremely the loss of so wise and faithful a minister, was 
informed of the death of her capital enemy, Philip II., who, after 
languishing under many infirmities, expired at an advanced age in 
Madrid (September 13, 1598). 

§ 8. The affairs of Ireland now challenged the queen's attention. 
Though the dominion of the English over that country had been 
esfablished above four centuries, their authority often had been 
little more than nominal. A body of 1000 men was supported 
there, which on extraordinary emergencies was augmented to 2000. 
No wonder that such a force was unable to control the half-civilized 
Irish, and that their ancient animosity against the tyranny of the 
English, now further inflamed by religious antipathy, should have 
broken out into dangerous rebellions. Hugh O'Neale, nephew to 
Shan O'Neale, or the Great O'Neale, had been raised by the queen to 
the dignity of earl of Tyrone ; but having murdered his cousin, son 
of that rebel, and being acknowledged head of his clan, he preferred 
the pride of barbarous licence and dominion to the pleasures of 
opulence and tranquillity, and he fomented all those disorders by 
which he hoped to weaken or overturn the English government. 
He entered into a correspondence with Spain ; he procured thence 
a supply of arms and ammunition ; and, having united the Irish 
chieftains in a dependence upon himself, he began to be regarded 
as a formidable enemy. Tyrone defied and eluded for some years 
the arms of sir John Norris, the English commander. He defeated 
sir Henry Bagnal, sir John's successor, in a pitched battle at Black- 
water, where 1500 men, together with the general himself, were 
left dead upon the spot (August 14, 1598). This victory, so unusual 
to the Irish, roused their courage, supplied them with arms and 

ammunition, and raised the reputation of Tyrone, who assumed the 
16* 



334 ELIZABETH. Chai\ xix. 

character of the deliverer of his country and patron of Irish liberty. 
The English council, sensible that the rebellion of Ireland was now 
come to a dangerous head, resolved to push the war by more 
vigorous measures. Essex was appointed governor of Ireland by 
the title of lord-lieutenant, and was sent over with an army of 
16,000 men. He landed at Dalkey, near Dublin, April 15, 1599 ; 
but instead of bringing the war to an end, as had been expected, he 
found himself at the end of the campaign unable to effect anything 
against the enemy. By tedious marches, by sickness and other 
causes, his numbers were reduced to 6000 men. Essex hearkened 
therefore to a message sent him by Tyrone, who desired a conference; 
and a cessation of arms was agreed upon. He received from 
Tyrone proposals for a peace, in which that rebel had inserted 
many unreasonable and exorbitant conditions. With these he 
suddenly left Ireland (September 24), though the queen had 
expressly charged him to remain, and presented himself abruptly 
before her at Nonsuch, four days after. 

Besmeared with dirt and sweat, he hastened upstairs to the 
presence chamber, thence to the privy chamber, nor stopped till he 
was in the queen's bed-chamber. Elizabeth was newly risen, and 
was sitting with her hair about her face. He threw himself on his 
knees, kissed her hand, and was so graciously received that on his 
departure he was heard to express great satisfaction, and to thank 
God that, though he had suffered much trouble and many storms 
abroad, he found a sweet calm at home. But this placability of 
Elizabeth was merely the result of her surprise, and of the 
momentary satisfaction which she felt on his sudden and unex- 
pected appearance. When Essex waited on her in the afternoon, 
he found her extremely altered. She ordered him to be confined to 
his chamber (September 28) ; to be twice examined by the council ; 
and, though his answers were calm and submissive, she committed 
him to the custody of lord keeper Egerton, and held him sequestered 
from all company, even from that of his countess (October 2). The 
vexation of this disappointment, and of the triumph gained by his 
enemies, preyed upon his haughty spirit ; and he fell into a distemper 
which seemed to put his life in danger. But, though Elizabeth 
showed her solicitude for his health, she resolutely refused to admit 
Essex to her presence. Several incidents kept alive the queen's 
anger. Every account which she received from Ireland convinced 
her more and more of his misconduct in that government, and of 
the insignificant purposes to which he had employed so much force 
and treasure. Her displeasure against him was augmented by his 
supposed popularity ; and still more by the fact that several of the 
London clergy, inclined to puritanism, had openly prayed for 



AD. 1599-1G01. DISGRACE OF ESSEX. 335 

him in their pulpits. She expressed her determination to have the 
earl tried for his offences in the Star-chamber ; but, relenting from 
her severity, she was contented to have him only examined by the 
privy council. Essex pleaded in his defence with great humility, but 
was condemned to remain a prisoner in his own house till it should 
please her majesty to restore him. Bacon, so much distinguished 
afterwards by his high offices, and still more by his profound genius, 
pleaded against him before the council ; although Essex, who could 
distinguish merit, and who passionately loved it, had entered into 
an intimate friendship with Bacon; had zealously attempted, 
though without success, to procure him the office of solicitor- 
general ; and, in order to comfort his friend under the disappoint- 
ment, had conferred on him an estate to the value of 1800/. 

§ 9. All the world expected that Essex would soon be reinstated 
in his former credit, when they saw that, though he was still pro- 
hibited from appearing at court, he was continued in his office of 
master of horse, and was restored to his liberty. But Elizabeth, 
though gracious in her deportment, refused his repeated requests 
to be admitted into her presence. He possessed a monopoly of sweet 
wines ; and, as his patent was near expiring, he patiently expected 
that the queen would renew it. She denied his request, not out of 
severity to Essex, but for other reasons. Being now reduced to 
despair, he gave entire reins to his violent disposition. Intoxicated 
with the public favour, which he already possessed, he practised 
anew every art of popularity. He secretly courted the confidence of 
the catholics ; but his chief trust lay in the puritans, whom he 
openly caressed, and whose manners lie seemed to have entirely 
adopted. He engaged the most celebrated preachers of that sect to 
resort to Essex house, he had daily prayers and sermons in his 
family, and he invited all the zealots in London to attend those 
pious exercises. He also indulged himself in great liberties of 
speech, and was even heard to say of the queen that she was now 
grown an old woman, and was become as crooked in mind as in 
body. He even made secret applications to the king of Scots, and 
assured him that he was determined to use every expedient for 
extorting an immediate declaration in favour of his succession. 

Essex now resorted to more desperate counsels. A select council 
of malcontents was formed, by whom it was agreed that Essex 
should seize the palace, oblige the queen to assemble a parliament, 
and with common consent settle a new plan of government. While 
these projects were in agitation, Essex received a summons to attend 
the council, which met at the treasurer's house (1601). While he 
was musing on this circumstance a private note was conveyed to him, 
by which he was warned to provide for his own safety. He con- 



336 ELIZABETH. Chap. xix. 

eluded that the conspiracy was discovered, or at least suspected; 
and he immediately despatched messages to his more intimate 
confederates, requesting their advice and assistance in the present 
critical situation of his affairs. Flight was proposed, but rejected : 
to seize the palace seemed impracticable, without more preparations ; 
there remained therefore no expedient but that of raising the city, 
which was immediately resolved on ; but the execution of it was 
delayed till next day ; and emissaries were despatched to all Essex's 
friends, informing them that Cobham and Raleigh had laid schemes 
against his life, and entreating their presence and assistance. 

Next day (February 8, 1601) being Sunday, there appeared at 
Essex house the earls of Southampton and Rutland, the lords 
Sandys and Monteagle, with about 300 gentlemen of good quality 
and fortune ; and Essex informed them of the danger to which he 
pretended the machinations of his enemies exposed him. The 
queen, being informed of their concourse, sent some of the chief 
officers of state to Essex house to learn the cause of these unusual 
commotions. Essex detained them, and proceeded to the execution 
of his former project. He sallied forth with about 200 attendants, 
armed with swords ; and in his passage to the city was joined by 
the earl of Bedford and lord Cromwell. He cried aloud, " For the 
queen ! for the queen ! a plot is laid for my life ! " and then pro- 
ceeded to the house of Smith, the sheriff, on whose aid lie had great 
reliance. The citizens flocked about him in amazement, but no one 
showed a disposition to join him. The sheriff, on the earl's approach 
to his house, stole out at the back door, and made the best of his 
way to the lord mayor. Essex meanwhile, observing the coldness 
of the citizens, after in vain attempting to force his way through 
the streets, retired towards the - river, and, taking boat, arrived at 
Essex house. He was now reduced to despair, and surrendered in 
the evening to the earl of Nottingham. 

The queen soon gave orders for the trial of the most considerable 
of the conspirators, and on the 19 th of February the earls of Essex 
and Southampton were arraigned before a jury of 25 peers, and were 
found guilty (February 19). Bacon, though he was not one of the 
special law officers of the crown, did not scruple to employ his talents, 
as counsel, against the earl, rather than sacrifice the queen's favour. 
After Essex had passed some days in the solitude and reflections 
of a prison, his proud heart was at last subdued, not by the fear of 
death, but by the sentiments of religion. He made a full con- 
fession of his disloyalty, not sparing his most intimate friends. 

If Elizabeth had expected any application for mercy, Essex made 
none ; and she gave her consent to his execution. At his death, he 
discovered symptoms rather of penitence and piety than of fear, 



A.i). 1601-1603. HER DEATH. 337 

and willingly acknowledged the justice of his sentence. The execu 
tion was private, in the Tower, agreeably to his own request 
(February 25). At his death he was 34 years of age. Some of 
his associates were tried, condemned, and executed. Southamp- 
ton's life was saved with great difficulty, but he was detained in 
prison during the life of Elizabeth. 

§ 10. The remaining transactions of this reign are neither nume- 
rous nor important. The war was continued against the Spaniards 
with success ; and in 1603 Tyrone appeared before Mountjoy, and 
made an absolute surrender of his life and fortunes to the queen's 
mercy. But Elizabeth was now incapable of receiving any satis- 
faction from this fortunate event. She had fallen into a profound 
melancholy, which all the advantages of her high fortune, all the 
glories of her prosperous reign, were unable to alleviate or 
assuage. Her dejection has been ascribed to various causes, and 
particularly to compunction for the fate of Essex ; but it was pro- 
bably the natural result of disease and old age. Worn out by the 
cares of state, her mind had pi eyed so long on her frail body that her 
end was visibly approaching ; and the council, being assembled, sent 
the keeper, admiral, and secretary, to know her will with regard to 
her successor. She answered, with a faint voice, that, as she had held 
a regal sceptre, she desired no other than a royal successor. Cecil 
requesting her to explain herself more particularly, she subjoined 
that she would have a king to succeed her ; and who should that 
be but her nearest kinsman, the king of Scots ? Being then advised 
by the archbishop of Canterbury to fix her thoughts upon God, she 
replied that she did so, nor did her mind in the least wander from 
Him. Her voice soon after left her; her senses failed; she fell into 
a lethargic slumber, which continued some hours ; and she expired 
gently, without further struggle or convulsion, in the 70th year of 
her age and 45th of her reign (March 24, 1603). 

There are few great personages in history who have been more 
exposed to the calumny of enemies and the adulation of friends than 
queen Elizabeth, and yet there is scarcely any whose reputation has 
been more certainly determined by the almost unanimous consent 
of posterity. Her vigour, her constancy, her magnanimity, her 
penetration, vigilance, address, are allowed the highest praises, and 
appear not to have been surpassed by any person that ever filled a 
throne ; a conduct less rigorous, less imperious, and more indulgent 
to her people, would have been requisite to form a perfect character. 
By the force of her mind she controlled all her more active and 
stronger qualities, and prevented them from running into excess ; 
her heroism was exempt from temerity, her frugality from avarice, 
her active temper from turbulency and vain ambition ; she guarded 



338 ELIZABETH. Chap. x:x. 

not herself with equal care or equal success Irom lesser infirmities : 
the rivalship of beauty, the desire of admiration, the jealousy of 
love, and the sallies of anger, 

§11. The many arbitrary acts of power exercised by the Tudor 
princes have, by some historians, been ascribed to an actual increase 
of the prerogative, nor can it be justly doubted that the crown 
gained an accession of strength under that dynasty. To be per- 
suaded of this, we need only advert to the succession of the crown. 
Under the early Plantagenets the notion was not altogether obso- 
lete, that the sovereign was in a certain degree elective ; and the in- 
variable right of succession in the eldest branch was not completely 
established till the reign of Edward I. But under Henry VIII. an 
act was passed empowering that monarch to bequeath the crown to 
whomsoever he pleased, even to one not of the blood royal, if his 
children died without issue. So, too, an alteration was made in 
the coronation oath of Edward VI. ; and that prince was crowned, 
as the rightful and undoubted heir, before he had sworn to preserve 
the liberties of the realm, and without the consent of the people 
having been asked to his accession. 

This augmented power of the crown under the Tudors was not 
supported by military force, and seems to have rested mainly upon 
public opinion. Such a state of opinion was a natural consequence 
of the long and bloody wars of the Eoses ; which, being carried on 
merely for the choice of a sovereign of the blood royal, filled the 
public mind with an exaggerated idea of his personal importance. 
The same wars, however, undoubtedly added to the material as well 
as to the ideal power of the crown. The great nobility, hitherto the 
chief support of the people in their struggles with the throne, were 
nearly exterminated. They were further overawed and depressed 
by severe and unjust executions ; as those of the earl of Warwick 
and the earl of Suffolk under Henry VII.. the duke of Buckingham 
under Henry VIII., and of several others in the subsequent reigns. 
On the other hand, the dissolution of the monasteries, and various 
encroachments upon the property of the church, supplied Henry 
and his successors with means of purchasing the affection of the 
great, and surrounding himself by a personal nobility strongly 
attached to the crown from motives of self-interest. 

§ 12. Yet in theory the constitution, as a monarchy limited by 
law was maintained in several works,* written in the reign of 
Elizabeth. The two chief privileges of parliament, that of legis- 
lation under certain restrictions, and of taxation in general, were 

* Such are Aylmer's Harborowe for Faithful Subjects; Hooker's Ecclesiastical 
Polity; Sir T. Smith's Commonwealth, etc. 



A.D. 1603. BENEVOLENCES AND MONOPOLIES. 339 

scarcely disputed. Henry VIII. procured indeed a statute to 
enable the king, on attaining the age of 24, to repeal any acts 
passed since his accession ; and another to give his proclamations 
the force of laws. Yet here the constitution is acknowledged, in 
the very breach and suspension of it ; for, instead of assuming these 
powers, the king prefers to have them conferred by parliament. 
On the other hand, the parliamentary right of taxation was some- 
times evaded by the crown. One of the devices for this purpose 
was called a Benevolence, of which we have spoken already. In 
1492 Henry VII. levied a Benevolence with the consent of parlia- 
ment ; Edward IV. had done so without its consent. In 1505 Henry 
levied a Benevolence without any fresh act. Henry VIII. made two 
similar attempts, in 1525 and 1544. He also exercised an act of great 
arbitrary power. Read, an alderman of London, who had refused 
to contribute, was enrolled as a foot soldier, and sent to the wars 
in Scotland, where he was taken prisoner. Henry also resorted to 
forced loans, and from the obligation of their repayment he was 
released by parliament. Elizabeth also raised compulsory loans, 
but was generally punctual in repaying them. 

The sovereigns of this period still continued to derive an incomo 
from feudal rights, such as escheats, purveyance, etc. Another 
source of income was the sale of pardons, wardships, the first-fruits 
and tenths derived from all ecclesiastical promotions. They also 
enjoyed the means of rewarding favourites and adherents by mono- 
polies ; that is, the granting of patents for the exclusive sale of 
certain articles. Towards the close of Elizabeth's reign great com- 
plaints were made of this practice, which had grown at first out of 
mistaken notions of furthering commerce and encouraging home 
manufactures. Some of the most necessary articles of life, as salt, 
iron, calf-skins, train oil, vinegar, sea coals, lead, paper, and a great 
many more, were in the hands of patentees. Stormy debates en- 
sued on the subject in the session of 1601. Elizabeth promised that 
most of the monopolies complained of should be abolished, but it 
does not appear how far her word was kept.* 

§ 13. The narrative will have conveyed some idea of the manner 
in which the Tudor sovereigns occasionally treated the commons. 
Elizabeth forbad them to handle certain subjects, reprimanded un- 
ruly members, and committed some of them to the Tower. But 
though they submitted to this treatment, instances, though rare, 
are not wanting in which certain members of the commons boldly 



* Sir Francis Bacon, in a speech made 
on this occasion in the commons, explains 
the true motive of these complaints : " If 
her majesty make a patent, or, as we 
term it, a monopoly, unto any of her 



servants, that must go, and we cry out of 
it ; but if she grant it to a number of bur- 
gesses, or a corporation, that must stand, 
and that forsooth is no monopoly." 



340 



ELIZABETH. 



Chap. xix. 



asserted their privileges. In the debate on a subsidy in 1601, Mr. 
Serjeant Heyle having observed that the queen might take it at her 
pleasure, and that she had as much right to their land and goods as 
to any revenue of the crown, Mr. Montague replied that " if all pre- 
ambles of subsidies were looked upon," it would be found they were 
free gifts. " And though," he observed, " her majesty requires this * 
at our hands, yet it is in us to give, not in her to exact of duty." 
And speaker Onslow, in his address to the queen herself, at the close 
of the session of 1566, plainly pointed out the limits of her preroga- 
tive. " By our common law," he said, " although there be for the 
prince provided many princely prerogatives and royalties, yet it is 
not such as the prince can take money or other things, or do as he 
will, at his own pleasure, without order ; f but quietly to suffer his 
subjects to enjoy their own, without wrongful oppression : wherein 
other princes, by their liberty, do take as pleaseth them." 

The commons gained ground as the Tudor dynasty proceeded. 
In the reign of Henry VIII. they ventured to throw out only one 
bill recommended by the crown ; but there are many instances 
under his successors of their doing so. On the other hand, the 
crown did not scruple to reject bills which had passed both houses ; 
and in 1597 Elizabeth refused no fewer than 48. The interference 
of the crown in elections shows the opinion entertained of the 
power of the commons; and the same fact is evident from the 
creation of what we should now call rotten boroughs. In the short 
reign of Edward VI. 22 boroughs were created or restored ; in that 
of Mary, 14 ; while Elizabeth added no fewer than 62 members to 
the house, of whom a large proportion sat- for petty boroughs under 
the influence of the crown. 

§ 14. Turning from the legislature to the executive and the 
administration of justice, we shall find, in like manner, that the 
liberty of the subject, though secure in theory, was frequently 
violated in practice. The law forbad any man to be thrown into 
prison without legal warrant ; or to be kept there without being 



* That is, the unprecedented grant of 
four subsidies and eight fifteenths and 
tenths. 

f D'Ewes, p. 115. Onslow says, with- 
out order ; not, without order of the com- 
mons. But what was order was the point 
in debate, and it varied according to men's 
notions of the prerogative. Could the 
sovereign in cases of political necessity- 
dispense with the law or not ? Even as 
late as 1601, an authority no less than 
Bacon declared in the same bouse : " For 
the prerogative royal of the prince, I ever 



allowed of it, and it is such as I hope 
shall never be discussed. The queen, as 
she is our sovereign, hath both an enlarg- 
ing and restraining power. For by her 
prerogative she may. first, set at liberty 
things restrained by statute law or other- 
wise; and, secondly, by her prerogative, 
she may restrain things that are at 
liberty." Opinions differed, and, though 
it was generally admitted that the pre- 
rogative was limited by the law, no one 
could precisely determine what those 
limitations were, 



A.D. 1603. CONSEQUENCES OF THE REFORMATION. 341 

speedily brought to trial ; or to be condemned without a trial by his 
peers ; yet, in fact, all these things were frequently done. Even 
under the Plantagenets, the king's ordinary council sometimes exer- 
cised an arbitrary jurisdiction ; depriving an accused person of trial 
by jury, or punishing jurors whose verdict was deemed unsatis- 
factory, by fine and imprisonment. Under the Tudors, these 
illegal proceedings were still further aggravated by means of the 
same council, or rather a committee of it, called the court of Star 
Chamber.* The more flagrant violations of justice were naturally 
displayed in political trials, and those conducted in parliament 
were no better than those in the ordinary courts of law. Cromwell, 
the minister of Henry VIII., sanctioned the precedent of condemn- 
ing an accused person without hearing him in his defence ; but by 
a just retribution he himself was one of the first to fall by his own 
invention.! 

§ 15. The reforms of the church introduced by Henry VIII. 
proceeded little beyond the abolishment of the papal jurisdiction in 
England ; those of Edward VI. went a great way in the direction of 
doctrine. Elizabeth, taking a middle course, maintained the rites 
and ceremonies of the church of England. Of course the zealots 
on either side were not satisfied, and thus she raised up two political 
as well as religious parties against her, both of which occasioned 
her great trouble. In her first year two important acts were 
passed, that of sujDremacy and that of uniformity ; by the latter 
of which the use of any but the established liturgy was prohibited 
under severe penalties. In order to enforce this law, a new court, 
called the court of High Commission, was erected. The courts of 
law regarded this tribunal from the first as illegal, and frequently 
granted prohibitions against its acts. On one occasion the judges 
refused to entertain a charge of murder against a man who had 
killed one of the pursuivants of the commissioners whilst attempt- 
ing to enter his house by virtue of their warrant. 

§ 16. If we turn our attention from constitutional questions to 
the general state of the nation, we must, on the whole, pronounce 
the period of the Tudors to have been one of advancement and im- 
provement. The arms and negociations of Henry VIIL, though 
not always well directed, extended English influence on the con- 
tinent ; and, though this advantage was lost in the short but in- 
glorious reign of Mary, it was more than recovered under Elizabeth. 
In her reign England first became a great maritime power; and 
some of the sea-fights and expeditions which then took place, 
especially the destruction of the Spanish Armada, were as brilliant 

* See Notes and Illustrations : The Star Chamber. 
■f A similar instance occurred in 1491. 



542 



ELIZABETH. 



Chap. xix. 



and glorious exploits as any that can be found in our naval annals. 
Nor was the aid which her land forces lent to the Huguenots in 
France, and to the nascent liberties of the Dutch, wanting in glory; 
though rather perhaps from the cause in which they were engaged, 
than from the feats actually performed. The enterprising voyages 
of Drake, Cavendish, and others, likewise shed a lustre on her reign, 
and prepared the way for that extensive colonization which has 
proved one of the chief sources of England's greatness. 

The annals of Elizabeth are adorned with some of the greatest 
names of English literature. The majesty of English prose was 
formed by Hooker ; the harmony of English verse by Spenser. The 
drama, the surest proof of an advanced civilization, had then its 
first beginnings, and was perfected by the immortal genius of 
Shakespeare ; whilst Bacon opened up a new method of philosophy 
whose practical fruits we may be said even now to be gathering. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. THE COURT OF STAR 
CHAMBER. 

The origin of this court is derived 
from the most remote antiquity. It was 
originally composed of all the members 
of the king's consilium ordinarium or 
ordinary council, and its jurisdiction 
embraced both civil and criminal causes. 
Its title was derived from the camera 
stellata or Star Chamber, an apartment 
in the king's palace at Westminster in 
which it held its sittings; and we find 
"the lords sitting in Star Chamber" used 
as a well-known phrase in the records of 
Edward III. The name was continued 
long after the locality of the court was 
changed. In the time of Edward III. 
the jurisdiction of the court had become 
so oppressive, that various statutes were 
made to abridge and restrain it ; and after 
this period its power, though not wholly 
extinct, appears to have gradually de- 
clined till the time of the Tudors. 
Henry Yll., in the third year of his 
reign, erected a new court on the ruins 
ot the old. It consisted of the chancellor, 
the treasurer, and the lord privy seal, 
as judges ; together with a bishop, a 
temporal lord of the council, and the two 



chief justices, or, in their absence, two 
other justices, as assistants. This court 
was not therefore, strictly speaking, the 
court of Star Chamber; still less are we 
to look upon it, as some writers have 
done, as the original of that famous court. 
Yet as most of, if not all, the members 
who composed it, were also members of 
the ordinary council, it may be regarded 
as a sort of committee of the ancient court 
of Star Chamber; and both lord Coke 
(Fourth Institute, p. 62) and lord Hale 
(Jurisdiction of the Lords' House, ch. v. 
p. 35) consider it as only a modification 
of that tribunal. So also the judges of 
the King's Bench, in the 13th year of 
Elizabeth, cite the proceedings of this 
court under the name of the Star Chamber 
(Plowden's Commentaries, 393). Yet that 
appellation does not appear to have beeD 
given to it either in the statute by which 
it was erected, or in another passed in the 
21st year of Henry VI1L, by which the 
president of the council was added to 
the number of the judges. 

The fact just mentioned, however, 
shows that the tribunal erected by 
Henry VII. continued to exist as a 
court distinct from the ordinary council 
till a, late period of the reign of Henry 



Chap. xix. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



343 



VIII. It was chiefly designed to re- 
strain and punish illegal combinations, 
such as the giving of liveries, etc., the 
partiality of sheriffs in forming panels 
and making untrue returns, the taking 
of money by jurors, riots and unlawful 
assemblies ; and it had the power to 
punish offenders, just as if they had 
been convicted in due course of law. 
But towards the close of Henry VIll.'s 
reign the jurisdiction of the ancient 
Star Chamber was revived, and the 
court of Henry VII. became gradually 
merged in it. The precise period of 
this revival cannot be ascertained. By 
some it is ascribed to cardinal Wolsey ; 
and at all events the ancient court was 
again in activity in the 31st year of 
Henry VIII., as the celebrated act of 
that year concerning proclamations 
ordains that offenders against it may 
be tried before the Star Chamber. Sir 
Thos. Smith, who wrote his Common- 
wealth of England in Elizabeth's reign, 
knows nothing of Henry VII. 's court. 
It had then become merged in the 
general council. 

The judges of the revived court, 
however, continued to be the same ; 
viz. the lord chaucellor, or lord keeper, 
as president, the treasurer, the privy seal, 
and the president of the council; but 
with these were associated the members 
of the council, and all peers of the realm 
who chose to attend. Under the Tudors 
the number of judges often amounted 
to 30 or 40 ; but under James I. and 
Charles 1. only such peers seem to have 
been summoned as were also members 
of the privy council. The bishops also 
ceased to attend. 

The civil jurisdiction of the Star 
Chamber .embraced disputes between 
English and alien merchants, questions 
of maritime law, testamentary causes, 
suits between corporations, etc. ; but 
these were gradually transferred to the 
admiralty court, the court of chancery, 
and the common law courts. It was 
the criminal jurisdiction which rendered 
the Star Chamber most powerful and 
most odious. The offences of which it 
took cognizance were perjury, forgery, 
riot, maintenance, fraud, libel, and 
conspiracy; and generally all mis- 
demeanours, especially of a public kind, 
which could not be brought under the 
law. The regular course of proceeding 
was by information at the suit of the 



attorney-general, or sometimes of a 
private person. Depositions of wit- 
nesses were taken in writing and read 
in court. But occasionally the process 
was summary. Fines and imprisonment 
were the usual punishments. Towards a 
later period the Star Chamber sentenced 
to the pillory, whipping, cutting off the 
ears, etc. But such cases were rare, and 
the great majority of cases brought before 
it were not of a political, but private, 
nature. In the reigns of James I. and 
Charles I. its jurisdiction became very 
tyrannical and offensive as a means of 
asserting the royal prerogative ; and the 
court was at length abolished by the 
Long Parliament. It is but just to add 
that this court had done good service in 
punishing rich and powerful offenders, 
whom no ordinary juries would have 
dared to convict ; and, when it was no 
longer needed for this purpose, it was 
resorted to by persons whose causes were 
too intricate for an ordinary jury. As a 
court' of equity it was not without advan- 
tage to many suitors. 

For further informaticn respecting 
the Star Chamber, see Hallam's Consti- 
tutional History, ch. i. and ch. viii. ; 
Sir F. Palgrave's Essay upon the Original 
Authority of the King's Council; and 
the article " Star Chamber " in the Penny 
Cyclopaedia. 

B. AUTHORITIES FOR THE PERIOD 
OF THE TUDORS. 

The works of several of the chroni- 
clers which serve for the period of the 
Plantagenets extend also into that of 
the Tudors; as those of Fabyan, Hall, 
Grafton, Polydore Virgil, Holinshed, 
Stowe, etc. 

The history of the reign of Henry 
VII. has been written by lord Bacon ; 
that of Henry VIII. by lord Herbert of 
Cherbury; that of Edward VI. by Hay- 
ward; that of Elizabeth by Camden. 
Edward VI. left a journal of some of 
the occurrences of his reign. 

Subsidiary works for this period are 
Fiddes's Life of Wolsey ; Le Grand, Hist, 
du Divorce! Brewer's Introductions to 
State Papers of Henry VIII. ; Froude's 
History of England containing the period 
from the fall of Wolsey to the Spanish 
Armada ; D'Ewes's Journal of Queen 
Elizabeth's Parliaments ; Birch's. Memoirs; 



344 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. xix„ 



Win wood's Memorials ; Ellis's Original 
Letters; Haynes and Murdin's State 
Papers ; Sir Dudley Digges's Complete Am- 
bassador; The Cabala; the State Trials, 
State Papers, Hardwicke Papers, etc. 

For the Scotch affairs of the period 
should be consulted : Geo. Buchanan's 
Hist, of Scotland (translated by Bond) ; 
Drummond's Hist, of Scotland: the 
Memoirs of Melvil, Keith, Forbes; 
Robertson's Hist, of Scotland Tytler's 
and Hill Burton's Hist, of Scotland ; The 
Letter- Books of Sir Amy as Ponlet, by 



John Morris ; Hosack's .Vary Q. of Scots ; 
Jebb's, Goodal's, Anderson's, Labanoffs, 
and Teulet's collections. 

For ecclesiastical affairs, and the 
history of the Reformation : Strype's 
Eccl. Memorials, Annals of the Refor- 
mation, and Lives of Parker, Grindal, 
Whitgift, and Aylmer; Burnet's Hist, 
of the Reformation, by Pocock; Collier's 
Eccl. History ; Heylyn's Hist, of the Re- 
formation, and of The Presbyttrians ; 
Foxe's Acts and Monuments ; Neal's Hist, 
of the Puritans, etc. 






Sardonyx ring, with cameo head of Queen Elizabeth, in the possession of 
Rev. Lord John Thynne. 



This is said to be the identical ring given by queen Elizabeth to Essex. It has descended from lady 
Frances Devereux, Essex's daughter, in unbroken succession from mother and daughter to the present 
possessor. The ring is gold, the sides engraved, and the inside of blue enamel. — Labarte. A rts of the 
Middle Ages, p. 55. 




Obverse of medal of James I. iac : i . tottvs . ins : bryt . imp : et . franc . et . hib. 
rex. (The title imperator is to be noted.) Bust of king, facing. 



BOOK V. 

THE HOUSE OF STUABT, TO THE ABDICA- 
TION OF JAMES II. 

a.d. 1603-1688. 



CHAPTER XX. 

james I., b. 1566 ; r. 1603-1625. 

§ 1. Introduction. §2. Accession of James. § 3. Conspiracy in favour of 
Arabella Stuart. Conference at Hampton Court. § 4. Proceedings of 
parliament. Peace with Spain. § 5. The Gunpowder plot. § 6. Strug- 
gles with the parliament. Assassination of Henry IV. of France. § 7. 
State of Ireland, and settlement of Ulster. Death of prince Henry, and 
marriage of the princess Elizabeth. § 8. Rise of Somerset. Murder of 
sir Thomas Overbury. § 3. Somerset's fall, and rise of Buckingham. 
§ 10. English colonization. Raleigh's expedition to Guiana. His execu- 
tion. § 11. Negociations for the Spanish match. Affairs of the Pala- 
tinate. § 12. Discontent of the English. A parliament. Impeachments. 
Fall of lord Bacon. § 13. Rupture between ihe king and commons. 
§ 1*. Progress of the Spanish match. Prince Charles and Buckingham 
visit Madrid. § 15. The marriage treaty broken by Buckingham. 
Triumph of the commons. § 16. Rupture with Spain, and treaty with 
France. Count Mansfeld's expedition. Death and character of the 
king. 

§ 1 Through the able management of sir Robert Cecil, the crown 
of England was never transmitted from father to son with greater 
tranquillity than it passed from the Tudocs to the Quarts, in spite of 



346 JAMES I. Chap. xx. 

the will of Henry VIII, sanctioned by act of parliament, settling 
the succession on the house of Suffolk, the descendants of his 
younger sister Mary. Queen Elizabeth, on her deathbed, had 
recognized the title of her kinsman James; and the whole nation 
seemed to dispose themselves with joy and pleasure for his re- 
ception. Great were the rejoicings, and loud and hearty the 
acclamations, which resounded from all sides. But James, though 
sociable and familiar with his friends and courtiers, hated the 
bustle of a mixed multitude ; and, though far from disliking flattery, 
he was still fonder of tranquillity and ease. Every one who ex- 
pected rewards and preferments from the new sovereign nocked to 
see him and anticipate his favours. At the suggestion, therefore, of 
the council in England, James issued a proclamation, forbidding 
the resort of people, on pretence of the scarcity of provisions, and 
other inconveniences; and by his ungainly manners he lost some 
of his popularity even before his arrival in London. 

§ 2. James, at his accession, was 36 years of age, and had by his 
queen, Anne of Denmark, two sons, Henry and Charles, and one 
daughter, Elizabeth. He had been brought up among scenes of 
turbulence. Of the governors he had in his infancy, three were cut 
off by violence. The murder of his father, the unhappy fate of his 
mother, were a perpetual memento of the insecurity of life, and how 
little " the divinity which hedges a king" was respected in Scotland. 
His education had been conducted by the celebrated George 
Buchanan, but was more suited for a pedant than a ruler; and 
James had acquired a considerable stock of learning, of which he 
took frequent occasion to make display, both in conversation ant! in 
writing. He was an author, and had published, for the use of his 
son, a book called Basilikon Boron (fiaaiKiKbv Swpov) or Boyul Gift, 
besides works on demonology and other subjects. Bat his pedantry 
was the pedantry of his age, and did not strike his contemporaries 
as ridiculous in itself, or unbecoming in their sovereign. His 
speeches were able and manly ; and, though he spent much of his time 
in pursuits unfitted for his station, like most of his countrymen he 
possessed a fund of shrewd good sense, which seldom failed him 
when the occasion presented itself. His main fault was his in- " 
dolence, partly physical, partly the result of untoward circumstances, 
and the intimidation to which he was subjected in his youth. So 
far as this country was concerned, his inexperience of the arts of 
government tempted him to trust the cares of state to his ministers, 
whilst he abandoned himself to his own amusements. 

James signalized his accession by freely distributing the honour 
of knighthood. It is computed that within three months after his 
entrance into the kingdom he bestowed that distinction on no fewer 



a.d. 1566-1604. THE MAIN AND BYE PLOTS. 347 

than 400 persons. He had brought with him, to what he called the 
"Land of Promise," great numbers of his Scottish courtiers, some of 
whom were immediately added to the English privy council. Yet 
he left the chief offices in the hands of Elizabeth's ministers, and 
trusted the conduct of political concerns, both foreign and domestic, 
to his English subjects. Among these, secretary Cecil, afterwards 
created earl of Salisbury, was always regarded as his prime minister 
and chief counsellor. The secret correspondence into which he had 
entered with James, and which had sensibly contributed to the easy 
reception of that prince in England, had laid the foundation of Cecil's 
credit with James. 

§ 3. In 1603 a double conspiracy to subvert the government was 
discovered. One of these plots, called the Main, is said to have 
been chiefly conducted by sir Walter Raleigh and lord Cobham, and 
consisted of a plan to place Arabella Stuart, the cousin of the king,* 
on the throne, with the assistance of the Spanish government. The 
other plot, called the Bye, the Surprise, or the Surprising Treason, 
was led by Broke, brother of lord Cobham, and by sir Griffin Mark- 
ham, and was a design to surprise and imprison the king, and to 
remodel the government. Broke was engaged in both plots, and 
formed the connecting link between them. In this wild undertaking 
men of all persuasions were enlisted ; as lord Grey, a puritan, Wat- 
son and Clarke, two Roman catholic priests, and others. Their 
design was betrayed by Broke to Cecil, and the conspirators were 
arrested. Raleigh split upon Cobham, and Cobham retaliated. 
The two priests and Broke were executed ; Cobham, Grey, and 
Markham were pardoned, after they had been brought to the 
scaffold. Raleigh was reprieved, but not pardoned ; and remained 
in confinement in the Tower many years. 

The religious disputes between the church and the puritans induced 
James to call a conference at Hampton Court, on pretence of finding 
expedients which might reconcile both parties. The conference was 
opened January 14, 1604. The puritans, who had not yet separated 
from the church of England, dt sired the abolition- of certain cere- 
monies, as the use of the cross in baptism, the ring in marriage, the 
surplice, and the like. To some of their demands the king yielded. 
A few alterations were made in the Book of Common Prayer ; an 
addition inserted to the catechism ; and a new translation of the 
Bible was promised. But on the main question, obedience to the 
rides and discipline of the church, James would admit of no 
relaxation. Quite unexpectedly — for he had been brought up as a 
presbyterian — from the beginning of the conference, he .diowed the 

* She was the daughter of the duke of I king's father. (See the Genealogical 
Lenox, the brother of lord Darnley, the | Table of the Stuarts). 



348 JAMES I. Chap. xx. 

strongest propensity to the established church, and inculcated 
the maxim, No Bishop, no King. The puritans were bitterly- 
dissatisfied. 

§ 4. The popular element had begun to develop itself in the 
House of Commons in the declining years of Elizabeth ; and it 
was clear, from many indications, that it would before long demand 
an enlargement of its privileges. Though not puritans in the 
sense of antagonism to the church, many of the members inclined 
to those particular tenets which were considered especially Calvin- 
istic and puritanical ; and as the bishops supported the measures 
of the court, and leaned to doctrines of an opposite tendency, 
puritanism found its supporters in that party of the house which 
was opposed to the court. At present, however, no indication of 
a struggle was visible. Upon the assembling of the parliament 
(March 19, 1604) the commons granted the king tonnage and 
poundage.* When the upper house desired that the commons 
would take into consideration " a relief and subsidy to his majesty," 
James, foreseeing that it might lead to an altercation between the 
two houses, already exasperated on a question of privilege between 
themselves, wisely sent a letter to the commons declining any 
further supply. The house was profuse in its gratitude. It 
resolved that the king's letter should be recorded, " for an ever- 
lasting memory of his majesty's grace." All knights of the shires 
were to take a copy of it to be read in their several counties, and 
the speaker was commanded to thank the king in the name of the 
whole house. 

This summer a treaty of peace and commerce was concluded 
with Spain, and was signed by the Spanish ministers at London. By 
it James was bound to lend no aid to Holland (August 18, 1604). 

§ 5. The Boman catholics had expected great favour on the 
accession of James ; but the rigorous measures of Elizabeth, espe- 
cially against the priests, were not relaxed. Catesby, a gentleman of 
good parts and of an ancient family, first thought of a most extra- 
ordinary method of revenge. His scheme was, to destroy the king, 
the royal family, the lords, and the commons, when assembled on 
the first meeting of the parliament, by blowing them up with gun- 
powder. The project was communicated to Thomas Winter, who 
went over to Flanders in April to solicit aid from Spain. He re- 
turned to England with Guy Fawkes, an officer in the Spanish ser- 
vice, with whose zeal and courage he was thoroughly acquainted. 
Thomas Fercy, a relation to the earl of Northumberland, was now 

* These, which are the origin of our I imported, and of Is. in the pound on other 
custom-house duties, consisted chiefly of articles. 
a duty of 3s. upon every tun of wine j 



a.d. 1604. THE GUNPOWDER PLOT. 349 

associated in the design. The conspirators, five in number, bound 
themselves to secrecy by an oath, before Gerard, a Jesuit. Thus 
passed the spring and summer of the year 1604, when the conspira- 
tors hired in Percy's name a cellar below the House of Lords. 
Thirty-six barrels of powder were lodged in it, the whole covered 
up with faggots and billets, the doors of the cellar boldly flung open, 
and everybody admitted, as if it contained nothing dangerous. 

The dreadful secret, though communicated to several persons, 
had been religiously kept during the space of nearly a year and a 
half. But Catesby's funds growing exhausted, he was compelled to 
seek the means of proceeding with the conspiracy by enlisting other 
persons ; and particularly sir Everard Digby, of Gayhurst, in Buck- 
inghamshire, and Francis Tresham, of Rushton, in Northampton- 
shire, two opulent Roman catholic gentlemen. It is suspected that 
the plot was revealed by Tresham. Ten days before the meeting of 
parliament, lord Mounteagle, a catholic peer, son to lord Morley and 
brother-in-law of Tresham, received the following letter, which had 
been delivered to his servant by an unknown hand. " My lord, 
out of the love I bear to some of your friends, I have a care of your 
preservation. Therefore I would advise you, as you tender your life, 
to devise some excuse to shift off your attendance at this parliament. 
For God and man hath concurred to punish the wickedness of this 
time. And think not slightly of this advertisement ; but retire 
yourself into your country, where you may expect the event in 
safety. For though there be no appearance of any stir, yet, I say, 
they shall receive a terrible blow this parliament, and yet they 
shall not see who hurts them." Mounteagle communicated this to 
lord Salisbury,* and he to the king, who conjectured, from the serious 
and earnest style of the letter, that it implied something dangerous 
and important. A terrible blow, and yet the authors concealed, seemed 
to denote some contrivance by gunpowder ; and it was thought 
advisable to inspect all the vaults below the houses of parliament. 
The task belonged to the earl of Suffolk, lord chamberlain, who 
purposely delayed the search till the day before the meeting of par- 
liament. He remarked those great piles of wood and faggots which 
lay in the vault under the upper house, and he cast his eye upon 
Fawkes, who stood in a dark corner, and passed himself off for 
Percy's servant. These circumstances appeared suspicious, and it 
was resolved that a more thorough inspection should be made. 
About midnight, sir Thomas Knevet, a justice of peace, was sent 



* It is certain that Cecil knew of the 

plot some time before. Lord Mounteagle 

was unquestionably concerned in it ; and 

it has been surmised that, fearing to be 

17 



betrayed by other conspirators, he pro- 
cured this letter to be written to himself, 
and so made a merit of his discovery. 



850 JAMES I. Chap. xx. 

with proper attendants ; and before the door of the vault rinding 
Fawkes, who had just finished all his preparations, he immediately- 
seized him, and, turning over the faggots, discovered the powder 
(November 5). The matches, and everything proper for setting fire 
to the train, were taken in Fawkes's pocket ; who, finding his guilt 
now apparent, and seeing no refuge but in boldness and despair, 
expressed the utmost regret that he had lost the opportunity of firing 
the powder at once, and so sweetening his own death by that of his 
enemies. Before the council he displayed the same intrepid firm- 
ness ; and, though he was put to the rack in the Tower, he does not 
appear to have disclosed the names of his associates till they had 
already risen in arms. 

Catesby, Percy, and the other criminals, hearing that Fawkes was 
ai-rested, hurried down to Warwickshire, where sir Everard Digby, 
thinking himself assured that success had attended his confederates, 
was already prepared to seize the princess Elizabeth. They then 
proceeded to Holbeach, in Staffordshire, hoping to maintain them- 
selves by a rising of the catholics in their favour; but none stirred. 
Pursued by the sheriffs, and surrounded on every side, they could 
no longer entertain hopes of escape. The powder they had brought 
with them accidentally took fire and injured some of them. Eegard- 
ing this as a work of divine retaliation, they prepared for death, 
and spent the time in prayer. At eleven the sheriff arrived, and 
fired upon the house. Percy and Catesby were killed by one shot. 
Digby, Eookwood, Thomas Winter, and others, being taken prisoners, 
were tried, convicted, and died by the hands of the executioner 
(January 30-31, 1606). Gerard suffered the same fate. Tresham 
was committed to the Tower, where he died on the 27th of Decem- 
ber. On the meeting of parliament (January 21), James, in his 
opening speech, declared that he would only punish those who 
were actually concerned in the plot ; but the parliament passed 
various acts of renewed severity against the catholics : and the 
methods adopted for aggravating the horrors of the late attempt 
formed a sufficient excuse for withholding all moderation in the 
treatment of catholics, and for bringing under suspicion all that 
ventured to suggest it. 

§ 6. In 1607 James recommended to parliament the union of 
England and Scotland; but the proposal was not acceptable to either 
people, and little progress was made. Another session was held in 
1610, when the king was full of hopes of receiving supply, and the 
commons of circumscribing his prerogative. The earl of Salisbury 
laid open the king's necessities, first to the peers, then to a committee 
of the lower house. The commons, not to shock the king with an 
absolute refusal, granted him one subsidy and one fifteenth, which 



a.d. 1604-1611. HIS STRUGGLES WITH PARLIAMENT. 351 

would scarcely amount to 100,000Z.* Under the pressure of his 
increasing necessities, the king had raised the customs payable upon 
certain commodities (1608). But a spirit of liberty had now taken 
possession of the house ; the leading members, men of independent 
genius and enlarged views, began to regulate their opinions more by 
the consequences they foresaw, than by the precedents which were 
set before them. Though former sovereigns had done the same, 
and it had beeu decided by the judges that such impositions were 
constitutional, the commons, regardless of the king's prerogative, 
passed a bill abolishing these new rates, which was rejected by the 
House of Lords. They likewise discovered some discontent against 
the king's proclamations, against the practice of borrowing on privy 
seals, and other abuses ; and they made remonstrances against the 
proceedings of the High Commission Court, with which, however, 
James refused compliance. But the business which chiefly occupied 
them during this session was the abolition of wardships and pur- 
veyance, — prerogatives which were more or less touched on every 
session during the whole reign of James. To put an end to this 
dispute, a bargain was struck, called the Great Contract, by which 
the king consented to abandon these antiquated rights of the crown 
for a settled income of 200,000Z. a year. But before this agreement 
could be embodied in an act of parliament, the summer vacation 
had arrived. When winter came the temper of the two parties was 
altered for the worse. The commons now demanded more than 
James was willing to concede ; and in displeasure his first parlia- 
ment was dissolved (February 9, 1611), after it had sat nearly 
seven years. 

The year 1610 was distinguished by the murder of the French 
monarch, Henry IV., by the poniard of the fanatical Ravaillac. In 
England antipathy to the catholics was increased by this tragical 
event ; and some of the laws which had formerly been enacted, in 
order to keep the catholics in awe, were now made more stringent 
and executed with greater severity. 

§ 7. About this time the king brought to a conclusion the project 
he had framed to civilize the Irish, and render their subjection 
durable and useful to the crown of England. He proceeded in this 
work by a steady, regular, and well-concerted plan. In particular, 
sis of the counties of Ulster having fallen to the crown by the 
attainder of Tyrone, he resolved to plant in them new colonies. 
The property was divided into moderate shares, the largest not 
exceeding 2000 acres ; tenants were brought over from England 
and Scotland ; and by these means Ulster, from being the most 
wild and disorderly province of all Ireland, soon became the best 
* The expenditure was about 500.000J. a year, tie income about 320,0001. 



352 



JAMES I. 



Chap. xx. 



cultivated and most civilized. To raise the funds needed for this 
enterprise and for the defence of the colonists, a new order of 
nobility, called baronetcy, was created. The patents were sold for 
10951. apiece. Hence baronets bear on their shields the arms of 
Ulster, a bloody hand.* 

The sudden death of Henry prince of Wales, in his 19th year 
(November 5, 1612), diffused a universal grief throughout the nation. 
It is with peculiar fondness that historians mention him, and in 
every respect his merit seems to have been extraordinary. The 
marriage of the princess Elizabeth with Frederick, elector palatine, 
was concluded some time after the death of the prince (February 
14, 1613), and served to dissipate the grief which arose on that 
melancholy event ; but this marriage ultimately proved itself an 
unhappy event to the king, as well as to his son-in-law, and was of 
ill consequence to the reputation and fortunes of both. 

§ 8. Shortly after the king's accession, Robert Carr, a youth 
of a good family in Scotland, arrived in London. His natural 
accomplishments consisted in good looks, his acquired abilities in 
an easy air and graceful demeanour. He had letters of recom- 
mendation to his countryman lord Hay ; and that nobleman as- 
signed him the office, at a match of tilting, of presenting to the 
king his buckler and device. The king became strongly attached 
to him, taught him the elements of the Latin grammar, intending 
to train him as his private secretary. In 1607 he was sworn 
gentleman of the bed-chamber, was afterwards knighted, and 
eventually created earl of Somerset (November 4, 1613). He con- 
tracted a friendship with an unscrupulous adventurer, sir Thomas 
Overbury, who trusted to Carr for his hopes of preferment. But 
an event soon happened which proved the ruin of both. Carr had 
succeeded to Salisbury's power on the death of that able minister 
in 1612, and had been created viscount Rochester in the previous 
year. He entertained a passion for the wife of the earl of Essex,f 
who was engaged in obtainingadivorce from her husband. Overbury, 
to whom he communicated his design to marry her, strongly opposed 
it ; and in order to get him out of the way, Rochester, instigated by 
the countess, persuaded the king to send him on an embassy into 
Russia. But Overbury declined this proposal, was committed 
to the Tower, and died there after a rigorous confinement of six 
months (September 15, 1613), not without suspicion of poison. 
The countess was accused of the crime (1615). Weston, a warder 



* This new creation — though often 
ridiculed — was of excellent service; for 
it opened to wealthy commoners, now 
greatly enriched by the extension of com- 



merce, the distinctions of nobility, from 
which they had been rigidly excluded. 

t Essex had been restored to the honours 
of his father in 1603. 



A.D. 1612-1622. RISE OF BUCKINGHAM. 353 

of the Tower, her agent, was executed, with several others ; and her 
hushand was vehemently suspected of heing concerned in the plot. 
After a long trial both were sentenced to die, but were pardoned by 
the king, and eventually set at liberty in 1622. 

§ 9. Meanwhile a new favourite had appeared on the scene. George 
Villiers, better known as the duke of Buckingham, a youth of two 
and twenty, a younger brother of a good family, returned in 1614 
from his travels, and was remarked for the advantages of a hand- 
some person, genteel air, and fashionable apparel. In ability he 
was far superior to Somerset. Confident, intrepid, free-spoken to 
the very verge of imprudence, he attacked himself to the person 
of the king, and never scrupled to express openly his hatred or 
contempt for those who differed from him. In a court full of 
intrigues and rival parties, such a disposition would have been 
certain to expose him to malevolent expressions, had he done nothing 
to deserve them ; but at this juncture, when the commons were 
determined on restricting the prerogative of the crown, and the 
utmost caution and moderation were required to prevent a rupture, 
the conduct of Villiers provoked the bitterest animosities. It is 
true that James kept the decision of political questions in his own 
hands, but access to royal favour was through Buckingham. 

In the course of a few years James created him viscount Villiers, 
earl, marquis, and duke of Buckingham, and conferred upon him 
some of the highest offices in the kingdom. By these premature 
and exorbitant honours, the king took an infallible method to ruin 
him. It must, however, be stated that in these acts of favouritism 
James was swayed by other motives besides personal affection. 
He had come to England with little knowledge of English politics ; 
and so long as Salisbury lived, whom he implicitly trusted in all 
matters of government, James had no favourites. At his death, so 
bitter were the rivalries between the Scotch and English nobles, 
that James, who would have preferred the former, dared not select 
a successor to Salisbury from either party. A young man, like 
Villiers, of some ability and agreeable manners, but not formidable for 
his birth or riches, was a more manageable instrument for the king's 
purpose. At this time, also, the number of the House of Lords was 
greatly diminished, for the jealous policy of the Tudors had impaired 
its influence, and it had become quite subordinate in importance to 
the commons. The older peers owed nothing to James. To counter- 
balance the power of the commons, a new and augmented nobility 
was desirable ; and as they would owe their honours to James, he 
naturally expected to find them more compliant.* 

* In 1621 the House of Lords protested against the making such a multitude of 
Scotch and Irish lords. 



354 JAMES I. Chap. xx. 

§ 10. The commencement of English colonization dates from the 
reign of James. In that of Elizabeth, Ealeigh had endeavoured 
to plant a colony in North America, in the district called after the 
queen, Virginia ; but it proved a failure. Towards the close of 
Elizabeth's reign, and the beginning of that of James, several dis- 
coveries and surveys were made in North America ; and in 1606 
James granted charters to two companies — the London of South 
Virginia Company, and the Plymouth Company — for planting 
colonies in that quarter : in consequence of which James Town, 
in the bay of Chesapeake, was founded in the following year, and 
was preserved from destruction by the. courage and fortitude of 
John Smith. In 1610 Lord Delaware proceeded thither as gover- 
nor of Virginia, with a new body of emigrants, who were again 
reinforced in the following year; and from this time the colony 
flourished and increased. In 1610 a charter was also granted for 
the colonization of Newfoundland. At the same period the trade 
to the east was fostered and encouraged by the government. On 
the 31st December, 1600, the East India Company was established 
by a charter of Elizabeth for 15 years, which was renewed by James 
in 1609 for an unlimited period; and in 1612 the first English 
factory was established at Surat. (Supplement, Note III.) 

But the man who had given the first impulse to British coloniza- 
tion was still languishing in prison. The long sufferings of Baleigh 
had worn out his unpopularity. People forgot that he had been the 
bitter enemy of their great favourite the earl of Essex, and were 
struck with the extensive genius of the man who, educated amidst 
naval and military enterprises, had cultivated literature with no 
little success. They admired his unbroken magnanimity, which at 
his age and under his circumstances could engage him to undertake 
so great a work as his " History of the World." To increase these 
favourable dispositions, on which he built the hopes of recovering 
his liberty, he spread the report of a gold mine in Guiana, a 
country he had visited 20 years before, and which was sufficient, 
according to his representation, not only to enrich all the adven- 
turers, but to afford immense treasures to the nation. Though 
he still refused to grant Baleigh a pardon, the king released him 
from the Tower, and conferred on him authority over his fellow- 
adventurers ; -exacting, however, a promise from him that he should 
not approach the Spanish territory on forfeiture of his life. Baleigh 
maintained that the English title to the whole of Guiana, by 
virtue of its discovery, remained certain and indefeasible ; but 
it happened in the mean time that the Spaniards, not knowing or 
not acknowledging this claim, had taken possession of a part of 
Guiana, had formed a settlement on the river Orinoco, and built a 



A.D. 1606-1619. EXECUTION OF RALEIGH. 3oo 

town called St. Thomas. Raleigh sent his men up the river with- 
out distinct orders to avoid lighting. They seized and plundered 
the Spanish settlement. The gold they expected eluded their 
search. The other adventurers now concluded that they had been 
deceived by Ealeigh, and thought it safest to return immediately 
to England, and carry him along with them to answer for his con- 
duct. Gondomar, the Spanish ambassador, whose brother had been 
killed in resisting Raleigh's men, demanded justice; and James 
signed the warrant for his execution upon his former sentence. 

Ealeigh, finding his fate inevitable, collected all his courage. 
" 'Tis a sharp remedy," he said, " but a sure one for all ills," when 
he felt the edge of the axe by which he was to be beheaded. With 
the utmost indifference he laid his head upon the block, and re- 
ceived the fatal blow. In his death there appeared the same great 
mind which during his life had displayed itself in all his conduct 
and behaviour (October 29, 1618). No measure of James's reign 
was attended with more public dissatisfaction. It was regarded as 
a piece of complaisance towards Spain, with which country James 
was now meditating more intimate connections.* 

§ 11. In 1611 James proposed to marry his son to the Spanish 
infanta. In 1614, after parliament was dissolved, he renewed the 
proposal : " Money he must have, and if he could not get money 
from parliament, he would get it from the king of Spain as a 
daughter's portion." The court of Spain, though determined to 
contract no alliance with a heretic, entered into negociations with 
James, which they artfully protracted; and the transactions in 
Germany, so important to the Austrian greatness, became every 
day a new motive for this duplicity of conduct. In 1618 the 
states of Bohemia, which were in open revolt against the emperor 
Ferdinand II. for the defence of their religious liberties, had elected 
Frederick, elector palatine, for their king. In addition to his own 
forces, Frederick was son-in-law to the king of England, and nephew 
to prince Maurice, whose authority was become almost absolute in the 
United Provinces. The Bohemians hoped tha-t these princes, moved 
by the connections of blood, as well as by the tie of their common 
religion, would interest themselves in the fortunes of Frederick, 
and would promote his greatness. On the other hand, the catholic 
princes of the empire had embraced Ferdinand's defence; and, 
above all, the Spanish monarch, deeming his own interest closely 
connected with that of the younger branch of his family, prepared 
powerful succours from Italy and from the Low Countries (1619). 

* Brave as he was, Raleigh was un- j his principles. The government had other 
scrupulous. By his sea life, like many evidence against him than what was pro- 
vf his contemporaries, he had tarnished ' duced upon the trial. 



356 JAMES I. Chap. xx. 

The news of these events no sooner reached England than the 
whole kingdom was on fire to engage in the quarrel. But James 
was in no condition, nor had he the temper, to embark in a con- 
tinental war. He hesitated ; and, after much irresolution resolved 
to defend the hereditary dominions of the palatine, but to give him 
no support in his claim on Bohemia. Meanwhile affairs everywhere 
hastened to a crisis. Almost at the same time it was known in 
England that Frederick, being defeated in the great and decisive 
battle of Prague, had fled with his family into Holland, and that 
Spinola, the Spanish commander, had invaded the palatinate, and, 
meeting with no resistance, except from some princes of the union, 
and from one English regiment of 2400 men, commanded by the 
brave sir Horace Vere, had in a little time reduced the greater part 
of that principality (1620). (Supplement, Note IV.) 

§ 12. Loud were now the murmurs and complaints against the 
king's neutrality and inactive disposition ; but the only attention 
James paid to this feeling was to make it a pretence for obtaining 
money. He first tried the expedient of a Benevolence, but the 
jealousy of liberty was now roused, and the nation regarded such 
expedients as extortions, contrary to law, and dangerous to freedom. 
A parliament was found to be the only resource which could furnish 
any large supplies; and writs were accordingly issued for sum- 
moning that great council of the nation (January 30, 1621). The 
parliament met in a very discontented mood. What the king most 
needed was a supply, and the commons were in no humour to 
grant it. They proceeded at once to the examination of grievances. 
They found that patents had been granted to sir Giles Mompesson 
for licensing inns and alehouses, and for gold and silver thread, 
which he was accused of making of baser metal. The commons 
proceeded against him by way of impeachment — a revival of a 
praotice sometimes adopted under the Lancastrian kings, but of 
which there had been no instance under the Tudors. Encouraged 
by this success, the commons carried their scrutiny into othei 
abuses, and sent up an impeachment to the peers against tht 
celebrated Bacon, now viscount St. Albans and lord chancellor. 
His want of economy and his indulgence to his servants had involved 
him in necessities. He was accused of taking bribes from suitors 
in chancery, by the title of presents. Conscious of guilt, the chan- 
cellor deprecated the vengeance of his judges ; and endeavoured, by 
a general avowal, to escape the confusion of a stricter enquiry. The 
lords insisted on a particular confession of all his corruptions. He 
acknowledged the articles ; was sentenced to pay a fine of 40,000?., 
to be imprisoned in the Tower during the king's pleasure, to be 
for ever incapable of any office, place, or employment, or of ever 



A.D. 1620-1621. QUARRELS WITH THE COMMONS. 357 

again sitting in parliament, or coming within the verge of the court 
(May 3). In consideration of his great merit, the king released 
him in a little time from the Tower, remitted his fine, as well as 
other parts of his sentence, and paid him his pension of 1200?. 
three years in advance. And that great philosopher at last 
acknowledged with regret that he had too long neglected the true 
ambition of a fine genius ; and by plunging into business and affairs 
which require much less capacity, but greater firmness of mind, 
than the pursuits of learning, had exposed himself to such grievous 
calamities. 

§ 13. Time was passing rapidly, and nothing had yet been done 
in parliament for the war. But before the House of Commons ad- 
journed for the summer, they passed a unanimous resolution to spend 
their lives and fortunes in defence of their religion and of the palati- 
nate, " lifting up their hats in their hands so high as they could hold 
them, as a visible testimony of their unanimous consent, in such 
sort that the like had scarce ever been seen in parliament." This 
solemn protestation and pledge was recorded in the journals. The 
affairs of the elector palatine proceeded from bad to worse. His allies 
fell rapidly from him, and made their peace with the emperor Ferdi- 
nand II. Frederick professed his willingness to resign all claim to 
Bohemia; but in the mean time, unable to defend the upper palati- 
nate, he withdrew upon the lower, pursued by Tilly at the head of the 
imperial forces. James's son-in-law, the chosen champion of pro- 
testantism, was in danger of losing all his dominions. To avoid such 
an eventuality and enable Mansfeld to keep the field, the king 
re-assembled parliament and demanded a subsidy (November 20). 
But the commons were in no hurry to meet the demand. Their 
late successes encouraged them to higher flights. They had already 
claimed, by the encouragement of sir Edward Coke, to act as a 
court of judicature and administer oaths like the House of 
Lords ; but the claim had been stoutly resisted by the peers. When 
the lord treasurer stated the occasion for the supply, reminding 
them of their solemn promise, so lately made, he was tamely 
listened to. They deferred the question to a consideration of griev- 
ances, and, omitting all reference to the unfortunate Frederick, 
drew up a long remonstrance against popery in general, indulgences 
to catholics, and the proposed marriage with the infanta. As soon 
as the king heard of the intended remonstrance, he wrote a letter to 
the speaker, in which he sharply rebuked the house for openly 
debating matters on which their opinion had not been required ; 
and he strictly forbad them to meddle with anything that regarded 
his government or deep matters of state. The commons replied by 
insisting on their former remonstrance, and their right to debate 
17* 



358 JAMES I. Chap. xx. 

on any business they pleased. So vigorous an answer was nowise 
calculated to appease the king. It is said, when the approach of 
the committee who were to present it was notified to him, he ordered 
twelve stools to be brought for the twelve ambassadors, as he 
termed them. In his answer he commented on the unfitness of the 
house to enter on affairs of government, and told them that their 
privileges were derived from the grace and permission of his an- 
cestors, but that, as long as they contained themselves within the 
limits of their duty, he would be careful to maintain and preserve 
their lawful liberties and privileges. 

This open pretension of the king's naturally gave great alarm to 
the commons. In a thin house, the day before they adjourned, they 
drew up a protestation (December 18), in which they repeated 
their former claims for freedom of speech, and an unbounded 
authority to interpose with their advice and counsel; and they 
asserted "that the liberties, franchises, privileges, and jurisdictions 
of parliament are the ancient and undoubted birthright and in- 
heritance of the subjects of England." * On the 30th, the king 
sent for the journals, and with his own hand, before the council, he 
tore out this protestation, and ordered his reasons to be inserted in 
the council book. After the dissolution (Feb. 1622), sir Edward 
Coke was sent to the Tower,f and Pym was confined to his 
own house ; some others, as a lighter punishment, were sent to 
Ireland, on the king's service. 

§ 14. James now attempted to raise money by a Benevolence, 
and obtained enough to support Vere's volunteers for a few months 
longer. He then had recourse to diplomacy ; but diplomacy with- 
out the support of parliament was of little avail. Step by step the 
palatinate was lost. He now turned his attention to Spain ; and 
he doubted not, if he could effect his son's marriage with the infanta, 
but that, after so intimate a conjunction, the restoration of the 
palatine could easily be obtained. A dispensation from Rome was 
requisite for the marriage of the infanta with a protestant prince ; 
and the king of Spain, having undertaken to procure that dispen- 
sation, had thereby acquired the means of retarding at pleasure or of 
forwarding the marriage, and at the same time of concealing entirely 
his designs from the court of England. To soften the objection on 
the score of religion, James issued public orders for discharging all 
popish recusants who were imprisoned ; and it was daily appre- 



* The language is studiously ambigu- 
ous, and was doubtless suggested by Coke. 
The sting was in the tail of it. 

f Sir Edward Coke, the rival and 
enemy of Bacon, and the most eminent 
lawyer of those times, had been created 



chief justice of the King's Bench in 1613; 
but having lost the favour of James by his 
opposition to the court, he was deprived 
of his seat upon the bench in 1616, and 
was returned to parliament in 1621. 



a.d. 1621-1623. THE SPANISH MATCH. 359 

bended tbat be would forbid, for tbe future, the execution of the 
penal laws enacted against them. By this concession, as well as by 
the skilful negociations of the earl of Bristol, James's ambassador 
in Spain, matters seemed to have been nearly brought to a success- 
ful conclusion, when all these flattering prospects were suddenly 
blasted. Buckingham was persuaded that a visit to Spain by 
Charles himself would be a more expeditious method of securing 
the hand of the infanta than the involved and circuitous route of 
diplomacy. The mind of the young prince was inflamed by this 
romantic idea ; and, having with difficulty obtained the consent of 
the king, the prince and Buckingham, with three attendants, passed 
disguised and undiscovered through France, under the names of 
John and Thomas Smith. They even ventured into a court-ball at 
Paris, where Charles saw the princess Henrietta Maria, then 13 
years old, whom he afterwards espoused. In 18 days after their 
departure from London they arrived at Madrid (March 7, 1623), 
and surprised everybody by so unusual a step. Philip, by the 
most studious civilities, showed the respect which he bore to his 
royal guest. He conferred on him the golden key. He introduced 
Charles into the palace with the pomp and ceremony accorded 
to the kings of Spain on their coronation. The infanta, how- 
ever, was only shown to her lover in presence of the court, the 
Spanish ideas of decency being so strict as not to allow of any 
further intercourse till the arrival of the dispensation. A treaty 
was soon concluded in which nothing could reasonably be found 
fault with, except one article, in which the king promised that 
the children should be educated by the princess till ten years of 
age. This condition could not be insisted on but with a view of 
seasoning their minds with catholic principles ; and though so tender 
an age seemed a sufficient security against theological prejudices, 
yet the same reason which made the pope insert that article should 
have induced James to reject it. But besides the public treaty 
there were separate articles, privately sworn to by the king and his 
council, in which he promised to suspend the penal laws against 
catholics, to procure a repeal of them in parliament, and to grant a 
toleration for the exercise of the catholic religion in private houses. 
But meanwhile Gregory XV., who granted the dispensation, died, 
and Urban VIII., bis successor, delayed sending a new dispensation 
in hopes of extorting fresh concessions. As a further impediment, 
a condition was imposed that the infanta should remain a year in 
Spain after her marriage. Charles chafed against these restrictions. 
Month after month slipped away, and he was no nearer the 
attainment of his object. James also became impatient. On tbe 
first hint Charles obtained permission to return, and Philip graced 



860 JAMES I. Chap. xx 

his departure with all the circumstances of elaborate civility and 
respect which had attended his reception. But Charles was deeply- 
offended, and when he left Madrid he was firmly determined to break 
off the treaty with Spain. He reached England Cctober 5. 

§ 15. A rupture with Spain, and the loss of two millions of crowns, 
were prospects little agreeable to the pacific and indigent James ; but 
finding his only son bent against a match which had always been 
opposed by his people and his parliament, he yielded to difficulties 
which he could not overcome. Buckingham assumed the direction 
of the negociations ; and Bristol received positive orders not to 
deliver the proxy, which had been left in his hands, or conclude 
the marriage, till security were given for the full restitution of the 
palatinate. Short of an appeal to the sword, the Spaniard promised 
everything ; but without the sword the palatinate was not to be 
recovered. If James was to regain his daughter's dominions he 
must prepare for war ; but war could only be carried on with the 
support of parliament. The infanta laid aside the title of princess 
of Wales, which she had borne after the arrival of the dispensation 
from Rome, and dropped the study of the English language. 

A fourth parliament met February 1 9, 1624, but their enthu- 
siasm in behalf of the palatinate had evaporated with the tossing 
up of their hats in 1621. They were now fully bent on enforcing 
the penal laws against catholics with the utmost vigour. It was 
ordered that every knight and burgess should act as informer, 
and present to the house the names of persons suspected of popery 
in their several counties and boroughs (April 3). The pros- 
pect of a war with Spain was hailed with enthusiasm. It was 
urged by both houses. Even the king shared in the general joy, 
and with ready condescension informed the houses that this was 
the way to make him " in love with parliaments." The duke, 
attended by the prince, delivered from a scaffold in Whitehall an 
account of their proceedings at Madrid. He was acquitted of all 
blame. The people displayed their triumph by public bonfires and 
rejoicings, and by insults to the Spanish ministers ; and Buckingham 
became the favourite oi the public and of the parliament. The 
Commons voted a subsidy bill of 300,OOOZ., containing a clause of 
an unprecedented nature, that the money should be intrusted to 
treasurers of their own nomination. Advantage was also taken 
of the present Juncture to pass the bill against monopolies, which 
had formerly been encouraged by the king, but which had failed by 
the rupture between the king and the last House of Commons ; and 
the commons corroborated their newly revived power of impeachment 
by preferring one against the earl of Middlesex, the treasurer, who 
was found guilty of malversation and of other misdemeanours: 



A.D. 1623-1625. HIS DEATH. 361 

though he had been a careful guardian of the public purs^, and had 
done much towards remedying financial disorders. 

§ 16. All James's measures, and all the alliances into which he 
entered, were now founded on the system of enmity to the Austrian 
family, and of war to be carried on for the recovery of the palatinate. 
An army of 12,000 men, under Mansfeld, was levied in England and 
sent over to Holland, which had renewed the war with the Spanish 
monarchy. A treaty was entered into with France, which included 
a marriage between Charles and the princess Henrietta ; and, as the 
prince during his abode in Spain had given a verbal promise to allow 
the infanta the education of her children till the age of thirteen, 
this article was here inserted in the treaty. In the spring of 1625 
James was seized with a tertian ague ; and after some fits expired 
on the 27th of March, after a reign over England of 22 years and 
some days, and in the 59th year of his age. His reign over Scot- 
land was almost of equal duration with his life. No prince was 
ever so much exposed to the opposite extremes of calumny and 
flattery, of satire and panegyric. His generosity bordered on pro- 
fusion, his learning on pedantry, his pacific disposition on pusillani- 
mity, his wisdom on cunning, his friendship on fancy. His capacity 
was considerable, but he was fitter to discourse on general maxims 
than to conduct any intricate business with energy and despatch. 
Awkward and ungainly in his person, he was ill qualified to com- 
mand respect partial and undiscerning in his affections, he was 
little fitted to acquire general love. Never had sovereign a higher 
notion of kingly dignity, never was any less qualified by nature to 
sustain it, for he hated business and spent much of his time in 
hunting and in field sports. From the charge of immorality 
brought against him by the libellers of the Stuarts he was entirely 
free, though his manners were not elegant, nor his language re- 
fined. He spoke broad Scotch to the end of his life, and his con- 
versation was often interspersed with humour more pointed than 
polite. 




Obverse of pattern for a Broad of Charles I. carolvs . d : g : mag : brit : fr : et 
hi : rex. Bust of king to left. 



CHAPTEE XXI. 

CHARLES I. I. A.D. 1600 ; r. 1625-1649. — FROM his accession to 
THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CIVIL WAR. A.D. 1625-1642. 

§ 1. Accession of Charles. Proceedings in parliament. § 2. Expedition 
against Spain. Second parliament. Impeachment of Buckingham. § 3. 
Illegal taxation. War with France. Expedition to the isle of Rhe'. § 4. 
Third parliament. Petition of Right. Struggle between the king and 
commons. § 5. Assassination of Buckingham. Surrender of Rochelle. 
§ 6. New session. Tonnage and poundage. Religious disputes. Dissolu- 
tion of parliament. § 7. Peace with France and Spain. The king's 
advisers. Laud's innovations in the church. Arbitrary and illegal 
government. § 8. Ship-money. Trial of Hampden. § 9. ^/»o«ntents 
in Scotland. The Covenant. Episcopacy abolished. Scotch wars. § 10. 
Fourth English parliament. Riots in London. § 11. Scotch war. 
Rout at Newburn, and treaty of Ripon. Council at York, and summon- 
ing of the Long Parliament. § 12. Meeting of the Long Parliament. 
Impeachment of Strafford. Great authority of the commons Triennial 
bill. § 13. Strafford's trial. His attainder and execution. § 14. 
Court of High Commission and Star Chamber abolished. King's journey 
to Scotland. § 15. Irish rebellion. § 16. Meeting of the English 
parliament. The remonstrance. Impeachment of the bishops. § 17. 
Accusation of lord Kimbolton and the five members. The king leaves 
London. The militia bill. The king arrives at York. §18. Prepara- 
tions for a civil war. The king erects his standard at Nottingham. 

§ 1. Charles I., the second sou of James I., was born at Dunfermline, 
November 19, 1600. By the death of his brother Henry, in 1612, he 
became heir-apparent, but was not created prince of "Wales until 
1616. Soon after his accession (May 27), he completed his marriage 
with the French princess Henrietta, daughter of Henry IV. and of 
Mary de Medici. He had espoused her by proxy at Paris, and in 
June, 1625, Buckingham conducted her to England. On the 18th 
a new parliament assembled at Westminster. The last parliament 
was dissolved on the death of the king, in a happy state of ex- 



a.d. 1625. 



PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT. 



363 



citement at a prospect of a war with. Spain; and Charles not 
unnaturally expected that at the commencement of his reign the 
commons would display their affection by granting him supplies 
adequate to conduct a war which had been undertaken with the 
apparent approbation of the people. But that house was now 
governed by men of advanced views, distinguished by their ability 
and parliamentary experience. Some of them, like Pym, were un- 
favourable to monarchy, and preferred a form of government in which 
the supremacy should no longer reside in the crown, but exclusively 
in the commons. They now formed themselves into a regular party, 
united by fixed aims and projects, as well as by the hardships 
they had experienced in the late reign. Among these sir Edward 
Coke, sir Eobert Philips, sir Francis Seymour, sir Dudley Digges, 
sir John Eliot, sir Thomas Wentworth, Mr. Selden, and Mr. 
Pym were the most prominent. Animated with a warm regard 
for liberty, they were resolved to seize the opportunity which 
the king's necessities offered of reducing the prerogative within 
narrower limits. With these views the commons voted only two 
subsidies (about 140,000Z.) to meet the expenses of the formidable 
war in which Charles was already engaged ; and whereas it had 
been usual at the commencement of every reign from the time of 
Henry VI. to grant tonnage and poundage for life, they restricted the 
grant to one year. In consequence of the plague, parliament was ad- 
journed, and met at Oxford (August 1st). The king laid the state 
of his affairs before them. He showed that upwards of a million 
a year was necessary for the conduct of the war and for the defence 
of Ireland, and even condescended to use entreaties ; but the 
commons remained inexorable. " We are called hither," said one 
of them," first for religion, secondly for a supply. Our coldness in 
religion is a powerful cause of the previous visitation upon us." 
Accordingly they proceeded to remedy this defect by petition- 
ing the king to give no connivance to papists — alluding to the 
queen and her attendants — by passing an act " for punishing divers 
abuses on the Lord's Day, commonly called Sunday" — (the puritans 
objecting to the use of the word Sunday as of heathen origin) — and 
by falling foul upon two books written by a doctor Montagu, in 
which he had undertaken to show that the doctrines of the church 
of England were not Calvinistic, nor the pope Antichrist. Finding 
that the commons in their present temper were not inclined to pay 
any attention to his demands, Charles dissolved them (August 12.)* 



* A trifle shows the new tendencies of 
the commons at this time. For on their 
appearance at the lords' they resolved, 
"that if the lords keep bare, they todotbe 



like ; but if they cover their heads, the 
speaker and the commons are to do the 
same." 



364 CHARLES I. Chap. xxi. 

To supply the want of parliamentary aid, Charles issued privy seals 
for borrowing money from his subjects. The advantage reaped by 
this expedient was a small compensation for the disgust which it 
occasioned : by means, however, of that supply, and by other ex- 
pedients, he was enabled, though with some difficulty, to equip a 
fleet under sir Edward Cecil, lately created viscount Wimbledon, 
to intercept the Spanish plate fleet. 

§ 2. The armament, which consisted of 80 ships and 10,000 
soldiers, had been commenced in April, 1625, and was to have 
been despatched in May, but in consequence of the temper of the 
commons in refusing the needful supplies, it was not ready before 
October, when it suffered severely from the lateness of the season. 
It reached Cadiz October 22. The fort defending the harbour was 
surrendered, but the men under Cecil's command, who were pressed 
in haste and ill-disciplined, fell into disorder, by indulging too much 
in Spanish wines. Cadiz was too strong to be taken. Putting 
to sea, the fleet steered in the direction of the treasure-ships, which 
arrived safely in the bay two days after Wimbledon had left it. 
Such a disastrous result, which at other times would have pro- 
voked little comment, was magnified into a national humiliation 
in the present temper of the nation. For want of pay, soldiers 
were kept embodied, and were billeted in private houses, thus in- 
creasing the general discontent. 

Whilst Wimbledon was at Cadiz, Buckingham had visited the 
Hague to form a confederacy against Spain. In addition to so 
formidable an opponent, Charles was in danger of a conflict with 
France. At the close of his reign, James had consented to allow 
an English squadron to assist Louis XIII. in quelling the rebellion 
of his protestant subjects in Kochelle. The ships had been recalled 
by Charles and Buckingham. Hearing that Louis and the protes- 
tants were at peace, Charles permitted his brother-in-law to use 
the ships. The act was greedily laid hold of by the king's enemies 
and Buckingham's, to hold them up in the odious light of using 
English forces against the protestants. A second parliament was 
summoned (February 6, 1626). Great and successful efforts had 
been employed to secure the return of members of similar sentiments 
to the last. The commons made the same order as before, " that all 
their members should give in the names of all persons, in trust, who 
are suspected of popery." On February 24 they resolved them- 
selves into a committee to consider the state of the king and the 
kingdom; and all considerations of supply were postponed. The 
duke of Buckingham, who had become every day more unpopular, 
was obliged to sustain two violent attacks this session — one from 
the earl of Bristol, another from the House of Commons. The earl 



a.d. 1625-1626. IMPEACHMENT OF BUCKINGHAM. 365 

of Bristol had mortally offended Buckingham in the affair of the 
Spanish marriage, and was consequently obnoxious to Charles. 
When the parliament was summoned, Charles had given orders that 
no writ, as was customary, should be sent to Bristol, as that noble- 
man was under restraint. Bristol applied to the House of Lords by 
petition, and craved their good offices with the king for obtaining 
his due as a peer of the realm. His writ was sent him, but accom- 
panied with a letter from the lord-keeper, Coventry, commanding 
him, in the king's name, to absent himself from parliament, as his 
restraint still remained in force. Bristol refused to obey, and 
took his seat. Provoked at these instances of vigour, which the 
courtiers denominated contumacy, Charles ordered his attorney- 
general to enter an accusation of high treason against him. By way 
of recrimination, Bristol accused Buckingham of being the author of 
the war with Spain, and of the loss of the palatinate. To carry 
on their proceedings with more despatch, the commons appointed 
various committees of enquiry. The committee on religion re- 
solved on enacting severer laws against papists ; that on grievances 
denounced purveyance and the levying tonnage and poundage with- 
out consent of parliament. But the most important was directed 
against the duke of Buckingham. After they had voted that 
common fame was a sufficient ground of accusation, they proceeded 
to frame regular articles against Buckingham (May 8). They 
accused him of having united many offices in his own person ; of 
neglecting to guard the seas, iusomuch that many merchant-ships-' 
had fallen into the hands of the enemy ; of delivering ships to the 
French king, in order to serve against the Huguenots ; of selling 
honours and offices ; of accepting extensive grants from the crown ; 
of procuring titles for his kindred ; and of administering physic 
to the late king without acquainting his physicians. As the 
commons called for no evidence, it is impossible to decide how 
far these articles were well founded. The duke replied to these 
charges ; but the commons were dissatisfied, and petitioned 
the king to remove Buckingham from his councils. Charles felt 
that to abandon Buckingham, whose chief fault was devotion to 
his service, would be a stain upon his honour as a man, and 
derogatory to him as a king. If the commons were to determine 
who should be his ministers, the prerogatives of the crown would be 
transferred to them. He preferred to abandon all hope of supply, 
much as it was needed to recover the palatinate, and dissolved the 
parliament (June 15). 

§ 3. By advice of his council, Charles now took steps to raise the 
funds necessary for the war with Spain without the consent of the 
parliament. On July 26 he issued a commission for levying customs 



366 CHARLES I. Chap. xxr. 

and imposts, "intending to have this settled by parliament," 
as in former reigns. He required loans and Benevolences; he 
compounded with recusants. From the nobility he desired assist- 
ance ; from the city a loan of 100,000£. The former contributed 
slowly ; the latter gave at last a flat refusal. Each of the maritime 
towns was required, with the assistance of the adjacent counties, 
to arm so many vessels as were appointed them. The city of 
London was rated at 20 ships. This is the first appearance, in 
Charles's reign, of ship-money; a taxation which had once been 
imposed by Elizabeth, but which afterwards, when carried some 
steps further by Charles, created such violent discontents. But 
after the news of the battle of Lutter, between the king of Den- 
mark, the ally of England, and count Tilly, the imperial general, 
in which the former was totally defeated, money became more 
necessary than ever, in order to support a prince who was so nearly 
allied to Charles. After some deliberation, an act of council was 
passed, importing that, as the urgency of affairs admitted not " the 
way of parliament," the most speedy, equal, and convenient method 
of supply was by a general loan from the subject, " according as 
every man was assessed in the rolls of the last subsidy." Commis- 
sioners, invested with almost inquisitorial power, were appointed to 
levy the money. Many refused ; some, active in encouraging their 
neighbours to resist, were by warrant of council thrown into prison 
or sent to the Fleet. 

The ill feeling between France and England was now ready to 
burst into a flame. Louis XIII., under the guidance of cardinal 
Richelieu, proposed to lay siege to the great protestant sea- 
port of Rochelle ; and Charles, in answer to the demands of the 
French protestants, felt himself bound in honour to interfere and 
proclaim war against France. Other causes contributed to the ill 
feeling between the two crowns. In the state of irritation against 
the catholics, which had grown stronger daily, the king had not 
been able to carry out those indulgences for the exercise of their 
faith, which Louis had been led to expect. He had even found it 
necessary to dismiss all his queen's French servants, contrary to 
the articles of the marriage treaty. Buckingham sailed first to 
Rochelle, with a fleet of nearly 100 sail and an army of 7000 men ; 
but though Rochelle was in possession of the Huguenots, and was 
then besieged by cardinal Richelieu, the inhabitants, mistrusting 
the English commander, refused to admit him. The duke then 
landed on the isle of Rhe — a point of great advantage, and admirably 
chosen for protecting Rochelle. Its principal fort was St. Martin's ; 
and, if the duke had been properly supported, it must have fallen 
into his hands. Charles pleaded and urged his ministers to the 



A.D. 1626-1628. THIKD PARLIAMENT. 367 

utmost ; but money and men were not forthcoming, and there were 
those at home who did not desire that Buckingham should be 
successful and thus obtain greater credit than ever with his master. 
A French force landed on the island, and Buckingham, unable to 
resist superior numbers, after making one more gallant and in- 
effectual stand, gave orders for a retreat. Of the troops sent out, 
less than one-half returned to England (November, 1627). 

§ 4. Meanwhile the money levied under colour of the prerogative 
had come in very slowly, and had left such ill humour in the 
nation, that it appeared dangerous to renew the experiment, and the 
absolute necessity of supply forced the king to call a third parlia- 
ment. The commons who assembled (March 17, 1628) were men 
of the same spirit as their predecessors, and possessed of such 
ricbes that their property was computed to surpass three times 
that of the House of Peers. Some of them had been harshly used 
by the court or thrown into prison for refusing the loan ; and the 
result was quickly shown in the speed with which they declared, 
by their votes, that all such imprisonment and all such loans 
were illegal. The king told them, in his opening speech, that 
it Was his duty and theirs " to maintain their church and com- 
monwealth ; and certainly," he continued, " there never was a 
time in which this duty was more necessarily required than 
now. I therefore, judging a parliament to be the ancient, speediest, 
and best way, in common danger, to give such a supply as to 
secure ourselves, and to save our friends from universal ruin, have 
called you together. Every man must do according to his con- 
science ; wherefore, if you (as God forbid) should not do your 
duty in contributing what the state needs, I must do mine, and use 
other means which God hath put into my hand. " To conciliate the 
commons, Charles offered certain concessions. He agreed to their 
petition for rigid execution of the laws against catholics ; he re- 
leased 78 gentlemen who had been imprisoned for resisting the loan. 
The commons promised five subsidies, but refused to pass any bill to 
that effect until they had secured the king's assent to the liberties 
and privileges claimed by them. Forced loans, Benevolences, 
taxes without consent of parliament, arbitrary imprisonments, the 
billeting of soldiers, martial law — these were the grievances com- 
plained of, and against these a sufficient remedy was to-be provided. 
The commons pretended not, as they affirmed, to any unusual 
powers or privileges : they aimed at securing those which had been 
transmitted from their ancestors ; and their petition, which provided 
against all these abuses, and which was founded on Magna Carta 
and other ancient statutes, they resolved to call a petition of right 
— as implying that it contained a corroboration or explanation of the 



368 CHARLES I. Chap, xxl 

ancient constitution, not any infringement of royal prerogative, or 
acquisition of new liberties. To some of these the king offered no 
objection. He was ready to promise never to raise a forced loan, 
to billet soldiers upon unwilling freeholders, or execute martial law 
in time of peace, but he shrank from promising never to send any 
one to prison without cause shown. This was, in effeot, to part 
with his power of punishing political offences, and to leave them to 
the decision of the judges. 

The lords were disposed to modify the bill by a saving clause in 
behalf of the sovereign power. But the commons stood firm, 
sent the bill in its original state to the upper house, and the peers 
passed it without any material alteration. Nothing but the royal 
assent was now wanting to give it the force of a law. The king 
came to the House of Lords, sent for the commons, and, being 
seated in his chair of state, the petition was read to him. Instead 
of the usual concise and clear form, by which a bill is either passed 
or rejected, Charles said, in answer to the petition (June 2), " The 
king willeth that right be done according to the laws and customs 
of the realm, and that the statutes be put in due execution, that 
his subjects may have no cause to complain of any wrongs or 
oppressions, contrary to their just rights and liberties, to the preser- 
vation whereof he holds himself in conscience as much obliged as of 
his own prerogative." The result might have been foreseen. The 
commons returned in very ill humour. They proceeded to form a re- 
monstrance, and showed a further disposition to censure the conduct 
of Buckingham. After some abortive attempts to divert the tempest 
that was ready to burst on the duke, the king thought proper, upon 
a joint application of the lords and commons, to come to the House 
of Peers. He then commanded the clerk of the parliament to cut 
out his former answer from the journals ; and by pronouncing the 
usual form of words, " Let right be done as is desired," he gave full 
sanction and authority to the petition * (June 7). The commons, 
nevertheless, proceeded as before. They resumed their censure of 
Buckingham's conduct, to whom they attributed all their 
grievances. They sent to the lords a charge against doctor Manwar- 
ing for preaching a sermon on non-resistance. He was judged to be 
imprisoned, to pay a fine of £1000, to make his submission, to be 
suspended for three years, to be disabled from ever preaching at court 
or holding any ecclesiastical or secular dignity, and his book was 
ordered to be bnmed. They also remonstrated against " the undue 
taking of tonnage and poundage," and would come to no decision for 

* This celebrated Petition of Right, i Notes and Illustrations at the end of this 
which is the second great charter of Eng- chapter, 
lish liberties, is printed in extenso in I 



a.d. 1628. 



ASSASSINATION OF BUCKINGHAM. 



369 



conceding it as it had been conceded * in times past. To avoid all 
further remonstrance, the king came suddenly to the parliament, 
and prorogued it (June 26). 

§ 5. The great object of the displeasure of the commons was 
soon after removed in a sudden and unexpected manner. The duke 
of Buckingham had repaired to Portsmouth to superintend the pre- 
parations for an expedition to relieve Rochelle. Immediately after 
breakfast (August 23), as he was passing through a narrow passage 
and stooped down to speak to sir Thomas Fryer, a colonel in the 
army, he was struck on the sudden, over sir Thomas's shoulder, 
upon the breast with a knife. Without uttering other words than 
"The villain has killed me," at the same moment pulling out the 
knife, he breathed his last. Soon after, a man without a hat was 
seen walking very composedly before the door. One crying out, 
" Here is the fellow who killed the duke," everybody ran to ask, 
"Which is he?" The man very sedately answered, "I am he." 
He was now known to be one Felton, who had served under the 
duke in the station of lieutenant. His captain being killed in the 
retreat at the isle of Rhe, Felton had applied for the company ; and, 
being disappointed, he threw up his commission, and retired in dis- 
content from the army. When asked at whose instigation he had 
performed the horrid deed, he replied that the resolution proceeded 
only from himself, and the impulse of his own conscience ; and that 
his motives would appear if his hat were found : for that, believing 
he should perish in the attempt, he had there taken care to explain 
them. Though threatened with the rack, he made no disclosure, and 
was soon afterwards executed. 

Meanwhile the distress of Rochelle had risen to the utmost ex- 
tremity. After Buckingham's death, the command of the fleet and 
army was conferred on the earl of Lindsey, who, arriving before 
Rochelle, made some attempts to break through the mole erected 
across the harbour by Richelieu ; but by the delays of the English 
that work was now fully finished and fortified ; and the inhabitants, 
finding their last hopes fail them, were reduced to surrender 
at discretion, even in sight of the English admiral (October 18, 
1628). 

§ 6. For many years it had been the habitual usage of the com- 
mons to vote the king for life, at the beginning of his reign, certain 
duties on exports and imports, familiarly known as tonnage and 



* At any grant of public money, it 
was usual for the king to thank the com- 
mons for their benevolence. But it is clear 
from this debate that when the king 
promised, by the Bill of Right, not to levy 



any benevolence without consent of parlia- 
ment, the word was used in the strict 
technical sense of an extraordinary tax, 
and did not refer to tonnage and poundage. 



370 CHARLES I. Chap. xxi. 

poundage. From uniform practice it had come to be regarded as 
a sort of prescriptive right, for which the assent of the commons 
was merely nominal. In Charles's first parliament the commons 
had voted it for a year only ; but the peers had allowed the bill to 
drop: and as a dissolution of parliament followed soon after, no 
attempt seems to have been made for obtaining tonnage and 
poundage in any other form. Charles, meanwhile, continued to 
levy this duty by his own authority, and the nation was so accus- 
tomed to this exertion of royal power, that no scruple was raised 
against it. He was anxious, however, to have the matter settled. 
He even condescended so far as to assure the commons that he had 
no intention to challenge these duties as a right, and pleaded the 
necessity he was under to take it until they had formally granted it. 
The case was urgent. It was precisely analogous to stopping the 
supplies. Without it the administration of the country could not 
be carried on. It would have been more dignified and candid in the 
commons to have returned a positive answer at once ; but this 
was not their policy. The longer they delayed, the greater would 
be the king's necessities ; the easier their victory. They diverted 
their attention from tonnage and poundage to controversial theology, 
to debates on Arminianism and the due interpretation of the 
Thirty-nine Articles. On the 28th of January, Charles sent them 
a message to proceed with the bill of tonnage and poundage. They 
excused themselves on the ground that their attention was occupied 
with religion. Week after week passed away, and the settlement 
of the question was as distant as ever. 

On March 2, sir John Eliot framed a remonstrance against 
levying those duties without consent of parliament, which the 
speaker and the clerk refused to read. He read it himself. The 
question being then called for, the speaker, sir John Finch, said, 
" That he had a command from the king to adjourn, and to put no 
question." Upon which he rose and left the chair. The whole 
house was in an uproar. They resolved to dispute the king's right to 
adjourn them without their own consent. The door was locked. The 
speaker was pushed back into the chair, and forcibly held in it by 
Holies and Valentine, till a short remonstrance was framed, and 
was passed by acclamation rather than by vote. In it papists 
and Arminians were declared capital enemies to the common- 
wealth. Those who levied tonnage and poundage were branded 
with the same epithet. Even the merchants who should voluntarily 
pay these duties were denominated betrayers of English liberty 
and public enemies. Maxwell, usher of the Black Eod, who was 
sent by the king, stood knocking at the door, but could not 
obtain admittance till these resolutions were adopted. He took 



A.D. 1629. CONTEST WITH THE COMMONS. 371 

the mace from, the table, which ended their proceedings ; and a few 
days after, the parliament was dissolved (March 10, 1629). Sir 
John Eliot, HoHes, Valentine, and some others, for seditious 
speeches in parliament, were committed to the Tower (March 5), 
and informations were exhibited against them in the Star Chamber. 
They applied to the court of King's Bench for their liberation, 
but were sent to separate prisons. The judges declared that they 
were entitled to bail, but must give sureties for good behaviour. 
On their refusal, they were condemned to be imprisoned during the 
king's pleasure, to find the requisite sureties, and to be fined, the 
two former in 1000?. apiece, the latter in 5007. Sir John Eliot 
died in custody (1632) ; his comrades made their submission one 
by one, and were discharged. (Supplement, Note V.) 

§ 7. After the turbulent proceedings of the last parliament, 
Charles resolved, for a time at least, to rule without one. Such 
an act did not at that time appear so unconstitutional as it appears 
to modern readers ; for, from the time of Henry VII., long intervals 
had often occurred between the meetings of parliament. It did not 
appear unconstitutional to the nation at the time, nor probably to 
the king himself. " If," says an able writer, " Charles had been 
asked whether he intended to tread the law and constitution under- 
foot, he would have shrunk back with horror at the thought. He 
would have replied, that he was in truth the supporter of the law. 
Always in theory, and since the accession of the house of Tudor, 
in practice as well, parliament had been but the great council of 
the king. The king had been the centre of government, the acting 
power round which all else revolved. What the commons now 
demanded was to take his place, to keep him short of money till he 
would comply with their wishes, and to render him powerless, by 
calling his ministers to account when they did what the commons 
considered to be illegal. Not only the authority of the king, but 
the decision of the judges, was to be swept aside. And all this was 
to be done in order that freedom of thought, except so far as it 
found favour in the eyes of the dominant majority, might be 
stamped out in England ; that no one might print a book or preach 
a sermon without the leave of the House of Commons. Charles 
was not wrong in dissolving such a parliament. It had done its 
work in preparing the great Petition. ... A parliament stereo- 
typing upon the country a particular form of religious or political 
belief, which happened to be popular at the time, would degenerate 
into the most odious of despotisms. The mouth of the counsellors, 
whose work it is invariably to change public opinion, would be 
closed. The establishment of parliamentary supremacy in 1688 
was a noble work. But it would not have been a noble work if it 



372 CHARLES I. Chap. xxi. 

had stood alone. It came accompanied by the abolition of the 
censorship of the press and by the Toleration Act." * 

Charles had now become practically absolute. But though he 
had obtained a victory over the commons — due in some measure to 
their arbitrary proceedings — and though their temporary eclipse 
produced no expression of national regret, he was not careful to 
avoid their errors. 

The death of Buckingham had disarmed much of the hostility of 
the parliamentary opponents of the court, and the proceedings of 
Pym and Eliot, who made no secret of their intentions to deprive 
the crown of its supremacy, induced many to abandon them, and 
lend their support to the king. Among them were, sir Thomas 
Wentworth, whom the king created first a baron, then a viscount, 
and afterwards earl of Strafford, and made him president of the council 
of York and deputy of Ireland ; sir Dudley Digges, created Master 
of the Rolls ; Noy, attorney-general ; Littleton, solicitor-general. 
All these had been parliamentary leaders, and were eminent in 
their profession. In ecclesiastical affairs, Laud, bishop of London, 
had acquired a great ascendency over Charles, and led him, by the 
facility of his temper, into actions which proved fatal to himself 
and to his kingdom. Possessed with a deep sense of authority — a 
conviction increased by the manifest disregard of it in his own times 
— Laud was bent on securing conformity. Adherence to ritual was 
rigidly enforced. The communion table was removed from the body 
of the church, placed at the east end, railed in, and called the 
altar : the use of copes, pictures, and other decorations was allowed. 
The puritans believed that the church of England was fast re- 
lapsing into Romish superstition : the court of Rome entertained 
hopes of regaining its authority in this island; and offered Laud 
informally a cardinal's hat, which he declined. As if they had 
seriously accepted the converse of the proposition, " No bishop, no 
king," Laud and his followers took care to magnify, on every 
occasion, the regal authority, and to treat with the utmost disdain 
all puritanical pretensions. 

At the advice of his ministers, Charles levied money either by 
the revival of obsolete laws, or by violations, some more open, some 
more disguised, of the privileges of the nation. He gave way to the 
severities of the Star Chamber and High Commission. He issued a 
proclamation, from which it was generally inferred that during this 
reign no more parliaments were intended to be summoned (March 27, 
1629). Monopolies were revived. Tonnage and poundage continued 
to be levied by the royal authority alone. Compositions were made 
with recusants. At the king's coronation, all those who possessed 

* Gardiner, The. First Two Stuarts, p. 71. 



a.d. 1629-1633. DEATH OF ARCHBISHOP ABBOTT. 373 

40?. a year in land were summoned, according to ancient usage, to 
appear and take up their knighthood, or compound for their neglect. 
As these fines had not been discharged, commissioners were now 
appointed by the council to fix the rates of composition, and instruc- 
tions were given them not to accept of a less sum than would have 
been due by the party upon a tax of three subsidies and a half, 

The court of Star Chamber extended its authority, and it was 
matter of complaint that it encroached upon the jurisdiction of the 
other courts, by imposing heavy fines and inflicting severe punish- 
ments. One case may be mentioned by way of example. Prynne, 
a barrister of Lincoln's Inn, had written an enormous quarto of a 
thousand pages, which he called Histriomastix. It professed to 
decry stage-plays, comedies, interludes, music, and dancing, as the 
occasions of all immorality. From the players he turned to the 
government, which he stigmatized for permitting the abuse, and 
he inserted expressions which were held to reflect upon the queen, 
who had sometimes acted a part in pastorals and interludes which 
were represented at court. Prynne was indicted in the Star Chamber 
as a libeller ; was condemned to be put from the bar; to stand in the 
pillory in two places, Westminster and Cheapside ; to lose both his 
ears, one in each place ; to pay 5000Z. fine to the king ; and to be 
imprisoned until he made his submission (1634). In the same year 
Charles renewed his father's edict for allowing sports and recreations 
on Sunday to such as had attended public worship ; and he ordered 
his proclamation for that purpose to be read by the clergy after 
divine service. Those who were puritanically affected refused 
obedience, and were punished by suspension or deprivation. Some 
encouragement and protection which the king and the bishops gave 
to wakes, church-ales, bride-ales, and other cheerful festivals of the 
common people, were the objects of like scandal to the puritans. 

§ 8. Till the year 1634, however contrary these proceedings may 
appear in this century to law and justice, they awakened little or 
no discontent in the nation at large. Even Prynne's sentence at 
the time produced no sensation. When there was no vehicle for 
public opinion, no reports of the proceedings of the commons, it 
made little difference whether they were silent by authority or by 
the force of circumstances. The nation went on much as usual, 
believing in a king, and not very clearly understanding the meaning 
of his disputes with the commons. Laud was only bishop of 
London. A small and noisy minority only in his diocese opposed 
his reforms. As for drifting into a civil war or taking up arms 
against the government, such a thought never occurred to the 
most sanguine opponent of the church or the state. But in 
August, 1633, archbishop Abbott died ; and Laud, appointed his 
18 



37i CHARLES I. . Chap. xxi. 

successor, succeeded also to the great influence connected with 
such a dignity in very critical times, with a fixed resolution to 
carry out those ecclesiastical principles which had hitherto found 
no encouragement in his predecessor. But, besides the power to 
enforce his views resulting from his official position , Laud was 
clothed with- still greater authority as a member of the two great 
courts, the High Commission and the Star Chamber. Such also 
was his influence with the king in other than ecclesiastical ques- 
tions, that whatever he determined was backed by the power of 
the crown. Thoroughly honest in his intentions, earnestly devoted 
to the interests, as he held them, of the king, the church, and the 
nation, it would have been impossible for Laud to have escaped 
envy and detraction had he employed his immense power with the 
utmost prudence, suavity, and circumspection. But, in the con- 
fidence of the sincerity of his own intentions, Laud was not always 
careful to disarm hostility or resentment by those arts of popularity 
with which no great minister can well afford to dispense. Con- 
sequently, without intending it, he created bitter enemies, not only 
among the clergy and the nobility, but among the king's privy 
councillors, who were not forward in seconding his efforts, nor sorry 
when he was foiled and disappointed. 

In 1634 a measure was introduced which led to fatal conse- 
quences. This was ship-money. Whilst England was engrossed 
with domestic broils, she was fast losing the supremacy of the seas. 
British waters w T ere infested with pirates ; Englishmen were carried 
off and sold for slaves in Barbary. The Dutch, taking advantage 
of the political complications of the times, had greatly advanced 
their commerce, and were prepared to dispute with England the 
sovereignty of the narrow seas. They excluded the English from 
the northern fisheries, and claimed the right of fishing on the 
English coasts. The navy of France was also rapidly augmented, 
under the fostering care of Richelieu. Intercepted letters fell into 
the hands of the government, detailing a plot for an attack upon 
Dunkirk by the French and the Dutch. Charles had no mind to 
see the whole of the southern shore of the Straits of Dover in the 
hands of the French, and, though his pecuniary distresses were great, 
he wished to meet the emergency. He had already had evidence, 
in the case of the palatinate, of the hopelessness of appealing to 
parliament for support, and he therefore fell back on the precedents 
of Elizabeth's reign. The first writ of ship-money was drawn up 
by Noy, formerly a leader of the puritan party, now attorney- 
general. The ancient precedents were carefully followed. In the 
first instance the writs were directed to seaport towns only. After- 
Wards the counties were informed that they might contribute money, 



a.d. 1633-1637. TRIAL OF HAMPDEN. 375 

instead of ships, for the expenses of the royal dockyards. In 1635 
the tax was extended by the council to the inland shires, and each 
county was rated at a specified sum, to be levied in fair proportions 
upon individuals. The tax seems to have been moderately and 
equitably assessed, and the money was expended on the navy. In 
some few instances complaints were made, not against the legality 
of the tax — for that seems to have attracted no attention — but 
against the equality of the assessment. This was left to the sheriffs 
and their officers, and party or personal feelings sometimes inter- 
fered with the strict justice of their proceedings. In spite of all 
these difficulties a fleet was raised ; and in 1685 and the following 
year the Dutch fishing vessels were driven from the coast, and a 
number of English slaves were rescued from Moorish pirates. In 
anticipation of any resistance or disputes with the sheriffs, Charles 
had taken the precaution in 1637 to ask the advice of the twelve 
judges as to the legality of the tax. They gave it as their unani- 
mous opinion that the king might call on his subjects for ships, or 
money to supply them, when the kingdom was in danger, and that 
he only was the judge of such necessity.* 

John Hampden, a Buckinghamshire gentleman, who had already 
resisted the sheriff in his own county on the assessment of the tax, 
following the example of lord Saye and Sele, a bitter opponent of 
the court, refused to pay the tax levied on him for his estate, 
amounting to twenty shillings. The case was argued in the Ex- 
chequer. The twelve judges adhered to their former opinion, with 
the exception of Hutton and Croke. The latter excused themselves 
on the grounds that the opinion they had given was only a private 
opinion — though it is not easy for the uninitiated to see how, in 
a dry matter of law, a judge can well hold two different opinions at 
the same time. As a further apology for his conduct, Croke urged 
that he had signed his name out of deference to the majority. As 
neither of the two dissentients incurred the formal displeasure of 
the crown, it is fair to infer that the judges were not so obsequious 
to the dictation of the king as party prejudices would sometimes 
represent. But though the decision was ostensibly in favour of the 
king, practically it was the reverse ; and Hampden's refusal made 
the levying of the tax more difficult and more precarious. 

The puritans at this time were divided into two classes : political 
puritans, who were generally averse to the ceremonies of the church, 
and especially its episcopacy or " lordly prelacy," as they affected 
to call it ; and doctrinal puritans, to whom the opinions of Hooker, 

* This was strictly in accordance with | informal text had been substituted in the 
the original text of the Confirmatio \ Petition of Ri^ht 
Chartarum of Edward I., for which the ! 



376 CHARLES I. Chap. xxi. 

Grotius, and Land were particularly obnoxious. But neither had 
as yet withdrawn themselves from the communion of the church 
of England. Eestrained by Laud in England, some now took this 
step, and shipped themselves for America, where they laid the 
foundations of a government possessing that liberty, civil and reli- 
gious, of which they considered themselves bereaved in their native 
country. In 1630 the charter of Massachusetts Bay had been 
obtained from the crown, and about 350 nonconformists sailed with 
the first fleet. Already, in 1620, a band of emigrants, to the num- 
ber of 100, called the " Pilgrim Fathers," had sailed from Plymouth 
and anchored in the harbour of Cape Cod. Few came to join them. 

§ 9. But affairs in England might long have continued on the 
same footing, had they not been influenced by the proceedings in 
Scotland. James, from his love of prelacy, which order he con- 
sidered best fitted to inculcate obedience and loyalty among the 
people, had raised some of the Scotch prelates to chief dignities in 
the state. The Scotch nobility, whose power was great, and whose 
connection with the king had been much loosened by his long 
absence, were disgusted to find the prelates superior to themselves 
in power and influence. The inferior ranks of the Scotch clergy 
themselves equalled, if they did not exceed, the nobility in their 
prejudices against the court, the prelates, and episcopal authority. 
The people, under the influence of the nobility and clergy, could not 
fail to partake of their discontents, and were imbued with the same 
horror against popery which possessed the English puritans. Yet, in 
spite of these symptoms, the king's great aim was to complete the 
work begun by his father ; to establish ecclesiastical discipline in 
Scotland, to introduce a liturgy into public worship, and to render the 
ecclesiastical government of all his kingdoms regular and uniform. 

The liturgy imposed on Scotland was copied, with a few altera- 
tions, from that of England : and due notice was given of the inten- 
tion to commence the use of it on Sunday, July 23, 1637. On 
that day, accordingly, in the cathedral church of St. Giles, the dean 
of Edinburgh, arrayed in his surplice, began the service ; the bishop 
himself and many of the privy council being present. But no 
sooner had the dean opened the book than the people, clapping their 
hands, cursing, and crying out, " A pope ! a pope ! antichrist ! stone 
him ! " raised such a tumult, that it was impossible to proceed with 
the service. It was with difficulty that the magistrates were able 
to expel the crowd, and shut the doors against them. The tumult, 
however, still continued without : and the bishop, returning home, 
narrowly escaped from the enraged multitude. 

Further riots ensued ; and, as Charles continued inflexible, a 
systematic resistance was organized at Edinburgh. Four com- 



a.d. 1637-1638. THE COVENANT. 377 

mittees or tables, as they were called, were formed. One consisted 
of nobility, another of gentry, a third of ministers, a fourth of bur- 
gesses. In the hands of the four tables the whole authority of the 
kingdom was placed. Orders were issued by them, and were obeyed 
with the utmost regularity. A proclamation by the king, granting 
a free pardon for past offences, but insisting on obedience to the 
service book, was met by a public protestation, and the Covenant 
was renewed, with fresh clauses (March 1). This famous deed con- 
sisted, first, of a renunciation of popery, formerly signed by James 
in his youth, followed by a bond of union, by which the subscribers 
obliged themselves to resist the recent religious innovations, and to 
defend one another against all opposition.* The people, without dis- 
tinction of rank or condition, of age or sex, flocked to the subscrip- 
tion of this Covenant, and even the king's ministers and counsellors 
themselves were, for the most part, seized by the general contagion. 
The king now began to apprehend the consequences, and sent the 
marquis of Hamilton, as commissioner, with authority to treat with 
the Covenanters. He required the Covenant to be renounced and 
recalled ; but the popular leaders told Hamilton they would sooner 
renounce their baptism. Charles offered concessions ; expressed his 
willingness to abolish the canons, the liturgy, and the High Commis- 
sion Court, and even to limit extremely the power of the bishops. 
These successive concessions of the king, which still came short of 
the rising demands of the malcontents, and only discovered his own 
weakness, gave no satisfaction. A general assembly of the Scotch 
met at Glasgow November 21, 1638 ; and in August, next year, it 
formally abolished episcopacy, the High Commission, the canons, 
and the liturgy. Thus the whole fabric which James and Charles, 
in a long course of years, had been rearing with so much care and 
policy, fell at once to the ground. The Covenant likewise was 
ordered to be signed by every one, under pain of excommunication. 
Preparations were now openly made for war. Cardinal Richelieu, 
in revenge for Charles's opposition to his designs upon Flauders, 
carefully fomented the first commotions in Scotland, and secretly 
supplied the Covenanters with money and arms. The earl of Argyle, 
though he long seemed to temporize, at last embraced the Covenant, 
and became the chief leader of the party. Forces were regularly 
enlisted and disciplined ; arms were imported from abroad ; and the 
whole country, except a small part where the marquis of Huntley 



* No doubt religious animosity had 
much to do with the popular outbreak, 
but the bitterness of it was increased from 
the intense dislike of English dictation. 



tional independence, had become doubly 
jealous when their native sovereign ruled 
not from Edinburgh, but London, and they 
seemed in danger of being sunk into the 



The Scotch, always jealous of their na- I position of an English province. 



378 CHARLES I. Chap. xxi. 

still adhered to the king, being in the hands of the Covenanters, was 
in a very little time put in a posture of defence. To add to these 
advantages, Scotland swarmed with veteran soldiers who had re- 
turned home from the wars in Germany ; among them Alexander 
Lesley, now entrusted with the command, had fought under 
Gustavus Adolphus. On the other hand, Charles's fleet was for- 
midable, and had 5000 land forces on board, under the marquis of 
Hamilton, who had orders to sail to the firth of Forth, and to cause 
a diversion in the forces of the malcontents. An army was raised 
of nearly 20,000 foot and above 3000 horse, and was put under the 
command of the earl of Arundel. But many of these were hasty 
and undisciplined levies, without heart to fight, discouraged by want 
of provisions, and ill paid. The king himself joined the army, and 
summoned the peers of England to attend him, and in this situa- 
tion, carrying more show than real force with it, the camp arrived 
at Berwick. Charles, advised that to fight with such forces was im- 
possible, concluded a sudden pacification, in which it was stipulated 
that he should withdraw his fleet and army ; that within 48 hours 
the Scots should dismiss their forces ; that the king's forts should 
be restored to him, his authority be acknowledged, and a general 
assembly and a parliament be immediately summoned, in order to 
compose all differences (June 18, 1639). He further agreed to con- 
firm his former concessions of abrogating the canons, the liturgy, 
and the High Commission, and to abolish the order of bishops. The 
treaty was not observed by the Scotch: Their army was not dis- 
banded, nor the forts surrendered ; whilst all those of the nation 
who had adhered to the king were bitterly persecuted. The Scotch 
parliament, which met soon after, advanced pretensions which 
tended to limit the royal power. The war was renewed with great 
advantages on the side of the Covenanters, and disadvantages on 
that of the king. For no sooner had Charles concluded the pacifi- 
cation, than the necessities of his affairs and his want of money 
obliged him to disband his troops. 

§ 10. The king, with great difficulty, found means to draw together 
an army ; but by the advice of Laud and Wentworth, who had re- 
turned from Ireland, he was persuaded to summon a parliament. The 
time appointed for the meeting of parliament — known as the fourth 
or the Short Parliament — was late in the year (April 13, 1640), 
and very near the time appointed for opening the campaign against 
the Scots. Charles took occasion to press the commons for an im- 
mediate grant, before they proceeded to offer him petitions for the 
redress of grievances ; promising that as much as was possible of 
this season should afterwards be allowed them for that purpose. 
But, by means of the Scottish insurrection, and the general discon- 



a.d. 1639-1640. WAR WITH THE SCOTCH. 379 

tents in England, affairs had drawn so near to a crisis, that the 
leaders of the huuse began to foresee the consequences, and to hope 
that the time was now coming when liberty would acquire a full 
ascendency. Instead of taking notice of the king's complaints 
against his Scottish subjects, or his applications for supply, they 
entered immediately upon grievances. They began with examin- 
ing the behaviour of the speaker the last day of the former parlia- 
ment, when he refused, on account of the king's command, to put 
the question ; and they declared it a breach of privilege. They 
proceeded next to inquire into the imprisonment and prosecution of 
sir John Eliot, Holies, and Valentine. The affair of ship-money was 
canvassed ; and fresh subjects of enquiry were suggested on all hands. 
To biing the matter of supply to some issue, Charles solicited the 
house by repeated messages. He offered to abandon ship-money 
in return for a supply of 12 subsidies, about 600,000/., payable in 
three years. But the commons objected that, by bargaining for 
the remission of that duty, they would, in a manner, ratify the 
authority by which it had been levied. The king was in great 
doubt and perplexity. He saw that his friends in the house were 
outnumbered by his enemies. Where great evils lie on all sides, it 
is difficult to follow the best counsel ; nor is it any wonder that the 
king, whose capacity was not equal to situations of such extreme 
delicacy, should hastily have formed and executed the resolution of 
dissolving this parliament (May 5) ; a measure, however, of which he 
soon after repented. This abrupt and violent dissolution naturally 
excited discontents among the people, and these were increased 
when some of the members were imprisoned and otherwise harshly 
treated. An attack was made during the night upon Laud, in his 
palace of Lambeth, by above 500 persons. Later on, a multitude 
entered St. Paul's, where the High Commission then sat, tore down 
the benches, and cried out, " No bishop, no High Commission." 

§ 11. The king, having raised money chiefly by a clerical sub- 
sidy granted in convocation, and by other contributions, was enabled, 
though with great difficulty, to set on foot his army, commanded 
by the celebrated Strafford and the earl of Northumberland. It 
consisted of 19,000 foot and 2000 horse. The Scottish army, 
superior in numbers, was sooner ready than the king's. The 
Covenanters still preserved the most pathetic and most submissive 
language ; and entered England, they said, with no other view than 
to obtain access to the king's presence, and lay their humble 
petition at his royal feet. At Newburn-upon-Tyne they were 
opposed by a detachment of 4500 men under Conway, who seemed 
resolute to dispute with them the passage of the river. The Scots 
first entreated them, with great civility, not to stop them in their 



380 CHARLES I. Chap. xxi. 

march to their gracious sovereign, and then attacked them with 
great hravery, killed several, and chased the rest from their ground 
(August 28). The English forces at Newcastle now retreated into 
Yorkshire, and the Scots took possession of Newcastle. Hence 
they despatched messengers to the king, who had arrived at York ; 
and they took care, after the advantage which they had obtained, 
to redouble their expressions of loyalty, duty, and submission to 
his person, and they even made apologies, full of sorrow and con- 
trition, for their late victory. In order to prevent their advance, 
the king appointed 16 English noblemen to treat with 11 Scottish 
commissioners at Eipon (October 26). 

An army newly levied, undisciplined, seditious, and ill paid, 
was very unfit for withstanding a victorious and high-spirited 
enemy, and retaining in subjection a discontented and zealous 
nation ; and Charles, in despair of being able to stem the torrent, 
at last determined to yield to it. He had summoned a great 
council of the peers at York (September 24), but, foreseeing that 
they would advise him to call a parliament, he told them in his 
first speech that he had already taken this resolution. They agreed 
to pay the Scots a daily subsidy of 850?., to be levied on the four 
northern counties, on condition of their refraining from plunder. 

§ 12. The elections, as might have been expected, ran in favour 
of the popular party. The parliament, memorable as the Long 
Parliament, met on November 3, 1640. The first act of the 
commons was to choose William Lenthall for their speaker, in 
opposition to Charles's views, who had intended to advance 
Gardiner, recorder of London, to that important dignity. With- 
out any interval they entered upon business, and they immediately 
struck a blow which may in a manner be regarded as decisive, by 
impeaching the earl of Strafford, who was considered as the king's 
chief minister. Strafford, sensible of the load of popular prejudices 
under which he laboured, would gladly have declined attendance 
in parliament ; but Charles, who had entire confidence in the earl's 
capacity, thought that his counsels would be extremely useful 
during the critical session which approached. And when Strafford 
still insisted on the danger of appearing amidst so many enraged 
enemies, the king, little apprehensive that his own authority was 
so suddenly to expire, promised him protection, and assured him 
that not a hair of his head should be touched by the parliament. 
The debate respecting Strafford was conducted with locked doors ; 
his impeachment was unanimously voted, and Pym was chosen to 
carry it up to the lords. Most of the house accom panied him on so 
agreeable an errand; and Strafford, who had just entered the House 
of Peers, and who little expected so speedy a prosecution, was 



a.d. 1640. THE LONG PARLIAMENT. 381 

immediately, upon this general charge, ordered into custody 
(November 11), and a fortnight after sent to the Tower. After 
a deliberation which scarcely lasted half an hour, an impeachment 
of high treason was voted against Laud, who was immediately 
sequestered from parliament, and committed to custody (December 
18). The lord-keeper Finch, and sir Francis Windebank, ap- 
prehending a similar fate, fled to the continent. Thus, in a 
few weeks, the House of Commons, not opposed, but rather 
seconded, by the peers, had produced such a revolution in the 
government, that the two most powerful and most favoured 
ministers of the king were thrown into the Tower, and daily 
expected to be tried for their life ; whilst two other ministers had 
by flight alone saved themselves from a similar fate. The com- 
mons, not content with the authority which they had acquired 
by attacking these great ministers, were resolved to render the 
most considerable personages of the nation subject to them. All 
who had assumed power not authorized by statute were declared 
delinquents. This term was newly come into vogue, and ex- 
pressed a degree or species of guilt not exactly known or ascer- 
tained. It would comprehend all the sheriffs, and all those who 
had been employed in assessing ship-money ; all the farmers and 
officers of the customs, who had been engaged during so many 
years in levying tonnage and poundage ; and all those who had 
concurred in the arbitrary sentences of the courts of Star Chamber 
and High Commission. No minister of the king, no member of the 
council, but found himself exposed by this decision. Almost all 
the bench of bishops, and the most considerable of the inferior 
clergy, who had voted in the late convocation, were involved, by 
these new principles, in the imputation of delinquency. Freed 
from the restraint of sovereign authority, the popular leaders 
nourished unbounded hopes. The sagacity of Pym, the ambition 
of Hampden, the dark, ardent, and dangerous character of St. 
John, the impetuous spirit of Holies, and the enthusiasm of the 
younger Vane, challenged general attention. Men even of the 
most moderate tempers, attached to the church and the mon- 
archy, exerted themselves with the utmost vigour in the redress of 
grievances, and in prosecuting the authors of them. In this list 
are found the names of Hyde and Falkland, of Digby and of 
Capel. Though in their ultimate views and intentions these men 
differed widely from the former, in their present actions and dis- 
courses entire unanimity prevailed amongst them. 

The harangues of members were now first published and dis- 
persed ; and the pulpit and the press were delivered from dread 
of the Star Chamber and the High Commission. The sentences 
18* 



382 CHARLES I. Chap. xxi. 

pronounced against Prynne, Bastwick, and Burton were reversed 
by parliament, and they were released from their prisons in Scilly 
and the Channel Islands. When Prynne and Burton landed in Eng- 
land, they were received with the highest demonstrations of affection. 
They were attended by a mighty confluence of company, theii* 
charges were borne with great magnificence, and liberal presents 
were bestowed on them (November 27). The invasion of the 
Scots had evidently been the cause of assembling the parliament. 
The presence of that army had reduced the king to the subjection 
in which he was now held : and the commons, for this reason, 
openly professed their intention of retaining these invaders. Eighty 
thousand pounds a month were required fur the subsistence of the 
Scotch and the English armies, a sum much greater than the subject 
had ever been accustomed to pay in any former period. And though 
several subsidies, together with a poll-tax, were from time to time 
voted to answer the charge, the commons still took care to be in debt, 
in order to render the continuance of the session the more necessary. 
The zeal of the commons was particularly directed against the 
bishops and the established church. They introduced a bill for 
prohibiting all clergymen the exercise of any civil office, as a con- 
sequence of which the bishops were to be deprived of their seats in 
the House of Peers. But the bitter and intolerant spirit displayed 
by the puritans was now beginning to alienate many of the lords, 
and the bill was rejected by a large majority. Among other acts 
of regal executive power, which the commons were every day 
assuming, they issued orders for demolishing all images, altars, and 
crucifixes (January 23, 1641). It was now that the zealous sir 
Robert Harlow, to whom the execution of these orders was com- 
mitted, removed the beautiful crosses at Cheapside and Charing Cross. 
A committee was elected as a court of inquisition upon the clergy, 
and was commonly denominated the committee of Scandalous Minis- 
ters. The proceedings of this famous committee, which continued 
for several years, were cruel and arbitrary, and made great havoc in 
the church and the universities. They began with harassing, im- 
prisoning, and molesting the clergy, and ended with sequestrating 
and ejecting them. Charles, who was now aware of the uselessness 
of resistance, opposed, as long as he could, the bill for assembling 
a parliament at least once in three years (February, 1641). By a 
statute psissed during the reign of Edward III., it had been enacted 
that parliaments should be held once every year, or more frequently 
if necessary : but, as no provision had been made in case of failure, 
this statute had been dispensed with at pleasure. The defect was 
supplied by those vigilant patriots who now assumed the reins of 
government. It was enacted that, if the chancellor failed to issue 



a.d. 1640-1641. TRIAL OF STRAFFORD. 383 

writs on the 3rd of September in every third year, any 12 or more 
of the peers should be empowered to exercise this authority ; in 
default of the peers, that the sheriffs, mayors, bailiffs, etc., should 
summon the voters; and in their default, that the voters them- 
selves should meet and proceed to the election for members, in the 
same manner as if writs had been regularly issued by the crown. 
Nor could the parliament, after it was assembled, be adjourned, 
prorogued, or dissolved, without its own consent, during the space 
of 50 days.* 

§ 13. Immediately after Strafford was sequestered from parlia- 
ment and confined in the Tower, a joint committee of the lords 
and commons were appointed to investigate his case, and were 
bound to secrecy by an oath. To confer greater solemnity on 
this important trial, scaffolds were 'erected in Westminster Hall, 
where both houses sat, the one as accusers, the other as judges 
(March 22, 1641). Besides the chair of state, a close gallery was 
prepared for the king and queen, who attended during the whole 
trial. The articles of impeachment against Strafford were 28 in 
number, and regarded his conduct as president of the council 
of York, as deputy or lieutenant of Ireland, and as counsellor or 
commander in England. From a cumulation of charges it was 
endeavoured to establish a constructive one of treason. The 
principal articles were the billeting of soldiers on the Irish, in order 
to make them submit to his illegal demands, advising the king 
to employ the army raised in Ireland to subjugate England, and the 
taxing of the people of Yorkshire for the maintenance of his troops. 
The remaining charges were for hasty and imperious expressions 
and tyrannous acts towards individuals. To strengthen the case 
of the impeachment, Pym produced a paper, said to have been 
found by Henry Vane in his father's cabinet, purporting to be 
notes of a debate in council after the dissolution of the last parlia- 
ment, in which Strafford was represented as saying, '■' Your 
majesty having tried the affections of your people, you are absolved 
and loose from all rules of government. . . . You have an army in 
Ireland that you may employ to reduce this kingdom to obedience ; 
for I am confident the Scots cannot hold out five months." f 
Though Strafford denied the accuracy of the statement, and other 
members of the council who were present declared that they had 
never heard it, yet it was received in evidence. It was pretended 
that the fact of this paper having been seen by Pym, who had 
copied it, and by Vane the younger, was equivalent to the 
testimony of two witnesses, the number required by law in cases 
of treason. Strafford is allowed, on all hands, to have made a 

* Repealed in 1664. f The words are variously reported. 



384 



CHARLES I. 



Chap. xxi. 



noble defence. " Certainly," remarks Whitelock, the chairman of 
the committee which conducted the impeachment, "never any 
man acted such a part, on such a theatre, with more wisdom, con- 
stancy, and eloquence, with greater reason, judgment, and temper, 
and with a better grace in all his words and actions, than did this 
great and excellent person ; and he moved the hearts of all his 
auditors, some few excepted, to remorse and pity." 

It was evident that Strafford had gained many friends by the 
manly modesty of his demeanour and the eloquence of his defence. 
The result appeared doubtful if the trial proceeded in Westminster 
Hall ; and some of the leaders of the popular party therefore re- 
solved to adopt one of the worst precedents of the reign of Henry 
VIII., and to proceed against Strafford by bill of attainder.* In 
this step they had the active concurrence of Hyde and Falkland, 
who were shortly afterwards the mainstay of the royalist party. 
The bill of attainder passed the commons with only 59 dissent- 
ing votes (April 21), and was by Pym carried up to the lords. 
About 80 peers had constantly attended Strafford's trial; but such 
apprehensions were entertained on account of the popular tumults, 
that only 45 were present when the bill of attainder was brought 
into the house. Yet of these, 19 had the courage to vote against 
it. The opinion of the judges was read to the house previously 
to the division. It did not state that the prisoner was guilty 
of treason, but that " they were of opinion, upon all that which 
their lordships have voted to be proved, that the earl of Strafford 
doth deserve to undergo the pains and forfeitures of high trea- 
son by law." The bill then passed the lords (April 29, 1641). 
On Monday, May 3rd, " a rabble of about 6000 out of the city," 
influenced by the sermons of certain puritan preachers the day 
before, " came thronging down to Westminster, crying out for 
justice against the earl of Strafford." They posted up on the 
Avails the names of all those who had voted for the earl, calling 
them " Straffordians and betrayers of their country." Another 
incident added fuel to the flame. Some officers of the army con- 
cocted a form of a petition to the king and parliament, to be 
subscribed by the army, in which they offered to come up and 
guard the parliament. The draft of this petition being convey- 
ed to the king, he was prevailed on to signify his approbation of 



* The student shpuld bear in mind the 
difference between an Impeachment and a 
Bill of Attainder. In an Impeachment 
the commons are the accusers, and the 
lords alone the judges. In a Bill of 
Attainder the commons are the judges, 
as well as the lords. It may be intro- 



duced in either house ; it passes through 
the same stages as any other bill ; and 
when agreed to by both houses, it receives 
the asseht of the crown. As Selden re- 
marked, it violated the commonest prin- 
ciples of justice by making the same party 
accusers and judges. 



a.d. 1641. DEATH OF STRAFFORD. 385 

it. An officer named Goring betrayed the secret to the popular 
leaders. Their alarm may easily be imagined. The commons voted 
a protestation, to be signed by the whole nation, declaring that the 
subscribers would defend their religion and liberties. 

The king's servants, consulting their own safety rather than their 
master's honour, declined interposing with their advice between him 
and his parliament. Juxon alone, bishop of London, whose courage 
was not inferior to his other virtues, ventured to advise him, if in 
his conscience he did not approve of the bill, by no means to 
assent to it. Some plans for the earl's escape were devised, but 
abandoned; and Strafford, hearing of Charles's irresolution and 
anxiety, took a very extraordinary step. He wrote a letter (May 4), 
in which he entreated the king, for the sake of public peace, to 
put an end to his unfortunate, however innocent, life ; and to quiet 
the tumultous people by granting them the request for which they 
were so importunate.* After a week of violent agitation, Charles 
granted a commission to four noblemen to give the royal assent, 
in his name, to the bill (May 10). Secretary Carleton was sent by 
lhe king to inform Strafford of the final resolution which necessity 
had extorted from him. The earl, rising up from his chair, ex- 
claimed, in the words of Scripture, " Put not your trust in princes, 
nor in any child of man : for of them cometh no salvation." 
But immediately collecting his courage, he prepared himself for 
the fatal sentence. The king now made a new effort in his behalf, 
and sent, by the hands of the young prince of Wales, a letter in his 
own hand, addressed to the peers, entreating them to confer with 
the commons and spare the earl's life. 

In passing from his apartment to Tower Hill, where the 
scaffold was erected, Strafford stopped under Laud's windows, with 
whom he had long lived in intimate friendship, and entreated his 
prayers. His discourse on the scaffold was full of decency and 
courage. His head fell at one blow (May 12, 1641), in the 49th year 
of his age. Few will uphold the justice or legality of his sentence, 
nor can such gross disregard of justice be defended on the plea of 
political necessity. Strafford's life was sacrificed quite as much to 
religious as to political animosity. He was a friend of Laud, and 
heartily embraced Laud's ecclesiastical principles in defence of 
episcopacy. So long as either remained in power, the designs of the 
Scotch Covenanters, with whom the parliamentary leaders had con- 
tracted the closest alliance, could not be realized. Jealousy of his 
favour with the king, perhaps also a tacit belief that Charles 
would never consent to his death, induced the lords to agree with 
the commons in the earl's condemnation. The result was the same 

* It has been asserted that this letter was a forgery. 



386 CHARLES I. Chap. xxi. 

in both cases— with the lords, because the commons now began to 
undervalue their concurrence, and eventually abolished them ; with 
the king, because having once surrendered his authority, when he 
had every obligation to stand firm, men were persuaded that, under 
sufficient pressure, he would give way on all other occasions. Great 
as was the compunction of Charles for his compliance with Strafford's 
execution, and hardy as he was pressed to it by those about him, 
it was a fatal step to himself and to all who were concerned in it. 

§ 14. On the same day that the king gave his assent to the 
execution of Strafford, he likewise sanctioned a bill, which had 
been rapidly carried through both houses, that the parliament 
should not be dissolved, prorogued, or adjourned, without its 
own consent. A bill was also passed to abolish the courts of High 
Commission and Star Chamber. By the same bill the jurisdiction 
of the king's council was regulated, and its authority abridged. 
Thirteen of the bishops were impeached for their share in making 
the canons of 1640. The house adjourned to the 20th of October ; 
and a committee of both houses, a thing unprecedented, was ap- 
pointed to sit during the recess with very ample powers. 

A small committee of both houses attended the king, on his 
journey into Scotland, in order, as was pretended, to see that the 
articles of pacification were executed ; but really to act as spies 
upon him, and to extend still further the ideas of parliamentary 
authority, as well as to eclipse the majesty of the king. Besides the 
large pay voted to the Scots for lying in good quarters during a 
twelvemonth, the English parliament conferred on them a present 
of 300,000?. for their brotherly assistance. In the articles of 
pacification they were declared to have ever been good subjects. 
Their invasions of England were approved of, as enterprises cal- 
culated and intended for his majesty's honour and advantage. 
In Scotland, as in England, the king was obliged to strip himself 
of his most valued prerogatives. Several of the Covenanters were 
sworn of the privy council ; and the king, while in Scotland, con- 
formed himself entirely to the services of the kirk, assisting with 
great gravity at the long prayers and longer sermons with which 
the presbyterians endeavoured to regale him. 

§ 15. While the king was employed in pacifying the commotion 
in Scotland, a dangerous rebellion had broken out in Ireland. 
Strafford had raised the army in Ireland from 3000 to 12,000 men, 
with the secret design, as his enemies asserted, of employing them to 
maintain Charles's power in England. The parliament insisted on 
their being reduced to their original number ; nor would they for- 
ward the king's plan of enlisting 4000 of these disbanded troops in 
the Spanish service in Flanders, whence indeed they mi_>ht have 



a.d. 1641. IRISH REBELLION. 387 

been easily diverted to a different object. By this means, however, 
not only was the standing army in Ireland greatly reduced, but a 
large body of discontented papists, trained to the use of arms, was 
suddenly turned loose on society. The old Irish observed these 
false steps of the English, and resolved to take advantage of them. 
A gentleman called Roger More, of Kildare, much celebrated among 
his countrymen for valour and capacity, formed the project of 
expelling the English ; and he engaged in the conspiracy the chiefs 
of the native Irish, especially sir Phelim O'Neale, the representative 
of the Tyrone family, and lord Inniskillen (Macguire). The com- 
mencement of the revolt was fixed for the approach of winter, that 
there might be more difficulty in transporting forces from England. 
An attempt to surprise Dublin castle was betrayed and failed, but 
O'Neale and his confederates had already taken up arms in Ulster. 
The Irish, everywhere intermingled with the English, needed but 
a hint from their leaders to begin hostilities against a people 
whom they hated on account of their religion, and envied for their 
riches. The houses, cattle, and goods of the unwary English were 
first seized. After rapacity had fully exerted itself, a massacre com- 
menced (October 23, 1641). No age, no sex, and no condition was 
spared. The English, as heretics abhorred of Grod, were marked out 
for slaughter. The English colonies were almost annihilated in the 
open country of Ulster, whence the flames of rebellion diffused them- 
selves over the other three provinces of Ireland. Not content with 
expelling the English from their houses, and despoiling them of their 
manors and cultivated fields, the Irish stripped them of their clothes, 
and turned them out, naked and defenceless, to all the inclemency 
of the season. The number of those who perished is estimated 
at the lowest from 30,000 to 40,000. The English of the pale, 
or ancient English planters, who were all catholics, were probably 
not at first in the secret, and pretended to blame the insurrection 
and to detest the barbarity with which it was accompanied. By 
their protestations and declarations they engaged the justices to 
supply them with arms, which they promised to employ in de- 
fence of the government ; but in a little time the interests of 
religion were found more powerful than regard and duty to their 
mother country. They chose lord Gormanston their leader ; and, 
joining the old Irish, rivalled them in every act of violence to- 
wards the English protestants. 

§ 16. The king, to whom the Scots could grant no further aid 
than to despatch a small body to support the Scottish colonies in 
Ulster, sensible of his utter inability to subdue the Irish rebels, 
found himself obliged, in this exigency, to have recourse to the 
English parliament. But the parliament discovered, in every vote, 



388 CHARLES I. Chap. xxi. 

the same dispositions in which they had separated. The Irish 
rebellion had increased their animosity ; but, while they pretended 
the utmost zeal against it, they took no steps towards its sup- 
pression. The necessity to which the king was now reduced, his 
facility in making concessions fatal to bis own authority, the example 
of the Scots, all combined in encouraging the commons to impair the 
prerogatives of the monarchy. They levied money under pretence 
of the Irish expedition, but reserved it for purposes which concerned 
them more nearly ; they took arms from the king's magazines, but 
still kept them, with a secret intention of employing them against 
himself. To vindicate their conduct aud to show that their dis- 
trust of the king was well founded, the leaders of the popular party 
thought proper, in the king's absence, to frame a general Remon- 
strance on the state of the nation. This memorable document was 
not addressed to the king, but was openly declared to be an appeal 
to the people. It consisted of many gross falsehoods, mixed with 
evident truths. Whatever invidious, whatever suspicious, whatever 
questionable measure ha 1 been embraced by the king, from the com- 
mencement of his reign, is insisted on with merciless rhetoric : the 
unsuccessful expeditions to Cadiz and the isle of Rhe ; the sending 
of ships to France for the suppression of the Huguenots ; the forced 
loans ; the illegal confinement of men for not obeying illegal com- 
mands ; the violent dissolution of four parliaments ; the arbitrary 
government which always succeeded , the questioning, fining, and 
imprisoning of members for their conduct in the house ; the levy- 
ing of taxes without consent of the commons ; the introducing of 
superstitious innovations into the church, without authority of law: 
in short, everything which, with or withov reason, had given offence 
during the course of 15 years, from the accession of the king to 
the calling of the present parliament. And a'.l their grievances, 
they said, which amounted to no less than a total subversion of 
the constitution, proceeded entirely from the combination of a 
popish faction, which had ever swayed the king's counsels, had 
endeavoured, by an uninterrupted effort, to introduce their super- 
stition into England and Scotland, and had now at last excited 
an open and bloody rebellion in Ireland. But the opposition which 
the Remonstrance met with in the House of Commons was great. 
For above 14 hours the debate was warmly maintained, and the 
vote was at last carried by a small majority of 159 to 148 (No- 
vember 22). It was two o'clock in the morning — the debate, which 
was hot and furious, had lasted the whole day before — when a 
member at once sprang to his feet, and moved that, without wait- 
ing for the concurrence of the lords, the Remonstrance should be 
printed, — in effect, that it should be put into general circulation to 



A.D. 1641. IMPEACHMENT OF THE BISHOPS. 389 

excite the passions of the people, before the king, who was then 
absent, or his council, could have time to answer it. In this 
memorable debate Hyde and Falkland, who had previously acted 
with the popular party, were the chief leaders in opposition to the 
Eemonstrance. 

Every measure pursued by the commons, and still more every 
attempt made by their partisans, was full of the most inveterate 
hatred against the hierarchy, and showed a determined resolution of 
subverting the whole ecclesiastical establishment. The majority of 
the peers, who had hitherto supported the commons, now adhered 
to the king, though a few, as the earl of Northumberland, the earl 
of Essex, and lord Kimbolton (soon after earl of Manchester), still 
took the opposite side. The commons professed to be alarmed 
for their personal safety, and applied to the king for a guard, as they 
apprehended " some wicked and mischievous practice to interrupt the 
peaceable proceedings of parliament " (November 30). The pulpits 
were called in aid, and resounded with the dangers which threatened 
religion from the desperate attempts of papists and malignants. 
Multitudes flocked towards Westminster, insulted the prelates and 
such of the lords as adhered to the crown, and threw out insolent 
menaces against Charles himself. Several reduced officers and 
young gentlemen of the inns of court, during this time of disorder 
and danger, offered their service to the king. Between them and 
the populace there passed frequent skirmishes, which ended not 
without bloodshed. By way of reproach, these gentlemen gave the 
rabble the appellation of Roundheads, on account of the short- 
cropped hair which they wore ; the latter called the others Cavaliers. 
And thus the nation, which was before sufficiently provided with 
religious as well as civil causes of quarrel, was also supplied with 
party names, under which the factions might rally and signalize 
their mutual hatred. 

As the bishops were prevented from attending parliament by the 
dangerous insults to which they were particularly exposed, twelve of 
them drew up a remonstrance to the king and House of Lords, in 
which they protested against all laws, votes, and resolutions, as 
null and invalid, passed during the time of their constrained 
absence (December 30). The opportunity was seized with joy 
and triumph by the commons. An impeachment of high treason 
was immediately sent up against the bishops, as endeavouring to 
subvert the fundamental laws, and to invalidate the authority of 
the legislature. They were, on the first demand, sequestered from 
parliament and committed to custody. 

§ 17. A few days after, the king was betrayed into an act of in- 
discretion, which was followed by most disastrous results. He had 



390 CHARLES I. Chap. xxi. 

discovered that six of the foremost leaders of the opposition had 
entered into treasonable correspondence with the Scots during their 
invasion of England. These were lord Kimbolton (Edward Montagu, 
eldest son of the earl of Manchester), Pym, Hampden, Hazelrig, 
Holies, and Strode. On January 3, 1642, he sent Herbert, the attor- 
ney-general, to impeach them in the House of Peers. To the demand 
made the same day by a sergeant-at-arms for the arrest of the five 
members, the commons returned an evasive answer, and the king 
resolved to seize them in person on the morrow. It is probable 
that, if he had been left to himself, he would have shrunk from 
executing this design on cooler reflection ; but he was surrounded 
by those who urged him to more violent counsels, especially the 
queen and her attendants, who taunted him with cowardice and re- 
flections on his honour. Accompanied by his ordinary retinue, to 
the number of above 200, armed as usual, some with halberts, some 
with walking-swords, the king made his appearance at the doors 
of the House of Commons. Leaving his followers outside, he 
advanced through the hall alone, while all the members rose to 
receive him. The speaker withdrew from his chair, and the king 
took possession of it. He then in a short speech demanded the 
accused members, who, having received private intelligence from 
the countess of Carlisle, had withdrawn; and he asked the speaker, 
who stood below, whether any of those persons were in the house. 
The speaker (Lenthall), falling on his knee, prudently replied, 
" I have, sir, neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak, in this place, 
but as the house is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am ; and 
I humbly ask pardon that I cannot give any other answer to what 
your majesty is pleased to demand of me." " Well, well," rejoined 
the king, " 'tis no matter ; I think my eyes are as good as another's." 
Then, convincing himself by a further scrutiny that his search was 
vain, he added, " As the birds are flown, I do expect from you that 
you will send them unto me as soon as they return, otherwise I 
must take my own course to find them." The answer was not ill 
natured, and probably the king was not ill satisfied at the result ; 
but as he moved to the doors, shouts of " Privilege I privilege I " 
followed him from all sides (January 4). The house immediately 
adjourned till the 5th ; and, appointing a committee to sit at Guild- 
hall, it put forth a declaration that the king's proceedings were a 
breach of its privileges, and its sittings at Westminster could no 
longer be held consistently with its safety. 

Next morning Charles, attended only by three or four lords, went 
to Guildhall, and made a speech to the common council containing 
many gracious expressions. The city was the stronghold of the 
disaffected members. As he passed through the streets, he heard 



a.d. 1642. THE FIVE MEMBERS. 391 

the cry, " Privilege of parliament ! privilege of parliament ! " re- 
sounding from all quarters. One of the populace, more insolent 
than the rest, drew nigh to his coach, and threw in a paper on which 
w<is written, " To your tents, Israel ! " the words employed by the 
mutinous Israelites when they abandoned Eehoboam, their rash and 
ill-advised sovereign. 

The house met (January 11), and, after confirming the votes of 
their committee, instantly adjourned, as if exposed to the most 
imminent perils from the violence of their enemies. On the ap- 
pointed day the accused members were conducted by water to the 
house. The river was covered with boats and other vessels, laden 
with small pieces of ordnance, and prepared for fight; and, on 
landing, the members were received by a body of horsemen, who 
had come up from Buckinghamshire to testify their devotion to 
Hampden. When the populace, by land and by water, passed 
Whitehall, they asked, with insulting shouts, " What has become 
of the king and his cavaliers ? And whither are they fled?" For 
the king, apprehensive of danger, had retired to Hampton Court 
(January 10), and from thence to Windsor (January 12). 

Petitions of the most threatening and seditious kind were pre- 
sented to the commons, among which were some^ signed by many 
thousands, from the apprentices, from the porters, and from de- 
cayed tradesmen. The very women were seized with the same 
infatuation. A brewer's wife, followed by many thousands of her 
sex, brought a petition to the house, in which they expressed their 
terror of the papists and prelates, and the dread of like massacres, 
rapes, and outrages with those which had been committed upon 
their sex in Ireland. They claimed equal rights with the other sex 
in the public cause, and were thanked by Pym, who begged their 
prayers for the success of the commons. The king's authority was 
now reduced to the lowest ebb. By the death of Strafford and the 
imprisonment of Laud, Charles was deprived of his most energetic 
councillors Those who remained about his person, terrified by the 
late events, consulted only their own interests and their own safety. 
The king's friends, as they were called, were dispirited and dis- 
persed. To increase the terrorism, the commons, the day after they 
reassembled (January 12), reported to the lords that there was a 
design to kill the earl of Essex and four others. Two days after, 
they resolved that all who had given the king evil counsel, or en- 
deavoured to maintain divisions between the king and the parlia- 
ment, should be judged enemies of the state ; thus suspending the 
sword of impeachment over all the king's advisers, legal or other- 
wise, who might incur the displeasure of the House of Commons. 
The king vainly endeavoured to calm this irritation, which, if not 



392 CHARLES I. Chap. xxi. 

assumed, was preposterous. He sent a message to the lord keeper 
(January 14), that he never intended to violate the privileges of the 
house, and would clear all doubts in a reasonable way. He offered 
also (January 20) to take any of their grievances into consideration. 
He openly announced that he had abandoned the charges against 
the accused members. But these concessions were only met by 
demands, the purport of which could not be mistaken. 

As a large magazine of arms was stored in the town of Hull, the 
commons despatched thither sir John Hotham, a gentleman of con- 
siderable fortune in the neighbourhood, and of an ancient family ; 
and they gave him the authority of governor. They sent orders to 
Goring, governor of Portsmouth, to obey no commands but such as 
he should receive from the parliament. They never ceased solicit- 
ing the king till he had bestowed the command of the Tower on sir 
John Conyers, in whom alone, they said, they could repose confi- 
dence ; and after making a fruitless attempt, in which the peers 
refused their concurrence, to give public warning that the people 
should put themselves in a posture of defence against the enter- 
prises of papists and other ill-affected persons, they now resolved to 
seize at once the whole power of the sword, and to confer it entirely 
on their own creatures and adherents, by means of the militia. A 
bill was introduced, and passed the two houses, which restored to 
lieutenants of counties and their deputies the powers of which by the 
votes of the commons they had been deprived ; but at the same 
time the names of all the lieutenants were inserted in the bill, and 
these consisted entirely of men in whom the parliament could con- 
fide ; and for their conduct they were accountable, by the express 
terms of the bill, not to the king, but to the parliament (March 5). 

When this demand was made, Charles was at Dover, attending 
the queen and his daughter Mary, princess of Orange, on their 
embarkation to Holland. He at first attempted to postpone and 
evade the bill ; but the commons pressed it upon him, and asserted 
that, unless he speedily complied with their demands, they should 
be constrained, for ;he safety of prince and people, to dispose of the 
militia by the authority of both houses, and were resolved to do it 
accordingly; and, while they thus menaced the king with their 
power, they invited him to fix his residence at London. Charles 
replied by a remonstrance; and, lest violence should be used to 
extort his consent to the militia bill, he removed by slow journeys 
to York, taking with him the prince of Wales and the duke of York 
(March 19). 

§ 18. The king here found marks of attachment beyond what he 
had before expected. From all quarters of England the prime 
nobility and gentry, either personally or by messages and letters, 



A.D. 1642. THE KING ARRIVES AT YORK. 393 

expressed their duty towards him, and exhorted him to save him- 
self and them from that ignominious slavery with which they were 
threatened. Finding himself supported by a considerable party in 
the kingdom, Charles began to speak in a firmer tone, and per- 
sisted in refusing the bill ; while the commons insisted on their 
ordinance, in which, by the authority of the two houses, without 
the king's consent, they had named lieutenants for all the counties, 
and conferred on them the command of the whole military force, 
of all the guards, garrisons, and forts of the kingdom (May 5). 
Charles issued proclamations against this manifest usurpation ; and 
the commons, inventing a distinction, hitherto unheard of, between 
the office and the person of the king, proceeded to levy, in his name 
and by his authority, those very forces which they employed 
against him. 

Charles had entertained hopes that, if he presented himself at Hull 
before the commencement of hostilities, Hotham, overawed by his 
presence, would admit him with his retinue, after which he might 
easily render himself master of the place ; but the governor was on 
his guard. He shut the gates and refused to receive the king, who 
desired leave to enter with 20 persons only (April 23). 

The county of York levied a guard for the king of 600 men, 
which the two houses immediately voted a breach of the trust 
reposed in him by his people, contrary to his oath, and tending to 
a dissolution of the government. The forces, which had been every- 
where raised on pretence of the service in Ireland, were henceforth 
openly enlisted by the parliament for their own purposes, and the 
command of them was given to the earl of Essex. In London no 
less than 4000 men enlisted in one day. Within ten days vast 
quantities of plate were brought to their treasurers. Such zeal 
animated the partisans of the parliament, especially in the city. 
The women gave up all the plate and ornaments of their houses, 
and even their silver thimbles and bodkins, in order to support the 
good cause against the malignants. On the other hand, the queen, 
by disposing of the crown jewels in Holland, had been enabled to 
purchase a cargo of arms and ammunition, a portion of which 
reached the king after many perils. 

The parliament now sent the conditions on which fchey were 
willing to come to an agreement (June 2). They required that no 
man should remain in the council who was not agreeable to parlia- 
ment ; that no deed of the king's should have any validity unless 
it passed the council, and was attested under their hand. ; that all 
the officers of state and principal judges should be chosen with 
consent of parliament, and enjoy their offices for life ; that none of 
the royal family should marry without consent of parliament or the 



394 



CHARLES I. 



Chap. xxi. 



council ; that the laws should be executed against catholics ; that 
the votes of popish lords should be excluded ; that the reformation 
of the liturgy and church government should take place according 
to advice of parliament ; that the ordinance with regard to the 
militia be submitted to ; that the justice of parliament pass upon 
all delinquents ; that a general pardon be granted, with such ex- 
ceptions as should be advised by parliament ; that the forts and 
castles be disposed of by consent of parliament ; and that no peer 
be made but with consent of both houses. War on any terms was 
esteemed, by the king and all his counsellors, preferable to so 
ignominious a peace. Collecting therefore some forces, Charles 
advanced southwards ; and at Nottingham he erected his royal 
standard (August 22, 1642\ 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PETITION OF EIGHT. 
3 Car. I. c. 1. 
The petition exhibited to his majesty by 
the lords spiritual and temporal, and 
commons, in this present parliament 
assembled, concerning divers rights and 
liberties of the subjects, with the king's 
majesty's royal answer thereunto in 
full parliament. 

To the king's most excellent majesty. 
Humbly show unto our sovereign lord 
the king, the lords spiritual and tem- 
poral, and commons, in parliament as- 
sembled, that whereas it is declared and 
enacted by a statute made in the time of 
the reign of king Edward I., commonly 
called Statutum de tallagio non conce- 
dendo, that no tallage or aid shall be laid 
or levied by the king or his heirs in this 
realm, without the good will and assent 
of the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, 
knights, burgesses, and other the free- 
men of the commonalty of this realm ; 
and by authority of parliament holden 
in the five and twentieth year of the 
reign of king Edward III. it is declared 
and enacted, that from thenceforth no 
person should be compelled to make any 
loans to the king against his will, because 
such loans were against reason and the 
franchise of the land; and by other 
laws of this realm it is provided that 
none should be charged by any charge 
or imposition called a benevolence, nor 



by such like charge; by which statutes 
before mentioned, and other the good 
laws and statutes of this realm, your 
subjects have inherited this freedom, that 
they should not be compelled to con- 
tribute to any tax, tallage, aid, or other 
like charge not set by common consent, 
in parliament. 

II. Yet nevertheless of late divers 
commissions directed to sundry com- 
missioners in several counties, with 
instructions, have issued ; by means 
whereof your people have been in divers 
places assembled, and required to lend 
certain sums of money unto your majesty, 
and many of them, upon their refusal 
so to do, have had an oath administered 
unto them not warrantable by the laws 
or statutes of this realm, and have been 
constrained to become bound to make 
appearance and give utterance before 
your privy council and in other places, 
and others of them have been therefore 
imprisoned, confined, and sundry other 
ways molested and disquieted ; and divers 
other charges have been laid and levied 
upon your people in several counties by 
lord lieutenants, deputy lieutenants, com- 
missioners for musters, justices of peace, 
and others, by command or direction 
from your majesty, or your privy coun- 
cil, against the laws and free customs of 
the realm. 

III. And whereas also by the statute 
called " The Great Charter of the Liber- 



Chap xxi. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



395 



ties of England," it is declared and en- 
acted, that no freeman may be taken or 
imprisoned, or be disseised of his freehold 
or liberties, or his free customs, or be 
outlawed or exiled, or in any manner de- 
stroyed, but by the lawful judgment of his 
peers, or by the law of the land. 

IV. And in the eight and twentieth 
year of the reign of king Edward III. 
it was declared and enacted by authority 
of parliament, that no man, of what 
estate or condition that he be, should be 
put out of his lands or tenements, nor 
taken, nor imprisoned, nor disherited, nor 
put to death without being brought to 
answer by due process of law. 

V. Nevertheless, against the tenor of 
the said statutes, and other the good 
laws and statutes of your realm to that 
end provided, divers of your subjects 
have of late been imprisoned without. 
any cause showed ; and when for their 
deliverance they were brought before 
your justices by your majesty's writs of 
habeas corpus, there to undergo and 
receive as the court should order, and 
their keepers commanded to certify the 
causes of their detainer, no cause was 
certified, but that they were detained 
by your majesty's special command, 
signified by the lords of your privy 
council, and yet were returned back to 
several prisons, without being charged 
with anything to which they might make 
answer according to the law. 

VI. And whereas of late great com- 
panies of soldiers and mariners have 
been dispersed into divers counties of 
the realm, and the inhabitants against 
their wills have been compelled to re- 
ceive them into their houses, and there 
to suffer them to sojourn, against the 
laws and customs of this realm, and to 
the great grievance and vexation of the 
people. 

VII. And whereas also by authority 
of parliament, in the five and twentieth 
year of the reign of king Edward III., 
it is declared and enacted, that no man 
should be forejudged of life or limb 
against the form of the Great Charter 
and the law of the land ; and by the 
said Great Charter, and other the laws 
and statutes of this your realm, no man 
ought to be adjudged to death but by 
the laws established in this your realm, 
either by the customs of. the same realm, 
or by acts of parliament : and whereas 
no offender of what kind soever is ex- 



empted from the proceedings to be used, 
and punishments to be inflicted by the 
laws and statutes of this your realm ; 
nevertheless of late time divers com- 
missions under your majesty's great seal 
have issued forth, by which certain per- 
sons have been assigned and appointed 
commissioners with power and authority 
to proceed within the land, according to 
the justice of martial law, against such 
soldiers or mariners, or other dissolute 
persons joining with them, as should 
commit any murder, robbery, felony, 
mutiny, or other outrage or misdemeanor 
whatsoever, and by such summary course 
and order as is agreeable to martial law, 
and as is used in armies in time of war, 
to proceed to the trial and condemnation 
of such offenders, and them to cause to 
be executed and put to death according 
to the law martial. 

VIII. By pretext whereof some of your 
majesty's subjects have been by some of 
the said commissioners put to death, when 
and where, if by the laws and statutes of 
the land they had deserved death, by the 
same laws and statutes also they might, 
and by no other ought to have been 
judged and executed ; 

IX. And also sundry grievous offen- 
ders, by colour thereof claiming an ex- 
emption, have escaped the punishments 
due to them by the laws and statutes of 
this your realm, by reason that divers 
of your officers and ministers of justice 
have unjustly refused or forborne to pro- 
ceed against such offenders according to 
the same laws and statutes, upon pretence 
that the said offenders were punishable 
only by martial law, and by authority 
of such commissions as aforesaid, which 
commissions, and all other of like nature, 
are wholly and directly contrary to the 
said laws and statutes of this your realm. 

X. They do therefore humbly pray 
your most excellent majesty, that no 
man hereafter be compelled to make or 
yield any gift, loan, benevolence, tax, 
or such like charge, without common 
consent by act of parliament , and that 
none be called to make answer, or to 
take such oath, or to give attendance, or 

[ be confined, or otherwise molested or 
disquieted concerning the same, or for 
refusal thereof; and that no freeman, 
in any such manner as is before men- 
tioned, be imprisoned or detained . and 
that your majesty would be pleased to 
remove the said soldiers and mariners, 



396 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. xxi. 



and that your people may not be so 
burdened in time to come ; and that the 
aforesaid commissions, for proceeding 
by martial law, may be revoked and 
annulled; and that hereafter no com- 
missions of like nature may issue forth 
to any person or persons whatsoever to 
be executed as aforesaid, lest by colour 
of them any of your majesty's subjects 
be destroyed or put to death contrary to 
the laws and franchise of the land. 

XI. All which they most humbly pray 
of your most excellent majesty as their 
rights and liberties, according to the laws 
and statutes of this realm ; and that your 
majesty would also vouchsafe to declare 
that the awards, doings, and proceedings, 



to the prejudice of your people in any of 
the premises, shall not be drawn here- 
after into consequence or example; and 
that your majesty would be also gra- 
ciously pleased, for the further comfortand 
safety of your people, to declare your 
royal will and pleasure, that in the things 
aforesaid all your officers and ministers 
shall serve you according to the laws and 
statutes of this realm, as they tender the 
honour of your majesty, and the pros- 
perity of this kingdom. 

Qua quidem petitione lectd et plenius 
intellects per dictum dominum, regem 
taliter est responsum in plena parlia- 
mento, vix. Soit droit fait comme est 
desire. 




''Oxford Crown " of Charles 1. 
Ob. : carolvs . D : G : MAG : BRIT : FRAN :ET . hiber . REX. The king mounted, to left. 
Beneath his horse a view of Oxford, with the name oxon and the letter it, the initial 
of the name of the artist, Rawlins. Rev. : exvrgat devs dissipentvr inimici. 
Across the field relig . pkot . leg ang . liber . pakl : above, v, for the value ; 
and below, 1644 oxon. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

charles i. — continued. from the commencement of the civil 

war to the trial and execution of the king. 

a.d. 1642-1649. 

§ 1. Commencement of the civil war. State of the kingdom. § 2. Battle 
of Edgehill. Negociation at Oxford. § 3. Campaign of 1643. Death 
of Hampden. Siege of Gloucester. Waller's plot. Battle of Newbury. 
Actions in the north. § 4. Proceedings in Scotland. The Solemn League 
and Covenant. Troops sent from -Ireland. § 5. Parliaments at West- 
minster and Oxford. Campaign of 1644. Battle of Marston Moor. 
Second battle of Newbury. § 6. Independents and presbyterians. 
Cromwell accuses the earl of Manchester. The self-denying ordinance. 
§ 7. Execution of Laud. § 8. Campaign of 1645. Montrose's victories. 
The " new model." Battle of Naseby. Surrender of Bristol and other 
places. § 9. Negociations with the parliament. Glamorgan's com- 
mission in Ireland. The king Hies to the Scottish camp. He is 
delivered up by the Scots. § 10. Mutiny of the army. The king seized 
by Joyce. § 11. The army subdue the parliament. The king flies to 
the Isle of Wight. § 12. Cromwell restores the discipline of the army. 
Deliberations respecting the king. § 13. Displeasure of the Scots. 
Commotions in England. Treaty of Newport. Civil wars. § 14. Pride's 
" purge." Trial of the king. § 15. Execution and character of the 
king. 

§ 1. When two names so sacred in the English constitution as those, 
of King and Parliament were placed in opposition, no wonder the 
people were divided in their choice, and were agitated with the 
most violent animosities and factions. The nobility and more con- 
siderable gentry, dreading a total confusion of rank from the fury 
19 



398 CHARLES I. Chap. xxii. 

of the populace, enlisted themselves in defence of the monarch, 
from whom they received, and to whom they communicated, their 
lustre. The city of London, on the other hand, and most of the 
great corporations, took part with the parliament, and adopted with 
zeal those democratical principles on which the pretensions of that 
assembly were founded. The devotees of presbytery became, of 
course, zealous partisans of the parliament ; the friends of the 
episcopal church valued themselves on defending the rights of 
monarchy. Those who aspired to an easy enjoyment of life flocked 
to the king's standard, where they breathed a freer air, and were 
exempted from that rigid preciseness and melancholy austerity 
which reigned among the parliamentary party. But on the whole, 
however, the torrent of general affection ran to the parliament, and 
their assumption of the king's name led people to believe that they 
were maintaining his authority against less disinterested advisers. 
The neighbouring states of Europe, engaged in violent wars, little 
concerned themselves in these civil commotions ; and this island 
enjoyed the singular advantage (for such it surely was) of fighting 
out its own quarrels without the interposition of foreigners. The 
king's condition, when he appeared at Nottingham, was not very 
encouraging to his party. His artillery, though far from numerous, 
had been left at York for want of horses to transport it. Besides 
the trained bands of the county, raised by sir John Digby, the 
sheriff, he had not got together above 300 infantry. His cavalry, 
in which consisted his chief strength, exceeded not 800, and were 
very ill provided with arms. The forces of the parliament lay at 
Northampton, within a few days' inarch of him ; and consisted of 
above 6000 men, well armed and well appointed. Had these troops 
advanced upon him, they must soon have dissipated the small force 
which he had assembled, and perhaps have for ever prevented his 
collecting an army; but the earl of Essex, the parliamentary general, 
had not yet received any orders from his masters. In this situation, 
by the unanimous desire of Charles's counsellors, the earl of South- 
ampton, with sir John Colepeper and sir William Uvedale, was 
despatched to London with offers of a treaty (August 25). Both 
houses replied that they could admit of no treaty with the king till 
he took down his standard and recalled his proclamations, in which 
the parliament supposed themselves to be declared traitors. A 
second attempt at negociation had no better success (September 3). 
The courage of the parliament was increased both by their great 
superiority of force and by two recent events which had happened 
in their favour. They had obtained possession of Portsmouth, the 
best fortified town in the kingdom, through the negligence of Goring, 
the governor (September 9) ; and the marquis of Hertford, a r.oble- 



a.d. 1642. BATTLE OF EDGEHILL. 399 

man of the greatest quality and character in the kingdom, who 
had drawn together some appearance of an army in Somersetshire, 
had been obliged to retire into Wales on the approach of the earl 
of Bedford with the parliamentary forces. All the dispersed bodies 
of the parliamentary army were now ordered to march to Northamp- 
ton : and the earl of Essex, who had joined them, found the whole 
amount to 15,000 men. The king, sensible that he had no army 
which could cope with so formidable a force, thought it prudent to 
retire to Derby, and thence to Shrewsbury. At Wellington, a 
day's march from Shrewsbury, he made a solemn declaration before 
his army, in which he promised to maintain the protestant religion, 
to observe the laws, and to uphold the just privileges and freedom 
of parliament (September 19). On the appearance of commotions 
in England, the princes Rupert and Maurice, sons of the unfor- 
tunate palatine and the princess Elizabeth, had offered their service 
to the king, their uncle ; and the former at that time commanded 
a body of horse which had been sent to Worcester in order to watch 
the motions of Essex. Here prince Rupert began the civil wars by 
routing a body of cavalry near that city (September 25). The 
action, though in itself of small importance, mightily raised the repu- 
tation of the royalists, and accpuired for prince Rupert the character 
of promptitude and courage, qualities which he eminently displayed 
during the whole course of the war. 

The king, on mustering his army, found it amount to 10,000 
men. The earl of Lindsey, who in his youth had sought expe- 
rience of military service in the Low Countries, was general ; prince 
Rupert commanded the horse, sir Jacob Astley the foot, sir Arthur 
Aston the dragoons, sir John Heydon the artillery. 

§ 2. With this army the king left Shrewsbury in October, and 
directed his march towards the capital, with the intention of 
bringing on an action. He fell in with the parliamentary forces 
at Edgehill, near Kineton, in the county of Warwick (October 23, 
1642). Though the day was far advanced, the king resolved upon 
the attack. After a desperate struggle, in which great mistakes 
were committed on both sides, the battle ended without either 
party obtaining any decisive advantage. All night the two armit s 
lay under arms, and next morning they found themselves in sight 
of each other. General, as well as soldier, on both sides, seemed 
averse to renew the battle. Essex first drew off, and retired to 
Warwick. The king returned to his former quarters. About 1200 
men are said to have fallen ; and the loss of the two armies, as far 
as we can judge by the opposite accounts, was nearly equal. Lind- 
sey, the royal general, was mortally wounded and taken prisoner. 
The king, except the taking of Banbury a few days after, had few 



400 CHARLES I. Chap. xxii. 

marks of victory to boast of. He continued his march to Oxford, 
the only town in his dominions which was altogether at his de- 
votion (October 26). Hence he proceeded to Beading, from which 
both the parliamentary governor and garrison, seized with panic, 
iled with precipitation to London. The parliament, alarmed at 
the near approach of the royal army, while their own forces lay at a 
distance, voted an address for a treaty ; and the "king named Wind- 
sor as the place of conference (November 11). Meanwhile Essex, 
advancing by hasty marches, had arrived at London. He committed 
the first breach of faith by throwing three regiments into Brentford. 
Charles attacked them, and after a sharp action beat them from 
that town, and took about 500 prisoners (November 12). The city 
trained bands joined the army under Essex, which now amounted 
to above 24,000 men, and was much superior to that of the king. 
After both armies had faced each other a whole day at Farnham 
Green, both drew off. Charles retired to Beading, and thence to 
Oxford (November 29). 

In the early part of the next year, negociations for a treaty were 
continued at Oxford. The king insisted on the re-establishment of 
the crown in all its legal powers, and on the restoration of his con- 
stitutional prerogative. The parliament required, besides other 
concessions, that the king should abolish episcopacy, and acquiesce 
in their settlement of the militia. But the conferences went no 
further than the first demand on each side. The parliament, finding 
that there was no likelihood of coming to any agreement, suddenly 
recalled their commissioners. 

§ 3. The campaign of 1643 was opened by the defeat of the 
parliamentarians at Hopton Heath (March 19), and the taking of 
Beading by Essex (April 27). In the north, where lord Fairfax 
commanded for the parliament, and the earl of Newcastle for the 
king, the latter nobleman united in a league for Charles the counties 
of Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmoreland, and the bishopric 
of Durham, took possession of York, and established the royal 
authority in all the northern provinces. The eastern or associated 
counties, as they were called, consisting of Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, 
Lincoln, Cambridge, Huntingdon, and Hertford, had been combined 
against the king by lord Grey of Wark. In the south and west, 
sir William Waller, who now began to distinguish himself among 
the generals of the parliament, took Winchester, Chichester, Here- 
ford, and Tewkesbury. On the other hand, sir Balph Hopton 
secured Cornwall for the king. 

Essex, finding that his army fell continually to decay after the 
siege of Beading, was resolved to remain upon the defensive ; and 
the weakness of the king, and his want of all military stores, had also 




3Juv York; Harper& Brothers 



a.d. 1642-1643. DEATH OF HAMPDEN. 401 

restrained the activity of the royal army. No action had happened 
in that part of England, except one skirmish at Chalgrove Field, in 
Oxfordshire, which of itself was of no great consequence, and was 
rendered memorable only by the death of the famous Hampden 
(June 18). He was seen riding off the field before the action was 
finished, his head hanging down, and his hands leaning upon his 
horse's neck. He was shot in the shoulder with a brace of bullets, 
and the bone broken. He died some days after, in exquisite pain, 
of his wound (June 24) ; nor could his whole party, had their army 
met with a total overthrow, have been struck with greater conster- 
nation. The king himself so highly valued him, that, either from 
generosity or policy, he intended to have sent him his own surgeon 
to assist at his cure. 

The west now became the principal scene of action. The king 
sent thither the marquis of Hertford and prince Maurice, with a 
reinforcement of cavalry, who, having joined the Cornish army, 
soon overran the county of Devon, and, advancing into that of 
Somerset, began to reduce it to obedience. On the other hand, the 
parliament, having supplied sir William Waller with a complete 
army, despatched him westwards. After some skirmishes, a pitched 
battle was fought at Lansdown, near Bath, with great loss on both 
sides, but without any decisive event (July 5) ; and shortly after 
another near Devizes, in which Waller was completely defeated, 
and forced to retire to Bristol (July 13). This city surrendered to 
prince Eupert a few days afterwards (July 27) ; and Charles having- 
now joined the army in the west, Gloucester was invested on the 
10th of August. 

The rapid progress of the royalists threatened the parliament 
with immediate subjection. The factions and discontents among 
themselves, in the city, and throughout the neighbouring counties^ 
prognosticated some dangerous division or insurrection. In the 
beginning of this slimmer a design had been discovered for disarm- 
ing the London militia and obliging the parliament to accept of 
reasonable conditions. Edmund Waller, the poet, a member of the 
House of Commons, was at the head of it, with Tomkins his brother-- 
in-law, and Chaloner his friend. Being seized and tried by a court- 
martial, they were all three condemned, and the two latter were 
executed on gibbets erected before their own doors. Walje# saved 
his life by an abject submission, and was fined 10,000Z. 

The news of the siege of Gloucester renewed the cry for peace, and 
the parliament seemed disposed to consent to more moderate terms ; 
but the zealous puritans redoubled their efforts, and the parliament 
was persuaded to make preparations for the relief of this citv. 
Essex, taking the road to Brockley, carried with him a well ap- 



402 CHARLES I. Chap. xxii. 

pointed army of 14,000 men, drawing in the parliamentary forces 
quartered at Bedford and Leicester ; and on his approach to Glou- 
cester the king was obliged to raise the siege. Being deficient in 
cavalry, Essex would willingly have avoided an engagement, and 
therefore proceeded towards London ; but when he reached Newbury, 
in Berkshire, he found that the king, by hasty marches, had arrived 
before him. An action was now unavoidable, and was fought on 
both sides with desperate valour and steady bravery (September 20) 
The militia of London especially, though utterly unacquainted with 
action, equalled on this occasion what could be expected from the 
most veteran forces. While the armies were engaged with the 
utmost ardour, night put an end to the action, and left the victory 
undecided. Next morning Essex proceeded on his march, and 
reached London in safety. In the battle of Newbury, fell, among 
others on the king's side, Lord Falkland, secretary of state. Falk- 
land had at first stood foremost in all attacks on the high preroga- 
tives of the crown, and displayed that masculine eloquence and un- 
daunted love of liberty which, from his intimate acquaintance with 
the sublime spirits of antiquity, he had greedily imbibed ; but when 
civil convulsions proceeded to extremities, and it became requisite 
for him to choose his side, he embraced the defence of those limited 
powers which remained to monarchy, and. which he deemed neces- 
sary for the support of the English constitution. From the com- 
mencement of the war his natural cheerfulness and vivacity became 
clouded ; and among his intimate friends, often, after a deep silence 
and frequent sighs, he would with a sad accent reiterate the word 
" Peace." On the morning of the battle he called for a clean 
shirt, that if he were slain his body should not be found in foul 
linen. He observed, " I am weary of the times, and foresee much 
misery to my country ; but believe that I shall be out of it ere 
night.'' The loss sustained on both sides in the battle of Newbury, 
and the advanced season, obliged the armies to retire into winter 
quarters. 

In the north, during this summer, two men on whom the event 
of the war finally depended began to be remarked for their valour 
and military conduct. These were sir Thomas Fairfax, son of 
Ferdinand, lord Fairfax, and Oliver Cromwell, son of a gentleman 
of Huntingdon. The former gained a considerable advantage at 
Wakefield over a detachment of royalists ; the latter obtained a 
victory at Gainsborough over a party commanded by the gallant 
Cavendish, who perished in the action ; but both these defeats were 
more than compensated by the total rout of lord Fairfax at Ather- 
ton Moor, near Bradford, and the dispersion of his army (June 30). 
After this victory the marquis of Newcastle, with an army of 



a.d. 1643. THE COVENANT. 403 

15,000 men, sat down before Hull, but was ultimately obliged to 
abandon tbe siege (October 11). Hotbam was no longer governor 
of tbis place. He and bis son, being detected in a conspiracy to 
debver it to Newcastle, were arrested and sent prisoners to London, 
wbere, witbout any regard to tbeir former services, tbey were 
executed two years after. 

§ 4. Wbile these military enterprises were carried on witb vigour 
in England, and tbe event became every day more doubtful, both 
parties cast their eye towards the neighbouring kingdoms. Tbe 
parliament had recourse to Scotland, the king to Ireland. The Scots 
beheld with the utmost impatience a scene of action of which they 
could not deem themselves indifferent spectators. The struggle in 
England was the topic of every conversation among them ; and the 
famous curse of Meroz, that curse so solemnly denounced and reite- 
rated against neutrality and moderation, resounded from all quarters. 
Charles having refused to assemble a Scottish parliament, the con- 
servators of the peace, an office newly erected in Scotland, resolved 
to summon, in the king's name, but by their own authority, a con- 
vention of estates, an assembly which, though it meets with less 
solemnity, has the same authority as a parliament in raising money 
and levying forces. The English parliament, which had at that 
time fallen into great disgrace by tbe progress of tbe royal arms, 
gladly sent to Edinburgh commissioners with ample powers to treat 
for a nearer union and confederacy with the Scottish nation. In 
this negociation the man chiefly trusted was Vane, who in eloquence, 
address, capacity, as well as in art and dissimulation, was not sur- 
passed by any one, even during that age so famous for active talents. 
By his persuasion was framed at Edinburgh that solemn league 
and covenant, which effaced all former protestations and vows taken 
in both kingdoms, and long maintained its credit and authority. 
In this Covenant the subscribers, besides engaging mutually to 
defend one another against all opponents, bound themselves to 
endeavour, witbout respect of persons, to extirpate popery and 
prelacy, superstition, heresy, schism, and profaneness to maintain 
the rights and privileges of parliaments, together with the king's 
authority ; and to discover and bring to justice all incendiaries and 
malignants. Tbe Scotch had thus obtained what they had long 
been aiming at — the establishment of presbyterianism as tbe 
dominant religion in the united kingdoms, and the extirpation by 
authority of episcopacy ; thus imitating the conduct of the king 
and Laud, in denunciation of which they had only two years before 
risen in rebellion. As the Scotch made the acceptance of presby- 
terianism the condition of their assistance, the commons made no 
scruple of violating the religious liberty of the nation. In place of 



404 CHARLES I. Chap. xxii. 

the old national convocation they summoned an assemhly of divines, 
consisting of those who were earnest supporters of presbyterian 
tenets, or supposed to be strongly inclined to them. But, unlike 
the former convocations of the clergy, each of these members 
received from the parliament an allowance of four shillings a day. 
The English parliament, having first subscribed the Covenant 
themselves, ordered it to be received by all who lived under their 
authority (September 25). They expelled from their preferments 
the whole body of the episcopal clergy, and bestowed them on their 
own partisans among the presbyterians. The Scots, having re- 
ceived 100,000?. from England, were now prepared to carry convic- 
tion by the sword. Having added to their other forces the troops 
which they had recalled from Ireland, they were ready about the 
end of the year to enter England, under the command of their 
old general, the earl of Leven, with an army of more than 20,000 
men. 

The king, foreseeing this tempest which was gathering upon him, 
cast his eye towards Ireland. The army in that country, by rein- 
forcements from England and Scotland, now amounted to 50,000 
men. The lords justices and council of Ireland had been engaged, 
chiefly by the interest and authority of Ormond, the commander- 
in-chief, to support the king's cause ; and a committee of the 
English House of Commons, which had been sent to Ireland in order 
to conduct the affairs of that kingdom, had been excluded from the 
council. Ormond now sent over to England considerable bodies of 
troops, most of which continued in the king's service ; but a small 
part, having imbibed in Ireland a strong animosity against the 
catholics, and hearing the king's party universally reproached with 
popery, soon after deserted to the parliament. 

§ 5. That he might make preparations during winter for the 
ensuing campaign, Charles summoned to Oxford all the members of 
either house who adhered to his interests ; and endeavoured to avail 
himself of the name of parliament, so passionately cherished by the 
English nation (January 22, 1644). The House of Peers contained 
twice as many members as that which sat at Westminster; the 
House of Commons counted no more than 118 members. The par- 
liament at Westminster having voted an excise on beer, wine, 
and other commodities, those at Oxford imitated the example, and 
conferred that revenue on the king. This impost had been hitherto 
unknown in England. This winter died Pym, a man as much hated 
by one party as respected by the other. He had been so little 
studious of improving his private fortune in those civil wars of 
which he had been a principal author, that the parliament thought 
themselves obliged to pay his debts. 



a.d. 1643-1644 BATTLE OF MARSTON MOOR. 405 

The military operations were carried on with vigour in several 
places, notwithstanding the severity of the season. The forces 
brought from Ireland were landed at Mostyn, in North Wales, and 
reduced Cheshire ; but Fairfax, by an unexpected attack, defeated 
and captured a great part of them at Nantwich (January 25), 
and the parliamentary interests revived in those north-western 
counties of England. The invasion from Scotland was attended 
with consequences of much greater importance. The marquis of 
Newcastle at first succeeded in keeping the Scots at bay ; but sir 
Thomas Fairfax, returning from Cheshire with his victorious forces, 
routed colonel Bellasis and a considerable body of troops at Selby, in 
Yorkshire. Afraid of being enclosed between two armies, New- 
castle, the commander of the royal forces in the north, retreated ; 
and Leven having joined Fairfax, they sat down before York, to 
which the army of the royalists had retired. On the whole, the 
winter campaign proved unfavourable to the king in all quarters. 
At the approach of summer the earl of Manchester, having taken 
Lincoln, united his army to that of Leven and Fairfax ; and York 
was now closely besieged by their combined forces. That city, 
though vigorously defended by Newcastle, was reduced to extre- 
mity, when on a sudden prince Rupert advanced to its relief with 
an army of 20,000 men (July 1). The Scottish and parliamentary 
generals raised the siege, and, drawing up on Marston Moor, pur- 
posed to give battle to the royalists. Prince Eupert approached 
the town by another quarter, and, interposing the river Ouse be- 
tween him and the enemy, safely joined his forces to those of New- 
castle. The marquis endeavoured to persuade him not to hazard 
an engagement ; but the prince, having positive instructions from 
the king, immediately issued orders for battle, and led out the army 
to Marston Moor (July 2). Prince Eupert, who commanded the 
right wing of the royalists, was opposed to Cromwell, who con- 
ducted the choice troops of the parliament, inured to danger, ani- 
mated by zeal, and confirmed by the most rigid discipline. After 
a sharp combat, the cavalry of the royalists gave way ; and such of 
the infantry as stood next them were likewise borne down and put 
to flight. Newcastle's regiment alone, resolute to conquer or to 
perish, obstinately kept their ground, and maintained, by their 
dead bodies, the same order in which they had at first been ranged. 
Lucas, who commanded the royalists on the other wing, made a 
furious attack on the parliamentary cavalry, threw them into dis- 
order, pushed them upon their own infantry, and put that whole wing 
to the rout. When ready to seize on their carriages and baggage, 
he perceived Cromwell, who was now returned from pursuit of the 
other wing. Both sides were not a little surprised to find that they 
19* 



406 CHARLES I. Chap. xxii. 

must again renew the combat for that victory which each of them 
thought they had already obtained. The front of the battle was 
now exactly counterchanged, and each army occupied the ground 
which had been possessed by the enemy at the beginning of the 
day. The second battle was equally furious and desperate with 
the first ; but, after the utmost efforts of courage by both parties, 
victory wholly turned to the side of the parliament. The prince's 
train of artillery was taken, and his whole army driven off the 
field of battle. 

This event was in itself a mighty blow to the king, but proved 
more fatal in its consequences. The marquis of Newcastle, either 
disgusted with the rejection of his advice, or despairing of the king's 
cause, went to Scarborough, where he found a vessel which carried 
him beyond sea. During the ensuing years, till the Eestoration, 
he lived abroad in great necessity, and saw with indifference his 
opulent fortune sequestered by those who assumed the government 
of England. Prince Eupert, with equal precipitation, drew off the 
remains of his army, and retired into Lancashire. York surrendered 
a few days afterwards ; and Fairfax, remaining in the city, estab- 
lished his government in that whole county. The town of New- 
castle was taken by the Scottish army (October 29). 

While these events passed in the north, the king's affairs in the 
south were conducted with more success and greater abilities. 
Ruthven, a Scotchman who had been created earl of Brentford, 
acted under the king as general. Waller was routed by the royal- 
ists at Cropredy Bridge, near Banbury (June 29), and was pursued 
with considerable loss. Disheartened with this blow, his army 
decayed and melted away by desertion ; and the king thought he 
might safely leave it, and march westward against Essex. That 
general, having retreated into Cornwall, and being surrounded on 
all sides by the royalists, escaped in a boat to Plymouth. Balfour 
with his horse passed the king's outposts in a thick mist, and 
got safely to the garrisons of his own party ; but the foot, under 
Skippon, were obliged to surrender their arms, artillery, baggage, 
and ammunition (September 2). The parliament, however, soon 
collected another army, which they placed under the command 
of the earl of Manchester, who fought an indecisive action with 
Charles at Newbury (.October 27). 

§ 6. During these operations, contests had arisen among the par- 
liamentary generals, which were renewed in London during the 
winter season. There had long prevailed in the parliamentary 
party a distinction which now began to discover itself with bitter 
animosity. The Independents, who had at first taken shelter 
under the wings of the Presbyterians., now appeared as a distinct 



a.d. 1644. INDEPENDENTS AND PRESBYTERIANS. 407 

party, and betrayed very different views and pretensions. Their 
numbers were greatly increased by the return of the more fiery 
spirits who had abandoned England during the supremacy of Laud. 
Many of these, coming back from New England, had carried the 
doctrines of puritanism to the very verge of extravagance. Thrown 
upon their own designs and resources on a foreign soil, and left to 
their own self-government, they brought back with them confirmed 
habits of independence, and inspired the party they embraced with 
similar sentiments. They rejected all ecclesiastical establishments, 
would admit of no spiritual government or pastors, and no inter- 
position of the magistrate in religious concerns. According to their 
principles, each congregation, united voluntarily and by spiritual 
ties, composed within itself a separate church, and exercised its own 
jurisdiction. The political system of the Independents kept pace 
with their religious. They aspired to a total abolition of the mon- 
archy, and even of the aristocracy ; and projected an entire equality 
of rank and order in a republic quite free and independent. Hence 
they were declared enemies to all proposals for peace, except on 
such terms as they knew it was impossible to obtain ; and they 
adhered to that maxim, which is in the main prudent and political,- 
that whoever draws his sword against his sovereign should throw 
away the scabbard. Sir Harry Vane, Oliver Cromwell, Nathaniel 
Fiennes, and Oliver St. John, the solicitor-general, were regarded as 
their leaders. In the parliament a considerable majority, and a 
much greater in the nation, were attached to the presbyterian 
party ; and it was only by cunning and deceit at first, and after- 
wards by military violence, that the Independents could entertain 
any hopes of success. 

Cromwell, in the House of Commons, accused the earl of Man- 
chester of having wilfully neglected at Donnington castle, after 
Charles's retreat from Newbury, a favourable opportunity of finish- 
ing the war, by refusing him permission to charge the king's army 
in their retreat. Manchester, by way of recrimination, informed 
the parliament that at another time, Cromwell having proposed 
some scheme to which it seemed improbable that parliament would 
agree, he insisted and said, " My lord, if you will stick to honest 
men, you shall find yourself at the head of an army which shall give 
law both to king and parliament." So full indeed was Cromwell of 
these republican projects, that, notwithstanding his habits of pro- 
found dissimulation, he could not so carefully guard his expressions 
but that sometimes his favourite notions would escape him. He 
was persuaded that the only mode of carrying them out was by re- 
modelling the army, but how to effect this project was the difficulty. 
The authority as well as merits of Essex were very great with the 



408 



CHARLES I. 



Chap. xxii. 



parliament. Manchester, Warwick, and the other commanders 
had likewise great credit with the public ; nor were there any hopes 
of prevailing over them but by laying the plan of an oblique and 
artificial attack which would conceal the real purpose of their an- 
tagonists. Accordingly, at the instance of Cromwell, a committee 
was chosen to frame what was called the " Self-denying Ordinance," 
by which the members of both houses were excluded from all civil 
and military employments, except a few offices which were speci- 
fied. After great debate it passed the House of Commons ; the 
peers, though the scheme was in part levelled against their order, 
and though they even ventured once to reject it, durst not persevere 
in their opposition. The Ordinance therefore having passed both 
houses (April 3, 1645), Essex, Warwick, Manchester, Denbigh, 
Waller, Brereton, and many others, resigned their commands, and 
received the thanks of parliament for their good services. A pen- 
sion of 10,OOOZ. a year was settled on Essex. 

It was agreed to recruit the army to 22,000 men, and sir Thomas 
Fairfax was appointed general. A change was made in his com- 
mission, which did not run, like that of Essex, in the name of the 




Obverse of medal of sir Thomas Fairfax, gener.tho: Fairfax miles . milit . 
parli : dvx. Bust to left. 

king and parliament, but in that of the parliament alone ; and the 
article concerning the safety of the king's person was omitted. 
Cromwell, being a member of the lower house, ought to have been 
discarded with the others ; but he was sent into the west with a 
body of horse ; and shortly afterwards, at the earnest entreaty of 
Fairfax, who represented his services as indispensable, his commis- 
sion was renewed for a short period, and ultimately for the whole 
campaign. Thus the Independents, though the minority, prevailed 
over the Presbyterians, and bestowed the whole military authority, 
in appearance, upon Fairfax — in reality upon Cromwell. 

Already a conference between the king and the parliament 
had been opened at Uxbridge (January 30, 1645). The subjects of 



a.d. 1645. EXECUTION OF LAUD. 409 

debate were the three important articles, religion, the militia, and 
' Ireland ; but it was soon found impracticable to come to any agree- 
ment with regard to any of them. In the summer of 1643 the 
Assembly at Westminster, consisting of 121 divines and 30 laymen, 
rejecting the Thirty-nine Articles, had drawn up others in their 
place. Instead of the liturgy they had established a new Directory 
for worship, by which, suitably to the spirit of the puritans, no 
form of prayer was prescribed to the minister. By the Solemn 
League and Covenant episcopacy was abjured as destructive of all 
true piety ; and the king's commissioners were not therefore sur- 
prised to find the establishment of presbytery and the Directory 
positively demanded, together with the subscription of the Covenant 
both by the king and kingdom. But Charles, though willing to 
make some concessions, was not disposed to go to such lengths ; 
and, as the parliament would abate nothing, the negociations on this 
head fell to the ground. Still less could parties now in a state of 
open warfare agree upon a militia bill, by which the power of the 
sword must necessarily have been transferred to one of them. 

§ 7. A little before the enactment of the Self-denying Ordinance, 
archbishop Laud was brought to the scaffold. From the time that 
Laud had been committed, the House of Commons, engaged in 
enterprises of greater moment, had found no leisure to finish his 
impeachment ; but they now resolved to gratify their vengeance in 
the punishment of this prelate. He was accused of high treason in 
endeavouring to subvert the fundamental laws, and of other high 
crimes and misdemeanours. After a long trial, and the examination 
of above 150 witnesses, whose evidence, however, the commons had 
not heard, they found so little likelihood of obtaining a judicial 
sentence against him, that they had recourse to their legislative 
authority, and passed an ordinance for taking away the life of 
this aged prelate, on the ex parte statement of their own advocate. 
Notwithstanding the low condition into which the House of Peers 
had fallen, there appeared some intention of rejecting this ordinance ; 
and the popular leaders were again obliged to apply to the multitude, 
and to extinguish, by threats of new tumults, the small remains of 
liberty possessed by the upper house. Seven peers alone voted in 
this important question ; the rest, either from shame or fear, took 
care to absent themselves. Laud, who had behaved during his trial 
with the spirit and vigour of genius, sunk not under the horrors of 
his execution ; but, though he had usually professed himself appre- 
hensive of a violent death, he found all his fears to be dissipated 
before that superior courage by which he was animated. " No one,' 
said he, "can be more willing to send me out of life than I am 
desirous to go." He quietly laid his head on the block, and it was 



410 CHARLES I. Chap, xxn! 

severed from the body at one blow (January 10, 1645). Sincere he 
undoubtedly was, and, however misguided, actuated by pious motives 
in all his pursuits ; and it is to be regretted that he had not enter- 
tained more enlarged views, and embraced principles more favourable 
to the general happiness of society. 

§ 8. While the king's affairs declined in England, the numerous 
victories of the earl of Montrose in Scotland seemed to promise him 
a more prosperous issue of the quarrel. That young nobleman had 
entirely devoted himself to the king's service, and with the aid of a 
few adherents, and a small body of troops brought over from Ireland, 
achieved on a small scale a series of brilliant victories over the 
Covenanters in the north of Scotland. Meanwhile in England, 
Fairfax, or, more properly speaking, Cromwell, under his name, 
introduced at last the New Model into the army. From the same 
men new regiments and new companies were formed, different 
officers appointed, and the whole military force put into such hands 
as the Independents could rely on. At the same time a new and 
more exact discipline was introduced. Never surely was a more 
singular army assembled. To the greater number of the regiments 
chaplains were not appointed ; the officers assumed the spiritual 
duty, and united it with their military functions. The private 
soldiers, seized with the same spirit, employed their vacant hours 
in prayer, in perusing the Holy Scriptures, and in spiritual confer- 
ences, where they compared the progress of their souls in grace, and 
mutually stimulated each other to farther advances in the great 
work of their salvation. When they were marching to battle, the 
whole field resounded as well with psalms and spiritual songs, 
adapted to the occasion, as with the instruments of military music ; 
and every man endeavoured to drown the sense of present danger in 
the prospect of that crown of glory which was set before him. The 
forces assembled by the king at Oxford, in the west, and in other 
places, were equal, if not superior, in number to their adversaries, 
but actuated by a very different spirit. That licence which had 
been introduced by want of pay had risen to a great height among 
them, and rendered them more formidable to their friends than to 
their enemies. 

The English campaign of 1645 opened with some advantage to 
the royalists. In the west, the parliamentarians under Welden 
succeeded in relieving Taunton, but were afterwards shut up in 
that place by Granville. Further north the king in person gained 
more distinguished successes. After compelling the army of the 
parliament to raise the siege of Chester (May 15), he assaulted 
and took Leicester on his march back to Oxford. Meanwhile. 
Oxford, exposed by the king's absence, had been invested by 



a.d. 1645. BATTLE OF NASEBY. 411 

Fairfax ; but, alarmed at Charles's success, Fairfax abandoned the 
siege, and marched towards the king with an intention of offering 
him battle. The king was advancing towards Oxford in order to 
raise the siege, which he apprehended was now begun ; and both 
armies, ere they were aware, had advanced within six miles of each 
other. The boiling ardour of prince Rupert brought on an engage- 
ment ; and at Naseby, near Market Harborough, in Northampton- 
shire, was fought, with forces nearly equal, a decisive and well- 
disputed action between the king and the parliament (June 14). The 
main body of the royalists was commanded by the king himself, 
who displayed all the conduct of a prudent general and all the 
valour of a stout soldier. The battle was lost chiefly through a 
mistake of prince Rupert, who, having routed the enemy's left 
wing under Ireton, was so inconsiderate as to lose time in summon- 
ing and attacking the artillery of the enemy, which had been left 
with a good guard of infantry. In the interval the royalists were 
hard pressed by the valour and conduct of Fairfax and Cromwell ; 
and when Rupert rejoined the king he found the infantry totally 
discomfited. Charles exhorted this body of cavalry not to despair, 
and cried aloud to them, " One charge more, and we recover the 
day." But the disadvantages under which they laboured were too 
evident, and they could by no means be induced to renew the 
combat. Charles was obliged to quit the field, and leave the 
victory to the enemy. The parliament lost 1000 men; Charles 
not above 800 ; but Fairfax made 500 officers prisoners, and 4000 
private men, took all the king's artillery and ammunition, and 
totally dissipated his infantry : so that scarcely any victory could 
be more complete than that which he obtained. Among the spoils 
was seized the king's cabinet, with the copies of his letters to the 
queen, which were afterwards garbled and published by parliament. 
After the battle, the king retreated with that body of horse which 
remained entire, first to Hereford, then to Abergavenny ; and re- 
mained some time in Wales, in the vain hope of raising a body of 
infantry in those harassed and exhausted quarters. In the begin- 
ning of the campaign he had sent the prince of Wales, then 15 
years of age, to the west, with the title of general ; and had given 
orders that if he were pressed by the enemy, he -should make his 
escape into a foreign country, and save one part of the royal family 
from the violence of the parliament. Prince Rupert had thrown 
himself into Bristol, with an intention of defending that important 
city ; whilst Goring was besieging Taunton. Thither Fairfax 
directed his march, on whose approach the royalists raised the 
siege, and retired to Langport, an open town in the county of 
Somerset. Fairfax, having beaten them from this post, and taken 



412 CHARLES I. Chap. xxii. 

successively Bridgewater, Bath, and Sherborne, laid siege to Bristol. 
Much was expected from the reputation of prince Bupert, but a 
poorer defence was not made by any town during the whole war. 
No sooner had the parliamentary forces entered the lines by storm 
than the prince capitulated, and surrendered the city to Fairfax 
(September 11). Charles, who was forming schemes and collecting 
forces for the relief of Bristol, was astonished at so unexpected an 
event, which was little less fatal to his cause than the defeat at 
Naseby. Full of indignation, he instantly recalled all prince 
Rupert's commissions, and sent him a pass to go beyond sea. 

The king's affairs were now fast falling to ruin in all quarters. The 
Scots, having made themselves masters of Carlisle after an obstinate 
siege, marched southwards and laid siege to Hereford, but were 
obliged to raise it on the king's approach ; and this was the last 
glimpse of success which attended his arms. Having marched to 
the relief of Chester, which was anew besieged by the parliamentary 
forces, he was defeated, with the loss of 600 slain and 1000 
prisoners (September 24). The king, with the remains of his 
broken army, fled to Newark, and thence escaped to Oxford, where 
he shut himself up during the winter season (November 5). Before 
the expiration of the winter Fairfax reduced all the west, and com- 
pletely dispersed the king's army in that quarter ; while Cromwell 
brought all the midland counties of England to obedience under 
the parliament. The prince of Wales, in pursuance of the king's 
orders, retired to Scilly, and thence to Jersey, whence he joined the 
queen at Paris. News too arrived, that Montrose himself, after 
some more successes, had been at last routed by a superior force, 
under David Leslie, at Philiphaugh, near Selkirk (September 13). 
Montrose escaped, but the prisoners were butchered in cold blood ; 
and some of the women, who were taken several days after the 
battle, were drowned by the direction of the presbyterian ministers. 
The only remaining hope of the royal party was now finally 
extinguished. 

§ 9. The condition of the king during this whole winter was to 
the last degree disastrous and melancholy. The parliament deigned 
not to make the least reply to several of his messages, in which he 
desired a passport for commissioners to treat of peace. At last, 
after reproaching him with the blood spilt during the war, they 
told him that they were preparing bills for him, and his passing 
them would be the best pledge of his inclination towards peace : in 
other words, he must yield at discretion. He desired a personal 
treaty, and offered to come to London, upon receiving a safe con- 
duct for himself and his attendants : they absolutely refused him 
admittance, and issued orders for the guarding, that is the seizing, 



a.d. 1645-1646. FLIES TO THE SCOTTISH CAMP. 413 

of his person, in case he should attempt to visit them. A new in- 
cident which happened in Ireland served to inflame the minds of 
men. The king, being desirous of concluding a final peace with the 
Irish rebels and obtaining their assistance in England, authorized 
Ormond, the lord-lieutenant, to promise them an abrogation of all 
the penal laws enacted against catholics ; but as the Irish might 
probably demand further concessions than could be openly granted 
them, the king gave private orders to Edward Somerset, earl of Gla- 
morgan (1643), to levy men and to coin money, and employ the 
revenues of the crown for their support ; and engaged to ratify any 
treaty he might make, on condition it was first communicated 
to Ormond. Neglecting these conditions, Glamorgan, a zealous 
catholic, concluded a peace with the rebels ; and agreed, in the king's 
name, that they should enjoy all the churches of which they had 
ever been in possession since the commencement of their insurrec- 
tion, on condition that they should assist the king in England 
with a body of 10,000 men. The articles of the treaty were found 
among the baggage of the titular archbishop of Tuam, who was 
killed by a sally of the garrison of Sligo, and were immediately 
published by parliament. The discovery tended much to render 
abortive the king's negociations for an accommodation. 

The king seemed to be now threatened with immediate destruc- 
tion. Fairfax was approaching with a powerful and victorious 
army, and was taking the proper measures for laying siege to Ox- 
ford, which must infallibly fall into his hands. In this desperate 
extremity Charles began to entertain thoughts of leaving Oxford, 
and flying to the Scottish army, which at that time lay before 
Newark. He considered that the Scottish nation had been fully 
gratified in all their demands, and had no further concessions to 
exact from him ; whilst, on the other hand, they were disgusted 
with the English parliament. The progress of the Independents 
gave them great alarm, and they were scandalized to hear their 
beloved Covenant spoken of every day with less regard and rever- 
ence. The king hoped, too, that in their present disposition the 
sight of their native prince flying to them in this extremity of 
distress would rouse some spark of generosity in their bosoms, and 
procure him their favour and protection. With these views he left 
Oxford in the night of April 26, 1646, accompanied by none but 
Dr. Hudson and Mr. Ashburnham, and went out at that gate 
which leads to London. He rode before a portmanteau, calling 
himself Ashburnham's servant, and arrived at the Scottish camp 
before Newark (May 5). The Scotch general and commissioners 
affected great surprise on the appearance of the king ; and, though 
they paid him all the exterior respect due to his dignity, they in- 



414 



CHARLES I. 



Chap. xxii. 



stantly set a guard upon him, under colour of protection, and made 
him in reality a prisoner. They informed the English parliament 
of this unexpected incident, and assured them that they had entered 
into no private treaty with the king (though they had, in fact, been 
negociating with him through the French ambassador). Hear- 
ing that the parliament laid claim to the disposal of his person, they 
thought proper to retire northwards, and to fix their camp at New- 
castle. Charles had little reason to be pleased with his situation. 
The Scots required him to issue orders to Oxford and all his other 
garrisons, commanding their surrender to the parliament ; and, 
sensible that resistance was to very little purpose, he imme- 
diately complied. Ormond, having received like orders, delivered 
Dublin and other forts into the hands of the parliamentary officers. 

The parliament and the Scots laid their proposals before the 
king, which were a little worse than what were insisted on before 
the battle of Naseby. The power of the sword, instead of 10 years, 
which the king now offered, was demanded for 20, together with a 
right to levy whatever money the parliament should think proper 
for the support of their armies. The other conditions were, in the 
main, the same with those which had formerly been offered to the 
king, and he was peremptorily required to give his consent or 
refusal in 10 days. The parliament now entered into negociations 
with the Scots. The Scotch commissioners resolved to keep the 
king as a pledge for those arrears which they claimed from England. 
After many discussions it was at last agreed that, in lieu of all 
demands, they should accept of 400,000Z., one-half to be paid in- 
stantly, another in two subsequent payments. Great pains were 
taken by the Scots (and the English complied with their pretended 
delicacy) to make this estimation and payment of arrears appear 
a quite different transaction from that for the delivery of the king's 
person, but common sense requires that they should be regarded as 
one and the same. Thus the Scottish nation incurred the obloquy 
of selling their king and betraying their prince for money. 

The king, delivered by the Scots to the English commissioners 
(January 30, 1647), was conducted under a strong guard to Holmby, 
in Northamptonshire. On his journey the whole country flocked to 
behold him, moved partly by curiosity, partly by compassion and 
affection.* The commissioners rendered his confinement at Holmby 



* The people were convinced that 
though the king had been defeated, and 
had made " a long and bloody war," says 
the grim republican, Ludlow, " yet cer- 
tainly he must be in the right . . . in a 
condition to give pardon, and not in need 
of receiving any ; which made them flock 



from all parts to see him, as he was 
brought from Newcastle to Holmby, fall- 
ing down before him, bringing their sick 
to be touched by him, and courting him 
as only able to restore to ihem their peace 
and settlement." — Memoirs, p. 12. 



a.d. 1647. MUTINY OF THE ARMY. 415 

very rigorous, dismissing his ancient servants, and cutting off all 
communication with his friends or family. The parliament, though 
earnestly applied to by the king, refused to allow his chaplains to 
attend him, because they had not taken the Covenant. During 
the time that the king remained in the Scottish army at New- 
castle, died the earl of Essex, the discarded but still powerful 
and popular general of the parliament. The presbyterian or the 
moderate party among the commons found themselves considerably 
weakened by his death, and the small remains of authority which 
still adhered to the House of Peers were in a manner wholly ex- 
tinguished. 

§ 10. The dominion of the parliament was of short duration. No 
sooner had they subdued their sovereign, than their own servants 
rose against them and tumbled them from their slippery throne. 
They had rejected the king only to find a more imperious master. 
Soon after the retreat of the Scots, the presbyterians, seeing every- 
thing reduced to obedience, began to talk of diminishing the army ; 
and, on pretence of easing the public burdens, they levelled a deadly 
blow at the opposite faction. They purposed to embark a strong de- 
tachment for the service of Ireland, and they openly declared their 
intention of making a great reduction of the remainder (March). 
Considerable arrears were due to the army ; many of the private men, 
as well as officers, had nearly a twelvemonth's pay still owing them ; 
and, as no plan was pointed out by the commons for the payment 
of arrears, the soldiers dreaded that, after they should be disbanded or 
embarked for Ireland (a most unpopular service), their enemies, 
who predominated in the two houses, would entirely defraud them 
of their right, and oppress them with impunity. On this ground 
or pretence did the first commotions begin in the army. Combina- 
tions were formed, and petitions handed about ; and few could be 
found to enlist for Ireland. Their petition to the parliament bore 
a very imperious air : in a word, they felt their power, and resolved 
to be masters. The expedient which the parliament now made use 
of was the worst imaginable. They sent Skippon, Cromwell, Ireton, 
and Fleetwood to the head-quarters at Saffron Walden, in Essex ; 
and empowered them to make offers to the army, and inquire into 
the cause of its distempers. These very generals, at least the last 
three, were suspected of secretly fomenting the disorders they pre- 
tended to appease. By their suggestion, a council of the principal 
officers was appointed after the model of the House of Peers, and a 
freer representation of the lower ranks was composed by the election 
of two private men or petty officers, under the title of adjutators, 
afterwards called agitators, from each troop or company. This 
terrible court, when assembled, having first declared that they found 



416 CHARLES I. Chap. xxii. 

no distempers in the army, but many grievances under which it 
laboured, voted the offers of the parliament unsatisfactory ; and 
they presently struck a blow which at once decided the victory in 
their favour. A party of 400 horse appeared at Holmby, conducted 
by one Joyce, who had once been a tailor by profession, but was 
now advanced to the rank of cornet, and was an active agitator in the 
army (June 4). Joyce, armed with pistols, demanded to be instantly 
admitted into the king's presence. Charles appointed him the next 
morning. On acquainting the king with his commands for the king's 
removal, Charles desired the commissioners might be sent for. Joyce 
replied they were to return to parliament. Then the king said, 
" Give me a sight of your instructions." " That," said Joyce, " you 
shall see presently ; " and drawing up his troop into the inner court, 
as near as he could to the king, " These, sir," said he, " are my in- 
structions." Finding them proper men, well mounted and armed, 
Charles added, with a smile, that his instructions were in fair charac- 
ters, and legible without spelling. He was conducted to the army, 
who were hastening to their rendezvous at Triplow Heath, near 
Cambridge. The parliament were thrown into the utmost consterna- 
tion. Fairfax himself, to whom this bold measure had never been 
communicated, was no less surprised at the king's arrival. The 
parliamentary leaders, having discovered that the most active officers 
and agitators were entirely Cromwell's creatures, secretly resolved 
that next day, when he should come to the house, an accusation 
should be entered against him, and he should be sent to the Tower. 
Informed of this design, Cromwell hastened to the camp, where he 
was received with acclamation. Without further deliberation, he 
advanced the army upon the parliament, and arrived in a few days 
at St. Albans. But London still retained a strong attachment to 
presbyterianism ; and its militia, which had by a late ordinance been 
put into hands in which the parliament could entirely confide, was 
now called out, and commanded to guard the lines which had been 
drawn round the city in order to secure it against the king. On 
further reflection, however, it was thought more prudent to submit 
(June 25). The declaration by which the military petitioners had 
been voted public enemies was erased from the journal-book. This 
was the first symptom which the parliament gave of submission, 
and the army rose every day in their demands. Having obtained 
the sequestration of eleven of the chief presbyterian members, the 
army, in order to save appearances, removed, at the desire of the 
parliament, to a greater distance from London, and fixed their head- 
quarters at Eeading. They carried the king along with them in all 
their marches, who now found himself in a better situation than at 
Holmby. All his friends had access to his presence . his corre- 



A.D. 1647. THE ARMY SUBDUE THE PARLIAMENT. 417 

spondence with the queen was not interrupted ; his chaplains were 
restored to him, and he was allowed the use of the liturgy. 
Cromwell, as well as the leaders of all parties, paid court to him ; 
and fortune, notwithstanding his calamities, seemed once again to 
smile on him. 

§ 11. The impatience of the Londoners brought matters to a 
crisis between the parliament and army. At the instance of the 
latter the parliament had voted that the militia of London should 
be changed, the presbyterian commissioners displaced, and the com- 
mand restored to those who had constantly exercised it, during 
the course of the war. A petition against this alteration was 
carried to Westminster, attended by the apprentices and a seditious 
multitude, who besieged the door of the commons. By their clamour, 
noise, and violence, they obliged the house to reverse the vote 
which they had passed so lately. No sooner was intelligence 
of this tumult conveyed to Eeading than the army was put in 
motion, to vindicate, as they said, the invaded privileges of parlia- 
ment, against the seditious citizens. In their way to London they 
were drawn up on Hounslow Heath — a formidable body 20,000 
strong, and determined to pursue whatever measures their generals 
should dictate to them. Here the most favourable event happened 
to quicken and encourage their advance. The speakers of the two 
houses, Manchester and Lenthall, attended by eight peers and about 
HO commoners, having secretly retired from the city, presented 
themselves, with their maces and all the ensigns of their dignity, 
and, complaining of the violence put upon them, applied to the 
army for defence and protection. They were received with shouts 
and acclamations ; respect was paid to them as to the parliament 
of England ; and the army, being provided with so plausible a 
pretence, advanced to chastise the rebellious city, and to reinstate 
the violated parliament. Without experiencing the least resistance, 
the army marched in triumph through the city, but preserved the 
greatest order, decency, and appearance of humility (August 6). 
They conducted to Westminster the two speakers, who took theit 
seats as if nothing had happened. The eleven sequestered members 
were expelled ; seven peers were impeached ; the mayor, one 
sheriff, and three aldermen sent to the Tower; several citizens 
and officers of the militia committed to prison ; every deed of the 
parliament was annulled, from the day of the tumult till the return 
of the speakers. The lines about the city were levelled ; the militia 
restored to the independents ; and, the parliament being reduced to 
servitude, a day of solemn thanksgiving was appointed for the 
restoration of its liberty. 

The leaders- of the army, having established their dominion over 



418 CHARLES I. Chap. xxii. 

the parliament and the city, ventured to bring the king to Hampton 
Court (August) ; and he lived for some time in that palace with 
an appearance of dignity and freedom. He entertained hopes that 
his negociations with the generals would he crowned with success. 
Some think that Cromwell and Ireton desired to save the king, 
and submitted to him certain propositions for that purpose; but 
whether honestly or otherwise, it is impossible to determine. Pro- 
bably at the outset Cromwell was swayed by purer motives ; but 
a man of such great sagacity and penetration was not self-deceived, 
like many of his associates, though he may have assisted in their 
deception. Without being conscious of intentional insincerity, he 
must have found that power was more easily obtained by falling 
in with the prevalent humour of the times. If he outdid his con- 
temporaries in military skill, in personal dash and valour, in politi- 
cal insight, he was quite resolved that none of his captains or his 
rivals for favour — and he had many — should ravish from him the 
advantages these qualities secured him, by pretending to a greater 
amount of religious inspiration or enthusiasm. He was as powerful 
in prayer as Nye, as fervid in preaching as Baxter or Owen. If 
Charles in his misfortunes found it needful to dissemble, he did not 
possess a monopoly of that accomplishment. Though, then, Crom- 
well ruled the army, his power depended on the skill and ability 
with which he ruled it, by adapting himself to the varying passions 
of the moment. 

The army had become the receptacle of all the discontented, 
violent, and ambitious spirits of the time. In proportion as its 
success became more obvious, every adventurer that joined it per- 
ceived that his hopes of advancement and popularity were pro- 
portioned to the excess of his religious pretensions. At this 
time, a body of men, called Levdlers, whose tenets are implied 
by their name, had obtained paramount influence. They advocated 
a republic of the wildest kind ; they scorned any government in 
church or state, except it were the kingdom of Christ Jesus, which, 
like Vane, the most eminent of their leaders, they considered in- 
compatible with the existence of any human form of government 
whatever. They spoke of the king as Ahab, and made no secret 
of requiring that his blood should be shed. It was impossible 
that such a set of men could acquiesce in any form of monarchy, 
even of the most restricted kind ; or consent to replace the sceptre 
in the hand of Charles, even if Cromwell or Ireton had seriously 
proposed it. Nor can it be imagined that either of them, with 
their knowledge of such tendencies in their most enthusiastic and 
devoted adherents, ever really intended to restore the king. Charles, 
at least, did not think so, and if he temporized, it was necessary 



a.d. 1647. FLIES TO THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 419 

for his personal safety. Persuaded that his life was in clanger, the 
king secretly and suddenly left Hampton Court, attended only by 
three persons (November 12). His escape was not discovered till 
nearly an hour after, when those who entered his chamber found 
on the table some letters directed to the parliament, to the general, 
and to the officer who had attended him. Charles travelled all 
night through the forest, and arrived next day at Titchfield, a seat 
of the earl of Southampton's, where the countess-dowager resided, 
a woman of honour to whom the king knew he might safely intrust 
his person. As the ship he expected was not ready, he crossed the 
sea on the 13th, and took refuge with colonel Hammond, the 
governor of the Isle of Wight, who was nephew to doctor Hammond, 
the king's favourite chaplain. By Hammond he was conducted 
to Carisbrooke Castle, where, though received with great demonstra- 
tions of respect and duty, he was in reality a prisoner. 

§ 12. Entirely master of the parliament and of the king, Crom- 
well now applied himself seriously to quell those disorders in the 
army which he himself had so artfully raised. To wean the soldiers 
from the licentious maxims of the Levellers, he issued orders for 
discontinuing the meetings of the agitators. But though he took 
efficient means to reduce them to obedience, he soon found that he 
himself fell under suspicion with the army, and he proceeded to make 
his peace with them. Accordingly, at the suggestion of Ireton, 
he secretly called, at Windsor, a council of the chief officers, 
in order to deliberate concerning the settlement of the nation, 
and the future disposal of the king's person.* In this conference, 
which commenced with devout prayers, poured forth by Cromwell 
himself and the other officers, the daring counsel was first opened 
of bringing the king to trial. Charles, by a message sent from 
Carisbrooke Castle, had offered the parliament to resign, during his 
own life, the power of the militia and the nomination to all the 
great offices, provided that, after his demise, these prerogatives 
should revert to the crown. Coerced by the independents and 
the army, parliament neglected this offer, and framed four proposals, 
which they sent to the king as preliminaries (December 24) : 

1. to invest the parliament with the military power for 20 years ; 

2. to recall all his proclamations and declarations against the 
parliament ; 3. to annul all the acts, and void all patents of peer- 
age, which had passed the great seal since it had been carried from 
London by lord-keeper Littleton, and renounce for the future the 
power of making peers without the consent of parliament; 4. to 
give the two houses power to adjourn as they thought proper. 
The king having refused these proposals, upon an offer of less 

* Clarendon V 514. 



420 CHARLES I. Chap. xxii. 

onerous conditions from the Scots (December 28), it was voted by 
the parliament that no more addresses should be made to him, nor 
any letters or messages received from him ; and that it should be 
treason for any one, without leave of the two houses, to hold any 
intercourse with him (January 3, 1648). By this vote of non- 
addresses (as it was called) the king was in reality dethroned, and 
the whole constitution formally overthrown ; and it having been 
discovered that the king had attempted to escape from Carisbrooke 
Castle, Hammond, by orders from the army, removed all his servants, 
cut off his correspondence with his friends, and shut him up in 
close confinement. 

§ 13. The Scots had been much displeased with the proceedings 
adopted towards the king, as well as with the contempt which the 
independents displayed for the Covenant, which was derisively called 
in the House of Commons "an almanack out of date." They sent 
commissioners to London to protest against the four propositions 
that had been offered to the king ; and when they accompanied the 
English commissioners to the Isle of Wight, they secretly formed 
a treaty with the king, called The Engagement, for arming Scot- 
land in his favour. The duke of Hamilton obtained a vote from 
the Scottish parliament to arm 40,000 men in the king's 
support, and to call over a considerable body under Monro, who 
commanded the Scottish forces in Ulster ; and though he openly 
protested that the Covenant was the foundation of all his measures, 
he secretly entered into correspondence with the English royalists, 
sir Marmaduke Langdale and sir Philip Musgrave, who had levied 
considerable forces in the north of England. While the Scots were 
making preparations for the invasion of England, every part of that 
kingdom was agitated with tumults, insurrections, and con- 
spiracies. The general spirit of discontent had seized the fleet. 
Six ships, lying in the mouth of the river, declared for the king ; 
and putting their admiral ashore, sailed over to Holland, where the 
prince of Wales took the command of them (July, 1648). 

Cromwell and the military council prepared themselves with 
vigour for defence, and the revolts which had broken out in various 
parts of England were soon either checked or subdued. A new 
fleet was manned and sent out, under the command of Warwick, 
to oppose the revolted ships. But while the forces were employed 
in all quarters, the parliament regained its liberty, and the presby- 
terian party recovered thp ascendency which it had formerly lost. 
The vote of non-addresses was repealed ; and five peers and ten 
commoners were sent as commissioners to Newport, in the Isle of 
Wight, in order to treat with the king (September 18). When 
Charles presented himself to this company, a great and sensible 



a.d. 1648. CIVIL WARS. 421 

alteration was remarked in his aspect. The moment his servants 
had heen removed, he had allowed his beard and hair to grow, and 
to hang dishevelled and neglected. His hair was become almost 
entirely grey ; and his friends, perhaps even his enemies, beheld 
with compassion that " grey and discrowned head," as he himself 
terms it in a copy of verses, which the truth of the sentiment, 
more than any elegance of expression, renders very pathetic. In 
these negotiations, which continued from September 18 to Novem- 
ber 27, the king agreed to most of the political conditions proposed ; 
but he declined to take the Covenant or force it upon others, to 
abolish episcopacy, and to alienate in perpetuity the endowments of 
the church of England. Dissatisfied with what the parliament 
had done and were doing, the army carried off the king from 
Newport, and lodged him in Hurst Castle (November 30). 

Hamilton, having entered England with a numerous though un- 
disciplined army, durst not unite his forces with those of Langdale, 
because the English royalists had refused to take the Covenant ; 
and the Scottish presbyterians, though engaged for the king, refused 
to join them on any other terms. Cromwell, though his forces 
were not half so numerous as those of the allies, attacked Langdale 
by surprise, near Preston, in Lancashire (August 17). Hamilton was 
next attacked, put to the rout, and pursued to Uttoxeter, where he 
surrendered himself prisoner (August 20). Cromwell followed his 
advantage; and, marching into Scotland with a considerable body, 
joined Argyle, who was also in arms ; and having suppressed the 
moderate presbyterians, he placed the power entirely in the hands 
of the violent party. The ecclesiastical authority, exalted above 
the civil, exercised the severest vengeance on all who had a share 
in Hamilton's engagement, as it was called. Never in this island 
was known a more severe and arbitrary government than was 
generally exercised by the patrons of liberty in both kingdoms. 
The capture of Colchester by Fairfax (August 27), and the 
barbarous execution of sir Charles Lucas and sir George Lisle, who 
had bravely defended it, terminated the last struggle for the king. 

§ 14. The catastrophe was now approaching. A remonstrance 
was drawn by the council of general officers, and sent to the par- 
liament. They complained of the treaty with the king, demanded 
that he should be " proceeded against in the way of justice " for 
the blood spilt during the war, and required a dissolution of the 
present parliament. The foremost men in this measure were 
colonel Ludlow and Ireton. Fairfax disapproved of it, but had 
not the spirit to oppose it (November 30). The parliament lost 
not courage, notwithstanding the danger with which they were 
menaced. Holies, the present leader of the presbyterians, was 
20 



422 CHARLES I. Chap. xxii. 

a man of unconquerable intrepidity, and was seconded by many 
others. It was proposed by them that the generals and principal 
officers should, for their disobedience and usurpations, be proclaimed 
traitors by the parliament. But the parliament was dealing with 
men who were not to be frightened by words, or retarded by any 
scrupulous delicacy. The generals, under the name of Fairfax (for 
he still allowed them to employ his name), marched the army to 
London, and surrounded the parliament with soldiers. The parlia- 
ment, nevertheless, proceeded to close their treaty with the king ; 
and after a violent debate of three days, it was carried, by a 
majority of 129 against 83, in the House of Commons, that the 
king's concessions were a sufficient foundation for the houses to pro- 
ceed upon in the settlement of the kingdom. Next day (Decem- 
ber 6), when the commons were to meet, colonel Pride, formerly 
a drayman, had environed the house with two regiments; and 
directed by lord Grey of Groby, he seized in the passage 47 mem- 
bers of the presbyterian party, and sent them to a low room which 
passed by the appellation of hell, whence they were afterwards carried 
to several inns. Ninety-six members were excluded; none were 
allowed to enter but the most determined of the independents, and 
these exceeded not the number of 50; " and thus, when the two parts 
of the house were ejected and imprisoned, this third part, composed 
of the Vanists, the independents, and other sects, with the demo- 
cratical party, was left by Cromwell to do his business under the 
name of the parliament of England." Cromwell returned from 
Scotland to London the day after, and installed himself at White- 
hall. The Bump, as it was called, instantly reversed the former 
proceedings of the house, and declared the king's concessions un- 
satisfactory. They renewed their former vote of non-addresses, and 
committed several presbyterians to prison (December 13). 

These sudden and violent revolutions held the whole nation in 
terror and astonishment. To quiet the minds of men, the generals, 
in the name of the army, published a declaration in which they ex- 
pressed their resolution of supporting law and justice; and the 
council of officers took into consideration a scheme called the agree- 
ment of the people, being the plan of a republic, to be substituted in 
the place of that government which they had so violently pulled in 
pieces. To effect this, nothing remained but the public trial and 
execution of the king. Having ordered a day of humiliation 
(December 22), on which Hugh Peters preached, the commons next 
day resolved to proceed capitally against the king ; and on January 2 
they sent up their vote to the lords, declaring it treason in a king 
to levy war against his parliament, and appointing a Hioh Court 
of Justice to try Charles for this newly invented crime. The 



a.d. 1649. HIS TRIAL. 423 

House of Peers, which assembled to the number of 12, without one 
dissenting voice, and almost without deliberation, rejected the vote 
of the lower house, and adjourned for ten days, hoping that this 
delay would be able to retard the furious career of the commons ; 
but the commons were not to be stopped by so small an obstacle. 
After they had declared that the people are the origin of all just 
power, that the commons of England are the supreme authority of 
the nation, and that whatever is enacted by them hath the force of 
law, without the consent of king or House of Peers (January 4), 
the ordinance for the trial of Charles Stuart, king of England (so 
they called him), was again read and unanimously assented to 
(January 6). During the proceedings, colonel Harrison, the most 
furious enthusiast in the army, had been sent with a strong party 
to conduct the king to London. He was brought to Windsor Castle 
(December 23). From thence he was transferred to St. James's, 
and finally to Whitehall (January 19, 1649). 

Next day the high court of justice assembled in Westmin- 
ster Hall. It consisted of 133 persons, as named by the com- 
mons, but there scarcely ever sat above 70. Cromwell, Ire ton, 
Harrison, and the chief officers of the army, were members, together 
with some of the lower house, and some citizens of London. The 
judges were at first appointed in the number ; but, as they had 
affirmed that it was contrary to law to try the king for treason, 
their names, and those of certain peers, were struck out. Bradshaw, 
a lawyer, was chosen president. Cook was appointed solicitor for 
the people of England. In calling over the court, when the crier 
pronounced the name of Fairfax, which had been inserted in the 
number, a voice came from one of the spectators, " He has 
more wit than to be here." When the charge was read against 
the king, " In the name of the people of England," the same voice 
exclaimed, " Not a tenth part of them." Axtell, the officer who 
guarded the court, giving orders to fire into the box whence these 
insolent speeches came, it was discovered that lady Fairfax was 
there, and that it was she who had had the courage to utter them. 

The pomp, the dignity, the ceremony of this transaction, cor- 
responded to the greatest conception that is suggested in the annals 
of history. The solicitor, in the name of the commons, repre- 
sented that Charles Stuart, being admitted king of England, and 
intrusted with a limited power, yet nevertheless, from a wicked 
design to erect an unlimited and tyrannical government, had traitor- 
ously and maliciously levied war against the present parliament, 
and the people whom they represented ; and was therefore impeached 
as a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and a public and implacable enemy 
to the commonwealth. The king was then called on for his answer. 



424 CHARLES I. Chap. xxii. 

Though long detained a prisoner, and now produced as a criminal, 
Charles sustained, by his magnanimous courage, the majesty of a 
monarch. With great temper and dignity he declined to submit 
to the jurisdiction of the court. Three times was he produced before 
the court, and as often declined its jurisdiction. On the fourth 
(January 25), the judges examined some witnesses, by whom it was 
proved that the king had appeared in arms against the forces com- 
missioned by the parliament. Charles then demanded a conference 
with the two houses. This was refused, and judgment was pro- 
nounced upon him (Saturday, January 27). 

It is confessed that the king's behaviour during this last scene of 
his life did honour to his memory ; and that in all appearances before 
his judges he never forgot his part, either as a prince or as a man. 
The soldiers, instigated by their superiors, were brought, though 
with difficulty, to cry aloud for justice. " Poor souls ! " said the 
king to one of his attendants, " they would do as much against 
their commanders, were the occasion given." One of the soldiers, as 
the king passed, exclaimed, " God bless you, sir ! " whereupon one 
of his officers struck him on the head with his cane. " The punish- 
ment, methinks," said the king, " exceeds the offence." 

The Scots protested against the proceedings ; the Dutch inter- 
ceded in the king's behalf ; the prince of Wales sent a blank sheet 
of paper, subscribed with his name and sealed with his arms, on 
which his father's judges might write what conditions they pleased 
as the price of his life. But all solicitations were found fruitless 
with men whose resolutions were remorseless and irrevocable. 

§ 15. Two days were allowed the king between his sentence and 
his execution. This interval he passed with great tranquillity, chiefly 
in reading and devotion. All his family that remained in England 
were allowed access to him. It consisted only of the princess 
Elizabeth and of prince Henry, afterwards duke of Gloucester, for 
the duke of York had made his escape. The palace of Whitehall 
was destined for his execution, to which place Charles was brought 
on foot from St. James's like a common criminal. The scaffold 
was erected in front of the central window of the banqueting-hall ; 
and when Charles stepped out upon the scaffold, through a passage 
broken in the wall, he found it so surrounded with soldiers that he 
could not expect to be heard by any of the people. He addressed 
therefore his discourse to the few persons who were about him ; 
justified his own innocence in the late fatal wars, though he acknow- 
ledged the equity of his execution in the eye of his Maker ; and 
observed that an unjust sentence, which he had suffered to take 
effect, was now punished by an unjust sentence upon himself. 
When he was preparing himself for the block, bishop Juxon, who 



a.d. 1649. HIS EXECUTION. 425 

had been allowed to attend him, called to him, " There is but one 
stage more. This stage is turbulent indeed and troublesome, but 
very short, and which in an instant will lead you a most long way, 
from earth to heaven, where you shall find great joy and solace." 
" I go," replied the king, " from a corruptible to an incorruptible 
crown, where can be no trouble, none at all." " You shall exchange," 
said Juxon, " a temporal crown for an eternal one ; it is a good 
change." The king then said unto the executioner, " Is my hair as 
it should be ? " Whereupon he put off his cloak, and his George, 
which he gave to Juxon, saying, " Eemember ! " At two in the 
afternoon his head was severed by one blow from his body. A man 
in a vizor performed the office of executioner ; another, in a like/ 
disguise, held up to the spectators the head streaming with blood, 
and cried aloud, " This is the head of a traitor ! " (January 30, 1649). 

A deep groan burst from the multitude. The crowd swayed 
hither and thither. Many with a desire of dipping their handker- 
chiefs in the blood that flowed from the scaffold, were trampled on 
and driven back by the soldiers. An incident is recorded, during 
the execution, which might have graced the pages of Livy. A 
flight of Avild ducks, hovering over the scaffold, could not be 
driven off by the swords of the soldiers. When the king's head 
was severed from his body, one of the number suddenly swooped 
down, dipped its beak in the blood, and immediately disappeared 
with its companions. 

Charles was of a comely presence ; of a sweet, but melancholy, 
aspect. His face was regular, handsome, and well-complexioned ; 
his body strong, healthy, and justly proportioned ; and being of a 
middle stature, he was capable of enduring the greatest fatigues. 
He excelled in horsemanship and other exercises ; and he possessed 
all the exterior as well as many of the essential qualities which form 
an accomplished prince. His greatest misfortune was a distrust of 
his own judgment, and a habit of deferring to others of inferior 
capacity to his own. This often made him waver and change his 
resolution, not unfrequently for the worse, but always with the dis- 
advantage of disappointing those who advised him, and of appearing 
insincere. But dissimulation in one form or another was the com- 
mon vice of the age, " which the extreme hypocrisy of many among 
his adversaries," as Hallam remarks, might palliate in his case 
and in the difficulties of his position, though it could not excuse. 
At his trial he was not allowed council or assistance of any 
kind, and his funeral was indecently hurried on from the dread of 
a popular reaction. 

In a few days the commons passed votes to abolish the House 
of Peers and the monarchy as useless parts of the constitution, and 



426 



CHARLES I. 



Chap. xxii. 



they ordered a new great seal to be engraved, on which their house 
was represented, with this legend — on the first year of free- 
dom, by god's blessing, restored, 1648. The forms of all public 
business were changed from the king's name to that of the keepers 
of the liberties of England. It was declared high treason to pro- 
claim, or any otherwise acknowledge, Charles Stuart, commonly 
called prince of Wales. The duke of Hamilton, as earl of Cam- 
bridge in England, lord Capel, and the earl of Holland, were con- 
demned and executed some weeks after. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



ICON BASIL IK^. 
Shortly after the execution of Charles 
I. appeared a work entitled " Icon Ba- 
silike (e'miov ftairiXtKr], kingly image), or 
a Portraiture of His Sacred Majesty in 
his Solitude and Sufferings." It consists 
of meditations or soliloquies on the king's 
calamities, and was generally believed at 
the time to be the composition of Charles 
himself. It made a great impression on 
the public, met with a great sale, and in 
the middle of last century it was com- 
puted that 47 editions, or 48,500 copies, 
had been issued (Jos. Ames, in London 
Magazine for 1756). In 1649 Milton, who 
was commissioned by the parliament to 
answer it, treated it as a genuine work. 
Lord Anglesey left a memorandum in his 
handwriting that he was told in 1675, both 
by Charles II. and by the duke of York, 
that the work was not written by their 
father, but by Dr. Gauden. Burnet was 
assured by James, in 1673, that the book 
was Gauden's composition. Yet both of 
these princes authorized the book to be 
published as the king's in the editions 
of their father's works. In a letter to 
chancellor Hyde, January 21, 1660, 
Gauden claims the authorship, and 
says he sent it to the king, who 
adopted it as his own. Clarendon, state 
Papers, iii. Sup. xxix. On ihe other 
hand the most important evidence is that 
of sir Thomas Herbert, who closely 
attended the king throughout his troubles. 



" At this time it was (as is presumed) 
he composed his book, called Suspiria 
Regalia, published soon after his death, 
and entitled The King's Pourtraieture in 
his Solitude, etc., which MS. Mr. Herbert 
found amongst those books his Majesty 
was pleased to give him, those excepted 
which he bequeathed to his children . . . 
in regard Mr. Herbert, though he did not 
see the king write that book, his Majesty 
being always private when he writ, yet 
comparing it with his handwriting in 
other things [he] found it so veiy like, as 
induces his belief that it was his (the 
king's) own handwriting." Herbert's 
Memoirs, from which this extract is taken, 
appeared in 1678, 18 years after the 
publication of the " Icon Basilike ; " and 
if it had been written by Gaiiden, or a 
surreptitious copy been palmed upon the 
world, it is scarcely likely that Herbert, 
so faithful to his master's memory, would 
have omitted all notice of these circum- 
stances. The probable solution is that 
Charles adopted and modified Gauden's 
MS. Evidences from style are worth 
little. Hallam thinks the book unworthy 
of the king, and attributes it from likeness 
of style to Gauden. Burnet thinks " that 
no man, from a likeness of style, would 
think him (Gauden) capable of writing 
so extraordinary a book." Dr. C. Words- 
worth claims the authorship for king 
Charles. On the other side, see Hallam's 
Constitutional History, ii. 230. 




Pattern for a crown of the protector Oliver Cromwell. Obv. : olvae . d . g . r . p . 
ang . sco . hib &c pro. Bust of protector to left. Rev. : pax . qv^ritvr . bello. 
Crowned shield with arms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the coat of Cromwell 
in an escutcheon of pretence : above, 1658. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE COMMONWEALTH. 1649-1660. 

§. 1. State of England, Scotland, and Ireland. § 2. Cromwell's campaign 
in Ireland. § 3. Charles II. in Scotland. Cromwell's campaign in 
Scotland. Battle of Dunbar. § 4. Charles crowned at Scone. He 
advances into England. Battle -of Worcester. Flight and escape of 
Charles. § 5. Settlement of the Commonwealth. § 6. Dutch war. 
Blake and Tromp. § 7. Cromwell expels the parliament. § 8. 
Barebone's parliament. Cromwell protector. § 9. Defeat of the Dutch 
and peace with Holland. § 10. Cromwell's administration. His first 
parliament. Royalist insurrection. War with Spain. § 11. Blake's 
naval exploits. Jamaica conquered. Death of Blake. § 12. Crom- 
well's third parliament. He refuses the crown. 'The " humble petition 
and advice." § 13. Dunkirk taken. Discontents and insurrections. 
§ 14. Cromwell's sickness, death, and character, § 15. His foreign 
policy. § 16. Richard Cromwell protector. § 17. Long parliament 
restored and expelled. Committee of safety. § 18. General Monk 
declares for the parliament. The parliament restored. Monk enters 
London. Long parliament dissolved. § 19. A new parliament. The 
Restoration. 

§ 1. The death of the king was followed "by a dissolution of the 
constitution, both civil and ecclesiastical. Nominally, the Rump 
remained supreme, but every man had framed for himself the model 
of a republic ; every man had adjusted his own system of religion. 
The millenarians, or fifth monarchy men, required that govern- 
ment itself should be abolished, and all human powers be laid in 
the dust, in order to pave the way for the dominion of Christ, whose 
second coming they suddenly expected. One party declaimed 



428 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. xxm. 

against tithes and a hireling priesthood ; another inveighed against 
the law and its professors. The royalists, consisting of the nobles 
and more considerable gentry, were inflamed with the highest 
resentment and indignation against those ignoble adversaries who 
had reduced them to subjection. The presbyterians, whose credit 
at first supported the arms of the parliament, were enraged to find 
that, by the treachery or superior cunning of the sectaries and in- 
dependents, the fruits of all their labours had been ravished from 
them. The young king, poor and neglected, living sometimes in 
Holland, sometimes in Prance, sometimes in Jersey, comforted him- 
self amidst his present distresses with the hopes of better fortune. 

The only solid support of the republican independent faction 
was an army of nearly 45,000 men. But this army, formidable 
from its discipline and courage, as well as its numbers, was actuated 
by a spirit that rendered it dangerous to the assembly which had 
assumed the command over it. Cromwell alone was able to guide 
and direct all these unsettled humours. But though he retained 
for a time all orders of men under a seeming obedience to the 
parliament, he was secretly paving the way to his own unlimited 
authority. 

The Kump parliament, consisting of 50 members, began gradually 
to assume more the air of a legal power. It re-admitted a few of 
the excluded and absent members, but only on condition that they 
should sign an approbation of whatever had been done in their 
absence with regard to the king's trial. It issued writs for new 
elections, in places where it hoped to have interest enough .to 
bring in its own friends and dependents ; and it named an executive 
council of state, 41 in number, of which Bradshaw was appointed 
the president, and Milton foreign secretary. As soon as it should 
have settled the nation, it professed its intention of restoring 
the power to the people, from whom it pretended all power was 
derived. The functions of this council embraced government at 
home, the army and navy, superintendence of trade and negocia- 
tions with foreign powers. 

The situation of Scotland and Ireland alone gave any immediate 
disquietude to the new republic. After the successive defeats of 
Montrose and Hamilton, and the ruin of their parties, the whole 
authority in Scotland fell into the hands of Argyle. Invited 
by the English parliament to model their government into a re- 
publican form, the Scots resolved still to adhere to monarchy, which, 
by the express terms of their Covenant, they had engaged to defend. 
After the execution, therefore, of the king, they immediately 
proclaimed his son and successor Charles II. (Febuary 5) ; but 
upon condition of his strict observance of the Covenant. The 



a.d. 1649. cromwell's campaign in Ireland. 429 

affairs of Ireland demanded more immediate attention. When 
Charles I. was a prisoner among the Scots, he sent orders to 
Ormond, if he could not defend himself, rather to suhmit to the 
English than the Irish rebels ; and accordingly, the lord-lieutenant, 
being reduced to extremities, delivered up Dublin, Drogheda, Dun- 
dalk, and other garrisons, to colonel Jones, who took possession of 
them in the name of the English parliament. Ormond himself 
went over to England, and after some time joined the queen and 
prince of Wales in France. Meanwhile the Irish catholics, dis- 
gusted with the indiscretion and insolence of Rinuccini, the papal 
nuncio, and dreading the power of the English parliament, saw 
no resource or safety but in giving support t-> the declining authority 
of the king. The earl of Clanricarde secretly formed a combination 
among the catholics. He sent to Paris a deputation, inviting 
Ormond to return and take possession of his government. 

Ormond, on his arrival in March, had at first to contend with 
many difficulties. But in the distractions which attended the final 
struggle in England, the republican faction totally neglected Ireland, 
and allowed Jones, and the forces in Dublin, to remain in the 
utmost weakness and necessity. The lord-lieutenant, having at 
last assembled a considerable army, advanced upon the parlia- 
mentary garrisons. Dundalk, Drogheda, and several other towns 
surrendered or were taken. Dublin was threatened with a siege ; 
and the affairs of the lieutenant appeared in so prosperous a con- 
dition, that the young king entertained thoughts of coming in 
person into Ireland. 

When the English commonwealth was brought to some tolerable 
settlement, men turned their eyes towards the neighbouring 
island. After the execution of the king, Cromwell himself began 
to aspire to a command where so much glory, he saw, might be 
won, and so much authority acquired ; and he was appointed by 
the parliament lieutenant and general of Ireland (June 22). 

§ 2. He applied himself, with his wonted vigilance, to make 
preparations for his expedition. He sent a reinforcement of 4000 
men to Jones, who unexpectedly attacked Ormond near Dublin ; 
chased his army off the field ; seized all their tents, baggage, ammu- 
nition ; and returned victorious to Dublin, after killing 600 men, 
many in cold blood, and taking above 2000 prisoners (August 2). 
This loss, which threw some blemish on the military character of 
Ormond, was irreparable to the royal cause. Hearing of Jones's 
success, Cromwell soon after arrived with fresh forces in Dublin, 
where he was welcomed with shouts and rejoicings (August 15). 
He hastened to Drogheda, which, though well fortified, was taken 
by assault, Cromwell himself, along with Ireton, leading on his 
20* 



430 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap, xxiii. 

men. A cruel slaughter was made of the garrison, orders having 
been issued to give no quarter (September 10). All priests and 
monks were put to death without distinction. Cromwell pretended 
to retaliate, by this severe execution, the cruelty of the Irish 
massacre ; but he well knew that almost the whole garrison was 
English. " The enemy," as he stated in his letter to parliament, 
"were about 3000 strong. We refused them quarter. . . . I believe 
we put to the sword the whole number of the defendants. I do 
not think 30 of the whole number escaped with their lives ; those 
that did are in safe custody for the Barbadoes " — that is, slavery in 
the West Indies. Parliament ordered a thanksgiving service for 
such a glorious victory. Wexford was taken (October 9), and the 
same severity exercised as at Drogheda, between 2000 and 3000 
being put to the sword. Every town before which Cromwell pre- 
sented himself now opened its gates without resistance. Next 
spring he made himself master of Kilkenny and Clonmel, the only 
places where he met with any vigorous resistance. Ormond soon 
after left the island, and delegated his authority to Clanricarde, 
who found affairs so desperate as to admit of no remedy. The 
Irish were glad to embrace banishment, and more than 40,000 
sought refuge in foreign service. 

§ 3. While Cromwell proceeded with such uninterrupted success 
in Ireland, which in the space of nine months he had almost en- 
tirely subdued, fortune was preparing for him a new scene of 
victory and triumph in Scotland. Charles, by the advice of his 
friends, who thought it ridiculous to refuse a kingdom merely from 
regard to episcopacy, had been induced to accept the crown of 
Scotland on the terms offered by the commissioners of the Cove- 
nanters. But what chiefly determined him to comply, was the 
account brought him of the fate of Montrose, which blasted all his 
hopes of recovering his inheritance by force. That gallant but 
unfortunate nobleman, having received assistance from some of 
the northern powers, had landed in the Orkneys with about 500 
men, most of them Germans. He armed several of the inhabitants 
of the Orkneys, and carried them over with him to Caithness ; but 
was disappointed in his hopes that affection to the king's service, 
and the fame of his former exploits, would make the Highlanders 
flock to his standard. Strahan, one of the generals of the Cove- 
nanters, fell unexpectedly on Montrose, who had no horse to bring 
him intelligence. The royalists were put to flight, all of them were 
either killed or taken prisoners, and Montrose himself, having put 
on the disguise of a peasant, was perfidiously delivered into the 
hands of his enemies by a friend, named Aston, to whom he had 
intrusted his person. In this disguise he was carried to Edinburgh, 



a.d. 1650. CHARLES II. IN SCOTLAND. 431 

amid the insults of his enemies ; when he was tried and con- 
demned by the parliament, and hanged with every circumstance of 
ignominy and cruelty (May 21, 1650). 

In this extremity Charles set sail for Scotland ; but before he 
was permitted to land he was required to sign the Covenant. 
Many sermons and lectures were made to him, exhorting him to 
persevere in that holy confederacy. He soon found that he was 
considered as a mere pageant of state, and that the few remains 
of royalty which he possessed served only to draw on him the 
greater indignities. He was constrained by the Covenanters to 
issue a declaration, wherein he desired to be deeply humbled and 
afflicted in spirit, because of his father's opposing the Covenant and 
shedding the blood of God's people throughout his dominions ; he 
lamented the idolatry of his mother, and the toleration of it in his 
father's house ; and professed that he would have no enemies but 
the enemies of the Covenant. Still the Covenanters and the clergy 
were diffident of his sincerity ; and he found his authority entirely 
annihilated, as well as his character degraded. He was consulted 
in no public measure ; and his favour was sufficient to discredit 
any pretender to office or advancement. 

As soon as the English parliament found that the treaty between 
the king and the Scots would probably terminate in an accommo- 
dation, they made preparations for a war, which, they saw, would 
in the end prove inevitable. Cromwell, having broken the force 
and courage of the Irish, was sent for ; and he left the command of 
Ireland to Ireton. It was expected that Fairfax, who still retained 
the name of general, would continue to act against Scotland. But 
he entertained insurmountable scruples against invading the Scots, 
whom he considered as united to England by the sacred bands of 
the Covenant. Accordingly, he resigned his commission, which 
was bestowed on Cromwell, who was declared captain-general of all 
the forces in England. Cromwell crossed the Tweed (July 16), and 
entered Scotland with an army of 16,000 men. Leslie, the Scotch 
general, entrenched himself in a fortified camp between Edinburgh 
and Leith, and took care to remove everything from the country 
which could serve for the subsistence of the English army. Crom- 
well, who had advanced to the Scottish camp, and vainly en- 
deavoured to bring Leslie to a battle, began to be in want of 
provisions, which reached him only by sea. He therefore retired 
to Dunbar. Leslie followed him, and encamped on Down Hill, 
which overlooked that town. There lay many difficult passes 
between Dunbar and Berwick, and of these Leslie had taken pos- 
session. The English general was reduced to extremities. He had 
even embraced a resolution of sending by sea all his foot and 



432 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. xxin. 

artillery to England, and of breaking through, at all hazards, with 
his cavalry. The madness of the Scottish ecclesiastics saved him 
from this loss and dishonour. Night and day the ministers had 
been wrestling with the Lord in prayer, as they termed it ; and 
they fancied that the sectarian and heretical army, together with 
Agag, meaning Cromwell, was delivered into their hands. Upon 
the faith of these visions, they forced their general, in spite of his 
remonstrances, to descend into the plain, with the view of attack- 
ing the English in their retreat. Cromwell saw the Scots in 
motion, and their line widely and loosely extended ; and exclaim- 
ing (as some say), "The Lord hath delivered them into our 
hands ! " gave orders far the attack (September 3, 1650). Unable 
to close their ranks, the Scots, though double in number to the 
English, were totally defeated and pursued with great slaughter. No 
victory could have been more complete. About 3000 of the enemy 
were slain, and 9000 taken prisoners. Cromwell pursued his advan- 
tage, and took possession of Edinburgh and Leith. The remnant 
of the Scottish army fled to Stirling. The approach of the winter 
season, and an ague which seized Cromwell, kept him from pushing 
the victory further. 

§ 4. This defeat of the Scots was not unacceptable to the royalists. 
Charles was crowned at Scone (January 1, 1651) with great pomp 
and solemnity. But amidst all this appearance of respect, Charles 
remained in the hands of the most rigid Covenanters, and was 
little better than a prisoner. As soon as the season would permit, 
the Scottish army was assembled under Hamilton and Leslie ; and 
the king was allowed to join the camp before Stirling. Cromwell, 
having failed to bring the Scottish generals to an engagement, 
crossed the Forth, and took Perth, the seat of government 
(August 2). 

Charles now embraced a resolution worthy of a young prince con- 
tending for empire. Having the way open, he resolved immediately 
to march into England, and persuaded most of the generals to enter 
into the same views. But Argyle obtained, permission to retire to 
his own home. The army, to the number of 14,000 men, rose from 
their camp, and advanced by great journeys towards the south 
(July 31). Cromwell was surprised at this movement of the royal 
army ; but he quickly repaired his oversight by his vigilance and 
activity, and, leaving Monk with 7000 men to complete the reduction 
of Scotland, he followed the king with all possible expedition. 

Charles found himself disappointed in his expectations of increas- 
ing his army. The Scots, terrified at the prospect of so hazardous 
an enterprise, fell off in great numbers. The English presbyterians. 
and royalists, having no warning given them of the king's approach, 



a.d. 1650-1651. FLIGHT AND ESCAPE OF CHARLES. 433 

were not prepared to join him. When he arrived at Worcester he 
found that his forces, extremely harassed by a hasty and fatiguing 
march, were not more numerous than when he rose from his camp at 
Stirling. With an army of about 30,000 men, Cromwell fell upon 
Worcester (August 28), and, attacking it on all sides, after a 
desperate resistance of four or five hours, broke in upon the dis- 
ordered royalists (September 3). The streets of the city were 
strewed with dead. The whole Scottish army was either killed 
or taken prisoners. Fifteen hundred were sold for slaves. The 
country people, inflamed with national antipathy, put to death 
the few that escaped from the field of battle. 

The king left Worcester at six o'clock in the afternoon, and, 
without halting, travelled about 26 miles, in company with 50 or 
60 of his friends. To provide for his safety, he thought it best to 
separate himself from his companions ; and he left them without 
communicating his intentions to any of them. By the earl of 
Derby's advice, he went to Boscobel, a lone house, on the borders of 
Staffordshire, inhabited by one Penderell, a farmer. To this man 
Charles intrusted himself. Though death was denounced against 
all who concealed the king, and a great reward promised to any one 
who should betray him, he maintained unshaken fidelity.* He 
took the assistance of his four brothers, equally honourable with 
himself; and, having clothed the king in a garb like their own, they 
led him to the neighbouring wood, put a bill into his hand, and 
pretended to employ themselves in cutting faggots. Some nights 
Charles lay upon straw in the house, and fed on such homely 
fare as it afforded. For better concealment, he mounted an oak, 
where he sheltered himself among the leaves and branches for 24 
hours. He saw several soldiers pass by. All of them were intent 
on searching for the king ; and some expressed, in his hearing, their 
earnest wishes of seizing him. This tree was afterwards denominated 
the Royal Oak, and for many years was regarded by the neighbour- 
hood with great veneration. Charles passed through many other 
adventures, assumed different disguises, in every step was exposed 
to imminent perils, and received daily proofs of uncorrupted fidelity 
and attachment. The sagacity of a smith, who remarked that his 
horse's shoe had been made in the north, not in the west, as he 
pretended, once detected him, and he narrowly escaped. At Shore- 
ham, in Sussex, a vessel was at last found, in which he embarked, 
and after 41 days' concealment he arrived safely at Fecamp in 
Normandy (October 17). No fewer than 40 men and women had, 
at different times, been privy to his concealment and escape. 

* Two of the descendants of this family still receive pensions for their services on 
this occasion. 



434 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap, xxiii. 

§ 5. Notwithstanding the late wars and bloodshed, and the present 
factions, the prowess of England had never, in any period, appeared 
more formidable to the neighbouring kingdoms than it did at this 
time. The right of peace and war was lodged in the same hands 
with the power of imposing taxes ; a numerous and well-disciplined 
army was on foot ; and excellent officers were found in every branch 
of service. The- confusion into which all things had been thrown 
had given opportunity to men of low stations to break through 
their obscurity, and to raise themselves by their valour to com- 
mands which they were well qualified to exercise, but to which 
their birth could never have entitled them. Blake, a man of great 
courage and generous disposition, who had defended Lyme and 
Taunton with unshaken obstinacy against the late king, was made 
an admiral ; and though he had hitherto been accustomed only to 
land-service, into which he had not entered till past 50 years 
of age, he soon raised the naval glory of the nation to a greater 
height than it had ever attained in any former period. A fleet was 
put under his command, with which he chased into the Tagus 
prince Eupert, to whom the king had intrusted that squadron which 
had deserted to him. The king of Portugal Jiaving refused Blake 
admittance and aided prince Kupert in making his escape, the 
English admiral made prize of 20 Portuguese ships richly laden ; 
and he threatened still further vengeance. The king of Portugal, 
dreading so dangerous a foe to his newly acquired dominion, made 
all possible submission to the haughty republic, and was at last 
admitted to negociate for a renewal of his alliance.* 

All the settlements in America, except New England, which had 
been planted entirely by the puritans, adhered to the royal party, 
even after the settlement of the republic, but were soon subdued. 
With equal ease Jersey, Guernsey, Scilly, and the Isle of Man, were 
brought under subjection ; and the sea, which had been much 
infested by privateers from these islands, was rendered safe to 
English commerce. The countess of Derby defended the Isle of 
Man, and with great reluctance yielded to unavoidable necessity 
(November, 1651). Ireton, the new deputy of Ireland, at the head 
of an army 30,000 strong, prosecuted the work of subduing the 
revolted Irish ; and he defeated them in many encounters, which, 
though of themselves of no great moment, proved fatal to their 
declining cause. He died of the plague at Limerick, after he had 
captured that town (November, 1651). The command of the army 
in Ireland devolved on lieutenant-general Ludlow. The civil 
government of the island was intrusted to four commissioners, 

* The fleet commanded by Blake had, for the most part, been built by Charles, J., 
out of the ship-money. 



a.d. 1651. DUTCH WAR. 435 

whose chief concern was to dispossess the native Irish of their pro- 
perty, and confer it on English settlers. Thousands embraced 
voluntary exile ; others, especially women and children, were 
shipped to the American plantations ; those who remained were 
driven from the more fertile districts into Connaught, and their 
lands were distributed amongst the parliamentary soldiers. 

The successes which attended Monk in Scotland were no less 
decisive. After taking Stirling Castle (whence the national records 
and regalia were conveyed to London), and gaining other advan- 
tages, he carried Dundee by assault ; and, following the example of 
Cromwell, put all the inhabitants, consisting of 800, to the sword 
(September 1, 1651). Warned by this example, Aberdeen, St. 
Andrews, Inverness, and other towns and forts, yielded, of their 
own accord, to the enemy. Argyle made his submission to the 
English commonwealth; and Scotland, which had hitherto, by 
means of its situation, poverty, and valour, maintained its inde- 
pendence, was reduced to total subjection. The English parliament 
sent sir Harry Vane, St. John, and other commissioners, to settle 
that kingdom. Estates were confiscated, taxes imposed, the people 
disarmed, their preachers silenced; and, to carry out more com- 
pletely this appearance of national humiliation, English judges were 
appointed to administer the laws. 

§ 6. By the total reduction and pacification of the British 
dominions, the parliament had leisure to look abroad, and to exert 
their vigour in foreign enterprises. The Dutch were the first that 
felt the weight of their arms. After the death, in 1650, of 
William, prince of Orange, who had married Mary, daughter of 
Charles I., and whose policy had been favourable to the royal 
cause, the parliament thought that the time had arrived for cement- 
ing a closer confederacy with the Dutch republican party, which 
was now in the ascendant. St. John, chief justice, who was sent . 
over to the Hague, had entertained the idea of forming a kind of 
coalition between the two republics ; but the States offered only 
to renew the former alliances with England. The haughty St. 
John, disgusted with this disappointment, as well as incensed 
by many affronts which had been offered him with impunity by the 
retainers of the palatine and Orange families, and indeed by the 
populace in general, returned into England, and, by his influence 
over Cromwell, determined the parliament to change the proposed 
alliance into a furious war against the United Provinces. To cover 
these hostile intentions the parliament embraced such measures as 
they knew would give disgust to the States. They framed the 
famous act of navigation (October 9, 1651), by which all nations 
were prohibited from importing into England any goods, except 



436 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap, xxiit. 

in English bottoms, or in the vessels of the country where the 
goods were produced. By this law the Dutch were principally 
affected, because they subsisted chiefly by being the general carriers 
and factors of Europe. Letters of reprisal were granted to several 
merchants, who complained of injuries, and above 80 Dutch ships 
were made prizes. Tromp, an admiral of great renown, with a 
fleet of 42 sail, being forced by stress of weather, as he alleged, to 
take shelter in the roads of Dover, there met with Blake, who com- 
manded an English fleet much inferior in number. Who was the 
aggressor in the action which ensued between these two admirals, 
both of them men of such prompt and fiery dispositions, it is not 
easy to determine. Blake, though his squadron consisted only of 
15 vessels, reinforced, after the battle began, by eight more under 
captain Bourne, maintained the fight with bravery for five hours, 
and sunk one ship of the enemy, and took another (May 19, 1652). 
Night parted the combatants, and the Dutch fleet retired towards 
the coast of Holland. The Dutch despatched their pensionary 
Pauw to conciliate matters ; but the imperious parliament would 
hearken to no explanations or remonstrances. They demanded 
that, without any further delay or inquiry, reparation should be 
made for all the damages which the English had sustained. When 
this demand was not complied with, they despatched orders for 
commencing war against the United Provinces (July 8). Several 
naval engagements followed. Sir George Ayscue, though he com- 
manded only 40 ships, engaged, near Plymouth, the famous De 
Euyter, who had under him 50 ships of war, with 30 merchantmen 
(August 1G). H - Night parted them in the greatest heat of the 
action. De Euyter next day sailed off with his convoy. The 
English fleet had been so shattered in the fight, that it was not 
able to pursue. Near the coast of Kent, Blake, seconded by Bourne 
.and Penn, met a Dutch squadron nearly equal in numbers, com- 
manded by De Witt and De Euyter (September 28). A battle was 
fought much to the disadvantage of the Dutch. Their rear-admiral's 
ship was boarded and taken. Two other vessels were sunk, and one 
blown up. The Dutch next day made sail towards Holland. On 
November 28, Tromp, seconded by De Euyter, met, near the 
Goodwins, with Blake, whose fleet was inferior to the Dutch, but 
who resolved not to decline the combat. In this action the Dutch 
had the advantage, and Blake himself was wounded. After this 
victory, Tromp, in bravado, fixed a broom to his mainmast, as if 
he were resolved to sweep the sea entirely of all English vessels. 

In order to wipe off this disgrace, great preparations were made 
in England. A gallant fleet of 80 sail was fitted out. Blake 
commanded, with Monk under him, who had been sent for from 



a.d. 1652-1G53. CROMWELL EXPELS THE PARLIAMENT. 437 

Scotland. When the English lay off Portland (February 18, 1653), 
they descried, near break of day, a Dutch fleet of 78 vessels sailing 
up the Channel, along with a convoy of 300 merchantmen. Tromp, 
and under him De Kuyter, commanded the Dutch. This battle 
was the most furious that had yet been fought between these war- 
like and rival nations. Three days was the combat continued with 
the utmost rage and obstinacy ; and Blake, who was victor, gained 
not more honour than Tromp, who was vanquished. The Dutch 
admiral made a skilful retreat, and saved all the merchant-ships 
except 30. He lost, however, 11 ships of war, had 2000 men slain, 
and near 1500 taken prisoners. The English, though many of their 
ships were extremely shattered, had but one sunk. Their slain 
were not much inferior in number to those of the enemy. 

§ 7. Meanwhile the parliament, no longer apprehensive of domestic 
war, had proposed, at the close of 1651, to reduce the number of the 
army. In 1652 they attempted to carry this project into execution. 
Cromwell, perceiving that the parliament entertained a jealousy of 
his power and ambition", and was resolved to bring him to sub- 
ordination under its authority, determined to prevent it. The 
same year he summoned a general council of officers, in which it 
was voted to frame a remonstrance to parliament (August 13) 
After complaining of the arrears due to the army, they desired the 
parliament to reflect how many years it had sat, and that it 
was now full time for it to give place to others. They therefore 
desired it to summon a new parliament, and establish that free 
and equal government which it had so long promised the people. 
The parliament took this remonstrance in ill part, and much alter- 
cation ensued (March, 1653). At last, Cromwell being informed 
that it had come to a resolution not to dissolve, but to fill up 
the house by new elections, immediately hastened thither, and 
carried with him a body of 300 soldiers. Some of them he 
placed at the door, some in the lobby, some on the stairs. He 
first addressed himself to his friend St. John, and told him that 
he had come with a purpose of doing what grieved him to the very 
soul, and what he had earnestly with tears besought the Lord not 
to impose upon him; but there was a necessity, in order to the 
glory of God and good of the nation. He then sat down for some 
time, and heard the debate. Presently he beckoned Harrison, and 
told him that he now judged the parliament ripe for dissolution. 
" Sir," said Harrison, " the work is very great and dangerous ; I 
desire you seriously to consider, before you engage in it." " You 
say well," replied the general ; and thereupon sat still about a 
quarter of an hour. When the question was ready to be put, he 
said again to Harrison, "This is the time: I must do it." And 



438 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. xxm. 

suddenly starting up, he commenced in a tone of forced calmness, 
but ended in loading the parliament with the vilest reproaches, for 
their tyranny, oppression, and robbery. Then stamping with his 
foot, which was a signal for the soldiers to enter, "For shame," 
said he to the members, " get you gone ; give place to honester 
men ; to those who will more faithfully discharge their trust. You 
are no longer a parliament : I tell you, you are no longer a parlia- 
ment. The Lord has done with you. He has chosen other instru- 
ments for carrying on His work." Sir Harry Vane exclaiming 
against this proceeding, he cried with' a loud voice, " sir Harry 
Vane, sir Harry Vane ! The Lord deliver me from sir Harry Vane ! " 
Taking hold of Martin by the cloak, " Thou art a whoremaster," 
said he. To another, " Thou art an adulterer." To a third, " Thou 
art a drunkard and a glutton ; " " And thou an extortioner," to a 
fourth. He then commanded a soldier to seize the mace. " What 
shall we do with this fool's bauble ? Here, take it away. It is you," 
said he, addressing himself to the house, " that have forced me upon 
this. I have sought the Lord night and day, that He would rather 
slay me than put me upon this work." Having commanded the 
soldiers to clear the hall, he himself went out the last, and, 
ordering the doors to be locked, departed to his lodgings in White- 
hall (April 20, 1653). To such ignominy was the celebrated Long 
Parliament reduced. 

As the Rump was hated, the indignation entertained by the people 
against this manifest usurpation was not so violent as might have 
been expected. Congratulatory addresses, the first of the kind, were 
made to Cromwell by the fleet, by the army, even by many of the 
chief corporations and counties of England ; but especially by the 
several congregations of saints or independents dispersed throughout 
the kingdom. 

§ 8. Cromwell, however, thought it requisite to establish some- 
thing which might bear the face of a commonwealth ; and without 
any more ceremony, he formed himself, with eight others of his 
officers and four civilians, into a council of state. By their advice 
he sent summonses to 128 persons of different towns and counties 
in England, to five of Scotland, and to six of Ireland (June 8). He 
pretended, by his sole act and deed, to devolve upon them the whole 
authority of the state. This legislative power they were to exercise 
during 15 months, and they were afterwards to choose the same 
number of persons who might succeed them in that high and im- 
portant office. In this assembly, which voted themselves a parlia- 
ment (July 4), were many persons of the rank of gentlemen ; but 
the greater part were fifth monarchy men, anabaptists, and in- 
dependents. They began with seeking God by prayer. They con- 



a.d. 1653. CROMWELL APPOINTED PROTECTOR. 439 

templated some extraordinary schemes of legislation, but had not 
leisure to finish any, except that which established the legal 
solemnization of marriage by the civil magistrate alone. Among 
the fanatics of the house there was an active member, much 
noted for his long prayers, sermons, and harangues. He was a 
leather-seller hi London, named Praise-God Barebone. This 
ridiculous name struck the fancy of the people, and they commonly 
called this assembly Barebone 's Parliament, or the Little Parliament. 
The parliament was obsequious enough. Besides the executive, 
it transferred the highest judicial powers to Cromwell and his 
council. It abrogated the high court of chancery (August 5). 
It constituted a new high commission court in the form of a 
high court of justice for trials of offenders against the common- 
wealth (August 10). It empowered the council of state to revise 
acts of treason. To put an end to this farce of government, it re- 
solved (December 13) that, as its further sitting was no longer for 
the good of the commonwealth, it was requisite to deliver up to 
the lord-general, Cromwell, the powers it had received from him. 
This was formally proposed by Sydenham, an independent. Eous, 
the speaker, who was one of Sydenham's party, forthwith left 
the chair, followed by several members, and the few who remained 
in the house were ejected by colonel White, with a party of 
soldiers. Cromwell at first refused the offer ; but the resignation 
of their powers being signed by the majority of the house, he 
accepted the trust, and a deed was drawn up, called the Instru- 
ment of Government, which received the approval of the council 
of officers. By this instrument Cromwell received the title of 
" His Highness the Lord Protector " (December 16), and a council 
was appointed of not more than 21, nor less than 13 persons, who 
were to enjoy their office during life or good behaviour. The 
legislative power was vested in the protector and a parliament. 
The protector was bound to summon a parliament every three 
years, and allow them to sit five months, without adjournment, 
prorogation, or dissolution. The bills which they passed were to 
be presented to the protector for his assent; but if within 20 
days it were not obtained, they were to become laws by the 
authority of parliament alone. The number of members was 
determined at 400 for England, and 30 each for Scotland and 
Ireland. A standing army of 20,000 foot and 10,000 horse was 
established for Great Britain and Ireland, and funds were as- 
signed for its support. The protector was to enjoy his office during 
life, to treat with foreign states, and make peace or war with the 
assent of his council. He had the disposal of the military and 
naval power, and the appointment of great officers of state, with 



uo 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 



Chap xxin. 



the consent of parliament. Finally, on his death the place was 
immediately to be supplied by the council. Thus, in fact, the 
sovereign authority of which parliament had deprived the king 
was transferred to the protector and the general of its armies. 
With such a power at his back, the authority of the protector 
was virtually and practically absolute, and the forms of the con- 
stitution depended solely on nis will. 

§ 9. In spite of these distracted scenes, the military prowess of 
England was exerted with vigour; and never did it appear more 
formidable to foreign nations. The English fleet gained several 
victories over the Dutch, in the last of which Tromp, while 
gallantly animating his men, was shot through the heart with a 
musket ball (July 31, 1653). Monk and Penn commanded in 





Medal given for service in the action with the Dutch, July 31, 1653. Ohv. : a naval 
battle : above, for eminent service in saving t triumph fiered in fight wh y 
dvch in ivly 1653. Rev. : arms of the three kingdoms suspended on an anchor. 

this engagement, Blake being ill on shore. The States, over- 
whelmed with the expense of the war, terrified by their losses and 
defeats, were extremely desirous of an accommodation ; and a peace 
was at last signed by Cromwell (April 5, 1654). A defensive league 
was made between the two republics, and the honour of the flag was 
yielded to the English. 

§ 10. The new parliament summoned by the protector met on 
September 3, 1654. The elections had been conducted agreeably 
to the instrument of government, and precautions were taken to 
form a house subservient to the wishes of the protector. All persons 
who had in any way assisted the king, presbyterians, episcopalians, 
or royalists, were declared incapable of serving. The smaller 
boroughs were deprived of the franchise. Of 400 members, 



a.d. 1654-1655. CROMWELL'S FIRST PARLIAMENT. 441 

which represented England, 250 were chosen hy the counties; 
the rest were elected by London and the more considerable cor- 
porations. The lower populace, as easily guided or deceived, were 
excluded from the elections. An estate of 200?. value was necessary 
to entitle any one to a vote. Further, in imitation of the old regal 
practice, Cromwell and his officers nominated 144 of the members 
for the united knigdoms, including themselves. 

But the protector soon found that he did not possess the con- 
fidence of this parliament. Having heard his speech, three hours 
long, and chosen Lenthall for their speaker, they immediately 
entered into a discussion of the pretended instrument of govern- 
ment, and of that authority which Cromwell, by the title of 
protector, had assumed over the nation. The greatest liberty was 
used in arraigning this new dignity ; and even the personal 
character and conduct of Cromwell escaped not without censiire. 
The protector was surprised and enraged at this refractory spirit. 
On September 12 he had the parliament doors locked and 
guarded, and sending for the members to the painted chamber, 
with an air of great authority inveighed against their conduct. He 
told them that he had received his office from God and the people, 
and none but God and the people should take it from him — un- 
consciously admitting that parliament, though mainly of his own 
choice, did not represent the people. It was not to be expected, 
he added, that when he assured them that they were a free parlia- 
ment, they were free in any other sense than as they should act 
under that government. He was unwilling to violate their privileges, 
but necessity had no law. If he had studied to devise a justification 
for Charles I., it would have been impossible for him to have found 
words more significant or more appropriate. He then obliged the 
members to sign an agreement in recognition of his authority. A 
hundred of the members refused ; the rest, after some hesitation, 
submitted : but retaining the same independent spirit which they 
had discovered in their first debates, Cromwell dissolved the house 
in a confused and angry harangue (January 22, 1655). 

The discontent discovered by this parliament encouraged the 
royalists to attempt an insurrection, which was soon put down, 
and served only to strengthen Cromwell's government. He issued 
an edict (October, 1655), with the consent of his council, for ex- 
acting the tenth penny from the royalists, in order, as he pretended, 
to make them pay the expenses to which their mutinous disposition 
continually exposed the nation. To raise this imposition, which 
commonly passed by the name of decimation, the protector ap- 
pointed 12 major-generals, and divided the whole kingdom of England 
into so many military jurisdictions. These men, assisted by com- 



442 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. xxm. 

missioners, had power to subject whom they pleased to decimation, 
to levy all the taxes imposed by the protector and his council, and 
to imprison any person who should be exposed to their jealousy or 
suspicion ; nor was there any appeal from them but to the protector 
himself and his council. In short, they acted as if absolute masters 
of the property and person of every subject. 

Meanwhile the resentment displayed by the English parliament 
at the protection afforded by France to Charles, induced that court 
to change its measures. Anne of Austria had become regent of 
France, in the minority of her son Louis XIV., and cardinal 
Mazarin had succeeded Eichelieu in the ministry. Charles was 
treated by them with so much neglect and indifference, that he 
thought it more decent to withdraw, and prevent the indignity of 
being desired to leave the kingdom. He went first to Spa, thence 
he retired to Cologne, where he lived two years on a small pension 
paid him by the court of France, and on some contributions sent 
him by his friends in England. 

The French ministry deemed it still more necessary to pay defer- 
ence to the protector when he assumed the reins of government. 
They were now at war with Spain, and wished to defeat the in- 
trigues of that court, which, being reduced to greater distress than 
the French monarchy, had been still more forward in their advances 
to the prosperous parliament and protector. Cromwell resolved for 
several reasons to unite his arms to those of France. The extensive 
empire and yet extreme weakness of Spain in the West Indies, the 
vigorous courage and great naval power of England, made him 
hope that he might, by some gainful conquest, render for ever 
illustrious that dominion which he had assumed over his country. 
Should he fail of these durable acquisitions, the Indian treasures, 
which must every year cross the ocean to reach Spain, were, he 
thought, a sure prey to the English navy, and would support his 
military force, without his laying new burthens on the discontented 
people. These motives of policy were probably seconded by his 
religious principles ; and as the Spaniards were more bigoted papists 
than the French, and had refused to mitigate on Cromwell's solici- 
tation the rigours of the Inquisition, he hoped that a holy and 
meritorious war with such idolaters could not fail of protection from 
Heaven. 

§ 11. Actuated by these motives, he concluded a treaty offensive 
with France (October 24), stipulating that neither Charles nor the 
duke of York should be suffered to remain in that kingdom. He 
equipped two considerable squadrons, one of which, consisting of 30 
capital ships, was sent into the Mediterranean under Blake, whose 
fame was now spread over Europe. Blake sailed to Algiers, and 



a.d. 1655-1657. DEATH OF BLAKE. 443 

compelled the dey to restrain his piratical subjects from further 
violences on the English. He then presented himself before Tunis, 
where, incensed by the insolence of the dey, he destroyed the 
castles of Porto Farino and Goletta, sent a numerous detachment 
of sailors in their long-boats into the harbour, and burned every 
ship which lay there. This bold action filled all that part of the 
world with the renown of English valour. 

The other squadron was not equally successful. It was com- 
manded by Penn, and carried on board 4000 men, under the com- 
mand of Venables. An attack upon St. Domingo was repulsed with 
loss and disgrace ; but Jamaica surrendered to them without a blow 
(May, 1655). Penn and Venables returned to England, and were 
both of them sent to the Tower by the protector, who, though com- 
monly master of his fiery temper, was thrown into a violent passion 
at this disappointment. He had, however, made a conquest of 
greater importance than he was himself at that time aware of; and 
Jamaica has ever since remained in the hands of the English. 

As soon as the news of this expedition, which was an unwar- 
rantable violation of treaty, arrived in Europe, the Spaniards de- 
clared war against England, and seized all the ships and goods of 
English merchants of which they could make themselves masters. 
Blake, with whom Montague was now joined in command, prepared 
himself for hostilities against the Spaniards, and lay some time off 
Cadiz in expectation of intercepting the treasure -fleet, but was at 
last obliged, for want of water, to make sail towards Portugal. 
Captain Stayner, however, whom he had left on the coast with a 
squadron of seven vessels, took two ships valued at nearly 2,000,000 
of pieces of eight (September 9, 1656). 

The next action against the Spaniards was more honourable, 
though less profitable, to the nation. Blake pursued a Spanish 
fleet of 16 ships to the Canaries, where he found them in the bay 
of Santa Cruz, defended by a strong castle and seven forts. Blake 
was rather animated than daunted with this appearance. The wind 
seconded his courage, and, blowing full into the bay, brought him 
in a moment among the thickest of his enemies. After a resistance 
of four hours, the Spaniards yielded to English valour, and aban- 
doned their ships, which were set on fire, and consumed with all 
their treasure. The wind, suddenly shifting, carried the English 
out of the bay, where they left the Spaniards in astonishment at 
the happy temerity of their audacious visitors (April 20, 1657). 
This was the last and greatest action of Blake. He was worn out 
with dropsy and scurvy, and hastened home, that he might yield 
up his breath in his native country, but expired within sight of 
land. Never man, so zealous for a faction, was so much respected 



444 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap, xxiii. 

and esteemed even by the opposite parties. He was by principle 
an inflexible republican ; and the late usurpations, amidst all the 
trust and caresses which he received from the ruling powers, were 
thought to be very little grateful to him. " It is still our duty," he 
said to the seamen, "to fight for our country, into what hands 
soever the government may fall." The protector ordered him a 
pompous funeral at the public charge : but the tears of his country- 
men were the most honourable panegyric on his memory. 

§ 12. As the last parliament did not prove more compliant, not- 
withstanding all the precautions taken by the protector, he dismissed 
it, waiving all ceremony, with the announcement that its continu- 
ance was not for the good of the nation (January 22, 1655), and 
dispensed with so useless an encumbrance until September 17, 1656, 
when a deficit of 800,000£. made him anxious to obtain its assist- 
ance. In summoning this third parliament, he used every art in 
order to influence the elections, and fill the house with his own 
creatures; yet, notwithstanding all these precautions, he still 
found that the majority would not be favourable to him. Accord- 
ingly, on their assembling, he set guards at the door, who permitted 
none to enter but such as produced a warrant from his council; 
and the council rejected about 100, who either refused a recognition 
of the protector's government, or were on other accounts obnoxious 
to him. They protested against so egregious a violence, as subversive 
of all liberty; but every application lor redress was disregarded. 
The majority, by means of these arts and violences, was friendly to 
the protector, who now be^an to aspire to the crown ; and in order 
to pave the way to this advancement, he resolved to sacrifice his 
major-generals, whom he knew to be extremely odious to the nation. 
On the 19th of January, 1657, it was moved by one Aske " that his 
highness would be pleased to take upon him the government 
according to the ancient constitution." The proposition was not 
received without murmurs. It was asked whether the house in- 
tended to set up again the kingly government it had been so zeal- 
ous in putting down. But the design was too agreeable to Crom- 
well to be set aside. Colonel Jephson was employed to sound the 
inclinations of the house ; and the result appearing favourable, a 
motion in form was made by alderman Pack, one of the city members, 
for investing the protector with the dignity of king (February 23). 
This motion excited great disorder, and divided the house. The 
chief opposition came from the usual adherents of the protector, 
the major generals, and such officers as depended on them ; and 
particularly from Lambert, a man of deep intrigue, and of great 
interest in the army, who had long entertained the ambition of 
succeeding Cromwell in the protectorship. The bill, entitled an 



a.d. 1655-1658. CROMWELL REFUSES THE CROWN. 445 

humble petition and advice, was voted by a majority of 123 against 
62, and a committee was appointed to reason with the protector, 
and to overcome his scruples. The conference lasted several days. 
The difficulty consisted not in persuading Cromwell, whose incli- 
nation, as well as judgment, was entirely on the side of the committee. 
The opposition which Cromwell most dreaded was that which he 
met with in his own family, and from men who, by interest as well 
as inclination, were the most devoted to him. Fleetwood had mar- 
ried his daughter ; Desborough, his sister : yet these men, actuated 
by principle alone, could by no persuasion, artifice, or entreaty, be 
induced to consent that he should be invested with regal dignity. 
Colonel Pride procured a petition against the office of king, signed 
by a majority of the officers who were in London and the neigh- 
bourhood. A sudden mutiny in the army was justly dreaded, and, 
after the agony and perplexity of long doubt, Cromwell was at last 
obliged to refuse the crown. The provisions, however, of the 
humble petition and advice were retained as the basis of the repub- 
lican establishment, instead of the former instrument of government. 
By the new deed the protector had the power of nominating his 
successor ; he had a perpetual revenue assigned him ; and he had 
authority to name another house, who should enjoy their seats 
during life, and exercise some of the functions of the former house 
of peers (May 26, 1657). Cromwell, as if his power had just com- 
menced from this popular consent, was inaugurated anew in West- 
minster Hall, after the most solemn and most pompous manner 
(June 26). Shortly after, Lambert was deprived of his post. 

Richard, eldest son of the protector, was now brought to court, 
introduced into public business, and thenceforth regarded by many 
as his heir in the protectorship. Cromwell had two daughters un- 
married : one of them he now gave in marriage to Mr. Rich, the 
grandson and heir of his great friend, the earl of Warwick, with 
whom he had, in every fortune, preserved an uninterrupted intimacy 
and good correspondence. The other he married to the viscount 
Faulconbridge, of a family formerly devoted to the royal party. The 
parliament assembled again on January 20, 1658, consisting, as in the 
times of monarchy, of two houses. Cromwell had summoned a House 
of Peers, which consisted of 60 members. They were composed of 
five peers of ancient date, of several gentlemen of fortune and dis- 
tinction, and of some officers who had risen from the meanest 
stations. The proceedings of the houses were brought to a dead- 
lock, the commons declining to allow the title of the House of Lords, 
and unable to determine by what appellation they should be called. 
But Cromwell soon found that, by bringing so great a number of 
bis friends and adherents into the other house, he had lost the 
21 



446 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap, xxiii. 

majority among the national representatives. Dreading combina- 
tions between them and the malcontents in the army, he dissolved 
the parliament, telling them that he would not undertake the 
government unless there might be some other persons (the lords) tvho 
might interpose between himself and the Bouse of Commons, and 
prevent tumultuous and popular spirits (February 4). 

§ 13. He still pursued his war of conquest. In 1658 siege was 
laid to Dunkirk ; and when the Spanish army advanced to relieve 
it, the combined armies of France and England marched out of their 
trenches, and fought the battle of the Dunes, where the Spaniards 
were totally defeated (June 4). Dunkirk was by agreement 
delivered to Cromwell. 

But his situation at home kept him in perpetual disquietude. 
His military enterprises had exhausted his revenue, and involved 
him in considerable debt.* The royalists, he heard, had renewed 
their preparations for a general insurrection. Ormond had come over 
to England ; sir William Waller and many heads of the presby- 
terians had secretly entered into the engagement, and Fairfax was 
expected to join. Even the army was infected with the general 
spirit of discontent ; and some sudden and dangerous eruption was 
every moment to be dreaded. This conspiracy, however, was dis- 
covered, and promptly suppressed. Ormond was obliged to fly, and 
he deemed himself fortunate to have escaped so vigilant an adminis- 
tration. Great numbers were thrown into prison. A high court of 
justice was erected anew for the trial of those criminals whose guilt 
was most apparent, for the protector would not trust a common 
jury. Sir Henry Slingsby and doctor Hewitt were condemned and 
beheaded (June 8). 

The conspiracy of the millenarians in the army struck Cromwell 
with still greater apprehensions, and he lived in continual dread 
of assassination. The death of Mrs. Claypole, his favourite daughter, 
a lady endued with many humane virtues and amiable accomplish- 
ments, depressed his mind and poisoned his enjoyments. All 
composure had now fled from him. Common fame reported that 
he never moved a step without strong guards attending him ; 
that he wore armour under his clothes, and further secured himself 
by offensive weapons, which he always carried about him. He 
returned from no place by the direct road, or by the same way 
which he went. Every journey he performed with hurry and pre- 
cipitation. Seldom he slept above two nights together in the same 
chamber : and he never let it be known beforehand in what chamber 
he intended to repose. 

* His average revenue was 2,000,0002. a year; that of Charles I., less than 
1,000,0002.; that of Charles II., 1,250,0002. 



a.v. 1658. cromwell's death. 447 

§ 14. His body began to be affected from the contagion of his 
mind, and his health sensibly declined. He was seized with a slow 
fever, which changed into a tertian ague. For the space of a week 
no dangerous symptoms appeared ; and in the intervals of the fits 
he was able to walk abroad. At length the symptoms began to 
wear a more fatal aspect, and the physicians were obliged to break 
silence, and to declare that the protector could not survive the next 
fit with which he was threatened. The council was alarmed. A 
deputation was sent to know his will with regard to his successor. 
They asked him whether he did not mean that his eldest son, 
Richard, should succeed him in the protectorship. A simple 
affirmative was, or seemed to be, extorted from him. Soon after, 
on the 3rd of September (1658), the very day on which he had 
gained the victories of Dunbar and Worcester, he fell into a pro- 
found lethargy, at the close of which he uttered a deep sigh and 
expired, between three and four o'clock in the afternoon. A 
violent tempest, which immediately preceded his death, served as 
a subject of discourse to the vulgar — his partisans and his enemies 
endeavouring by forced inferences to interpret it as a confirmation 
of their particular prejudices. 

If we survey the moral character of Cromwell with that indul- 
gence which is due to the blindness and infirmities of the human 
species, we shall not be inclined to load his memory with such violent 
reproaches as those which his enemies have usually thrown upon 
it. In the murder of the king, the most atrocious of all his actions, 
he was too clear-sighted to be misled by those republican and 
religious illusions, which might induce his followers to believe it 
was a meritorious action. He had not intended or even anticipated 
it in the outset of his career. Nor, probably, if he could have 
chosen his own path, would he have ever consented to it. But he 
was led on step by step into a position from which he could not 
extricate himself or his party with safety except by putting Charles 
to death. His subsequent usurpations were the effect of necessity, 
as well as of ambition ; nor is it easy to see how the various factions 
could at that time have been restrained without a mixture of mili- 
tary and arbitrary authority. But such are the evils of a civil war. 

§ 15. His conduct in foreign affairs was full of vigour and enter- 
prise. It was his boast that he would render the name of an 
Englishman as much feared and revered as ever was that of a 
Roman ; and as his countrymen found some reality in these pre- 
tensions, the gratification of their national vanity made them bear 
with more patience the indignities and calamities under which they 
laboured. The protestant zeal which animated the presbyterians 
and independents was gratified by the manner in which Cromwell 
supported the Vaudois against the duke of Savoy. 



448 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap. xxm. 

In his general behaviour he maintained the dignity of his station 
without either affectation or ostentation, and supported before 
strangers that high idea with which his great exploits and pro- 
digious fortune had impressed them. At times he would indulge 
in actions that bordered on buffoonery, even with his officers of 
state, either to conceal his true feelings or relax that tension of 
mind which was habitual with him. The manners of his court 
were serious and regular, but strongly infected with the puritanical 
tone of his age. He would gladly have rid himself of many 
of the turbulent spirits to whose unrestrained enthusiasm he owed 
his exaltation. But he had none to support him in this design, or 
to fill their places. The nobility held aloof; the ancient gentry were 
attached to the king and the church of England, whilst the main 
body of the presbyterians hated him bitterly. 

Cromwell was in the 60th year of his age when he died. He 
was of a robust frame, of a manly, though not of an agreeable, 
aspect. He left only two sons, Richard and Henry ; and three 
daughters. His father died when he was very young. His mother 
lived till after he was protector, and, contrary to her wish, he 
buried her with great pomp in Westminster Abbey. To educate 
her numerous family she had been obliged to set up a brewery 
at Huntingdon, which she managed to good advantage. Hence 
Cromwell, in the invectives of that age, is often stigmatized with 
the name of the brewer. She was of a good family, of the name 
of Stuart, remotely allied, as is supposed by some, to the royal 
family. 

§ 16. Cromwell left the nation in the utmost embarrassment and 
disorder. Never in the worst period of the Stuarts had government 
assumed a more arbitrary shape. His rule was regarded with 
aversion by presbyterians and royalists, with good reason. But 
even his own officers, and especially the anabaptists, considered him 
as a traitor to his former and their present principles. Men like 
sir Harry Vane held him forth to reprobation as a greater obstacle 
to real liberty and the reign of righteousness than Charles had ever 
been. His favourite officers rallied round his dying bed, caballing 
and intriguing among themselves ; waiting until the last gasp should 
leave his body, before they grasped at the sceptre which was falling 
from his dying hand. Richard, his eldest son, born 1626, was a young 
man of no experience. He was given to field sports, was indolent, 
incapable, and irresolute. The council, however, recognized his 
succession. Fleetwood, in whose favour it was supposed Cromwell 
had formerly made a will, professed to renounce all claim to the 
protectorship. Henry, Richard's brother, who governed Ireland 
with popularity, insured him the obedience of that kingdom. 



A.D. 1659. RICHARD CROMWELL PROTECTOR. 449 

Monk, whose authority was well established in Scotland, proclaimed 
the new protector. The army and the fleet acknowledged Ids title ; 
and above 90 addresses, from the counties and most consider- 
able corporations, congratulated him on his accession, in all the 
terms of dutiful allegiance. A new parliament (January 27, 1659) 
proceeded to examine the humble petition and advice ; and, after 
great opposition aad many vehement debates, it was at length, with 
much difficulty, carried by the court party. On the other hand, the 
most influential officers of the army, and even Fleetwood, brother- 
in-law to the protector, were caballing against him ; and were 
joined by the whole republican party among the soldiers, which was 
still considerable. Above all, the intrigues of Lambert inflamed 
those dangerous humours, and threatened the nation with some 
great .convulsion. Richard was prevailed upon to give an un- 
guarded consent for calling a general council of officers, who pro- 
posed that the whole military power should be intrusted to some 
person in whom they might all confide. 

The parliament, not less alarmed than the protector, voted that 
there should be no meeting or general council of officers, except with 
the protector's consent, or by his orders. This vote brought affairs 
immediately to a rupture. The officers hastened to Richard and 
demanded of him the dissolution of the parliament. Desborough 
threatened him if he refused. The protector wanted resolution to 
deny, or ability to resist. The parliament was dissolved (April 22). 
And though Richard remained nominally protector a few weeks 
longer, all his real authority was gone. 

§ 17. The council of officers now resolved, after much debate, on 
restoring what remained of the Long Parliament. Its numbers 
were small ; but being all of them men of violent ambition, some of 
them men of experience and capacity, they were resolved, since they 
enjoyed the title of the supreme authority, not to act a subordinate 
part to those who acknowledged themselves as their servants. They 
voted that all commissions should be received from the speaker, and 
be assigned by him in the name of the house. These precautions 
gave great disgust. 

Encouraged by these dissensions, the royalists determined on a 
rising in several counties ; but their plans were betrayed, and the 
only project which took effect was that of sir George Booth for the 
seizing of Chester. He was, however, soon routed and taken 
prisoner by Lambert (August 19), and the parliament had no 
further occupation than to fill the jails with their open or secret 
enemies. This success hastened the ruin of the parliament. 
Alarmed at the proceedings of Lambert and his faction, they voted 
that they would have no more general officers. On this Lambert 



450 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap, xxiir. 

and the other officers expelled the Rump (October 13), and elected 
a committee of 23 persons, whom they invested with sovereign 
authority, under the name of a committee of safety. Throughout 
the three kingdoms there prevailed nothing but melancholy fears ; 
among the nobility and gentry, of a bloody massacre and exter- 
mination ; for the rest of the people, a perpetual servitude beneath 
military despotism of the worst kind ; whilst the condition of Charles 
seemed totally desperate. But amidst all these gloomy prospects, 
fortune, by a surprising revolution, was now paving the way for the 
king to mount in peace and triumph the throne of his ancestors. 

§ 18. General Monk still held the supreme military command in 
Scotland. After the army had expelled the parliament, he protested 
against the violence, and resolved, as he proposed, to vindicate their 
invaded privileges. Deeper projects, either in the king's favour or 
his own, were from the beginning suspected to be the motive of his 
actions. How early he entertained designs for the king's restoration 
is not certainly known. It is likely that as soon as Richard was 
deposed he foresaw that, without such an expedient, it would be 
impossible ever to bring the nation to a regular settlement. But 
his conduct was full of dissimulation, and no less was requisite for 
effecting the difficult work which he had undertaken. All the 
officers in his army, of whom he entertained any suspicion, he 
immediately cashiered ; and, hearing that Lambert was marching 
northwards with a large body of forces, he amused the committee 
with offers of negociation. 

Meanwhile these military sovereigns found themselves surrounded 
on all hands with inextricable difficulties. The city established a 
kind of separate government, and assumed the supreme authority 
within itself. While Lambert's forces were assembling at New- 
castle, Hazelrig and Morley took possession of Portsmouth, and 
declared for the parliament. Admiral Lawson, with his squadron, 
came into the river, and followed their example. Hearing of this 
important event, Hazelrig and Morley left Portsmouth and ad- 
vanced towards London. The city regiments, solicited by their own 
officers, who had been cashiered by the committee of safety, revolted 
again to the parliament. Lenthall, the speaker, invited by the 
officers, again assumed authority, and summoned together the parlia- 
ment, which twice before had been expelled with so much reproach 
and ignominy (December 26). Monk now advanced into England 
with his army. In all counties through which he passed the gentry 
flocked to him with addresses, expressing their earnest desire that 
he would be instrumental in restoring the nation to peace and tran- 
quillity. He entered London without opposition (February 3, 1660), 
was introduced to the house, and thanks were given him by Lenthall 



A.D. 1660. LONG PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED. 451 

for the eminent services which he had rendered his country. Monk's 
conduct was at first ambiguous. lie appeared ready to obey all the 
commands of the parliament, and marched into the city to seize 
several leading citizens who had refused obedience to the orders 
of the house; but two days afterwards he wrote a letter to the 
parliament, requiring them, in the name of the citizens, soldiers, 
and whole commonwealth, to issue writs within a week for filling 
their house, and to fix the time for their own dissolution and the 
assembling of a new parliament. The excluded members, upon the 
general's invitation, returned to the house, and immediately appeared 
to be the majority ; most of the independents left the place (February 
21), The restored members renewed the general's commission, 
and enlarged his powers ; and, after passing some other measures 
for the present settlement of the kingdom, they dissolved them- 
selves, and issued writs for the immediate assembling of a new 
parliament. A council of state was appointed, consisting of men 
of character and moderation, who conferred on Montague, a royalist, 
in conjunction with Monk, the command of the fleet ; and secured 
the naval as well as military forces in hands favourable to the public 
settlement (March 3). Notwithstanding all these steps, Monk still 
maintained the appearance of zeal for a commonwealth, and had 
hitherto allowed no channel of correspondence between himself and 
the king to be opened ; but he now sent a verbal message by sir John 
Grenville, assuring the king of his services, giving advice for his 
conduct, and exhorting him instantly to leave the Spanish territories 
and retire into Holland. He was apprehensive lest Spain might 
detain him as a pledge for the recovery of Dunkirk and Jamaica. 
Charles, who was at Brussels, followed these directions, and very 
narrowly escaped to Breda. Had he delayed his journey, he had 
certainly, under pretence of honour and respect, been arrested by 
the Spaniards. (Supplement, Note VI.) 

§ 19. The elections for the new parliament went everywhere in 
favour of the king's party. The presbyterians and the royalists, 
being united, formed the voice of the nation, which, without noise, 
but with infinite ardour, called for the king's restoration. When 
the parliament met (April 25) — which, from its not being regularly 
summoned, was called the Convention Parliament — they chose sir 
Harbottle Grindstone as speaker. On the 27th April a motion for 
the restoration of the king was made by colonel King, a presbyterian, 
^>nd Mr. Finch. On the 1st of May, Monk gave directions to 
Annesley, president of the council, to inform the house that sir John 
Grenville, a servant of the king's, had been sent over by his majesty, 
and was now at the door with a letter to the commons. The loudest 
acclamations were excited by this intelligence. Grenville was 



452 THE COMMONWEALTH. Chap, xxiii. 

called in ; the letter, accompanied with a declaration, was greedily- 
read. Without one moment's dt .a^;, and without a contradictory vote, 
a committee was appointed to prepare an answer ; and, in order to 
spread the same satisfaction throughout the kingdom, it was voted 
that the letter and declaration should be published immediately. 
It offered a general amnesty, within 40 days, without any excep- 
tions but such as should afterwards be made by parliament; it 
promised liberty to tender consciences in matters of religion which 
did not disturb the peace of the kingdom ; it submitted to the arbi- 
tration of the same assembly the inquiry into all grants, purchases, 
and alienations ; and it assured the soldiers of all their arrears, and 
promised them for the future the same pay which they then enjoyed. 
Such was the celebrated Declaration of Breda. 

The lords, perceiving the spirit by which the kingdom, as well as 
the commons, was animated, had hastened to reinstate themselves in 
their ancient authority, and to take their share in the settlement of 
the nation. Soon afterwards the two houses attended, while the 
king was proclaimed with great solemnity, in Palace-yard, at White- 
hall, and at Temple Bar (May 8, 1660). A committee of lords and 
commons was then despatched to invite his majesty to return and 
take possession of the government. Charles embarked at Scheveling 
on board a fleet commanded by the duke of York. At Dover he was 
met by Monk, whom he cordially embraced. The king entered 
London on the 29th of May, which was also his birthday. The fond 
imaginations of men interpreted as a happy omen the concurrence 
of two such joyful periods. 




Medal of Charles II. and Catherine of Braganza, probably relating to the queen's 
dowry. Obv. : carolus . et . catharina . rex . et . regina. Busts of king and 
queen to right. Rev. : diffvsvs . in . orbe . britannvs . 1670. A globe. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

charles ii., h. 1630; r. 1660-1635, or from 1649, according to 

LEGAL RECKONING. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE PEACE OF 
NIMEGUEN, A.D. 1660-1678. 

§ 1. Character of Charles II. The ministry. Act of Indemnity. Trial of 
the regicides. Disbanding of the army. § 2. Chancellor Clarendon. 
Prelacy restored. Affairs of Scotland. § 3. Conference at the Savoy. 
Act of Uniformity. §4. Charles marries Catharine of Portugal. Trial 
and execution of Vane. § 5. Presbyterian clergy ejected. Dunkirk 
sold. Declaration of Indulgence. § 6. Triennial Act repealed. War 
with Holland. Naval victory. Plague of London. Five-mile Act. 
§ 7. Great sea fight. Fire of London. Disgrace at Chatham. Peace 
of Breda. § 8. Fall of Clarendon. § 9. The Cabal. The triple alliance. 
Secret treaty of Dover. § 10. Blood's crimes. The duke of York 
declares himself a papist. § 11. The bankers' funds in the exchequer 
seized. War with Holland. Battle of Southwold Bay. Successes of 
Louis XIV. Massacre of the De Witts. Prince of Orange stadtholder. 
§ 12. The Test Act. Peace with Holland. § 13 Earl of Danby prime 
minister. His policy. Parliamentary struggles. § 14. The continental 
war. Marriage of the prince of Orange and princess Mary. Peace of 
Nimeguen. 

§ 1. When Charles II. ascended the throne of his ancestors, he was 
thirty years of age. He possessed a vigorous constitution, a fine 
shape, a manly figure, a graceful air ; and though his features were 
harsh, yet was his countenance in the main lively and engaging. 
To a ready wit and quick comprehension he united a just under- 
standing and a keen observation both of men and things. The 
easiest manners, the most unaffected politeness, the most engaging 
21* 



454 



CHAELES II. 



Chap xxiv 



gaiety, accompanied his conversation and address. Accustomed 
during his exile to live among his courtiers rather like a companion 
than a monarch, he retained, even while on the throne, that open- 
ness and affability which were capable of reconciling the most 
determined republicans to his royal dignity. 

Into his council were admitted the most eminent men of the 
nation, without regard to former distinctions. The presbyterians, 
equally with the royalists, shared his favours. The earl of Man- 
chester, the former friend of Cromwell, was appointed lord cham- 
berlain, and lord Say privy seal ; Calamy and Baxter, presbyterian 
clergymen, were even made chaplains to the king. Admiral Mon- 
tague, created earl of Sandwich,* was entitled, from his recent 
.services, to great favour, and he obtained it. Monk, created duke 
of Albemarle,t had performed such signal services, that, according 
to a vulgar and malignant observation, he ought rather to have 
expected hatred and ingratitude ; yet was he ever treated by the 
king with great marks of distinction. But the king's principal 
ministers and favourites were chosen from his ancient friends and 
supporters. Sir Edward Hyde, created earl of Clarendon, was chan- 
cellor and prime minister ; the marquis, created duke, of Ormond 
was steward of the household; the earl of Southampton, high 
treasurer ; sir Edward Nicholas, secretary of state. Agreeable to 
the present prosperity of public affairs was the universal joy and 
festivity diffused throughout the nation. The melancholy austerity 
of the puritans fell into discredit, together with their principles. 
The royalists, who had ever affected a contrary disposition, found 
in their recent success new motives for mirth and gaiety ; and it 
now belonged to them to give repute and fashion to their manners. 

One of the king's first acts was a declaration of general pardon to 
all who chose to accept it within forty days, " excepting only such 
persons as shall hereafter be excepted by parliament." On May 14 
an order was made by the convention parliament that the late king's 
judges should be secured, colonel Tomlinson excepted. Nineteen 
surrendered themselves, and their lives were spared. Some were 
taken in their flight ; others escaped beyond sea. Those who had 
an immediate hand in the late king's death were excepted from the 
act of indemnity : Cromwell, Ireton, Bradshaw, and others now 
dead, were attainted, and their estates forfeited. Twenty in all, 
with Vane and Lambert, though none of the regicides, were at first 
excepted ; but the commons, in compliance with popular demand, 



* He was the ancestor of the present 
earl of Sandwich. 

+ This t tie became extinct upon the 
death of the second duke in 1688. The 



present earl of Albemarle is a descendant 
of Keppel, created earl oi Albemarle in 
1696. 



A.D. 1660-1661. DISBANDING OF THE ARMY. 455 

continued to augment the list. AH who had sat in any illegal 
high court of justice were disabled from bearing offices. 

The parliament voted that the settled revenue of the crown, for 
all charges, should be 1,200,000Z. a year. They abolished the feudal 
tenure of knights' service and its incidents, as marriage, relief, and 
wardship, and also purveyance, and in lieu thereof settled upon the 
king an hereditary excise duty.* Indeed, it would have been im- 
possible to restore these onerous burdens after their disuse during 
the time of the commonwealth. Tonnage and poundage were 
granted to the king during life. 

Before the parliament adjourned (September 13), it resolved on 
the punishment of the regicides. They were arraigned before 34 
commissioners appointed for that purpose. Twenty-nine were tried 
and condemned, but only six of the late king's judges were executed. 
These were Harrison, Scot, Carew, Clement, Jones, and Scroop. 
Axtel, who had guarded the high court of justice ; Hacker, who 
commanded on the day of the king's execution ; Cook, the solicitor 
for the people of England ; and Hugh Peters, the fanatical preacher, 
who had inflamed the army, were tried, condemned, and suffered 
by order of the house at the same time (October 19). At their 
desire, on the anniversary of Charles I.'s execution, the bodies of 
Cromwell, Ireton, and Bradshaw were disinterred, hanged on the 
gallows at Tyburn, then decapitated, and their heads fixed on West- 
minster Hall. 

After a recess of nearly two months the parliament met ; and 
having despatched the necessary business, the king, in a speech full 
of the most gracious expressions, thought proper to dissolve them 
(December 29, 1660). By the advice of Clarendon the army was 
disbanded. No more troops were retained than a few guards and 
garrisons, about 1000 horse and 4000 foot. The church of England 
was restored. Eight bishops still remained alive, and were replaced 
in their sees ; the ejected clergy recovered their livings ; the liturgy 
was again admitted into the churches ; but at the same time a 
declaration, containing a promise of some reforms, was issued, in 
order to give contentment to the presbyterians and preserve an air 
of moderation and neutrality. 

§ 2. Affairs in Scotland hastened with still quicker steps than 
those in England towards a settlement and a compliance with the 
king. The Scotch parliament met January 1, 1661. It rescinded all 
the statutes passed in 1640 and subsequently. By this act legisla- 
tion returned to the state in which it was left in 1639. The Covenant 
was renounced ; the king's supremacy was asserted in all cases, civil 

• The principal excise duties were upon I ciseable article, but did not yield much to 
liquors and beer. Tea was also an ex- | the revenue in the reign of Charles II. 



456 CHARLES II. Chap. xxiv. 

or ecclesiastical. The lords of articles were reinstated and episcopacy 
restored. James Sharp, who had been commissioned by the pres- 
byterians in Scotland to manage their interest with the king, was 
persuaded to abandon that party ; and, as a reward for his com- 
pliance, was created archbishop of St. Andrews. The parliament 
now resolved to single out as victims of their severity the marquis 
of Argyle, and one Guthrie, a preacher, who had urged the execution 
of Montrose, both of whom seemed to be more deeply implicated 
than others in the late rebellion. But, as the acts of indemnity 
passed by the late king in 1641, and by the present in 1651, seemed 
obstacles to the punishment of Argyle, he was tried for his com- 
pliance with the usurpation. Some letters of "his to Monk were 
produced, which could not, by any equitable construction, imply 
the crime of treason. The parliament, however, scrupled not to 
pass sentence upon him, and he died with great constancy and 
courage (May 27). 

§ 3. Meanwhile, in England, a conference was held in the Savoy 
(April 15— July 25, 1661), between 12 bishops and 12 leaders 
among the presbyterian ministers, with an intention of bringing 
about an accommodation between the two parties ; but the result 
was unsuccessful, and each party separated more confirmed than 
ever in their several opinions. The temper of the new parliament, 
which assembled in May, 1661, hastened the decision of the question. 
Not more than 56 members of the presbyterian party had obtained 
seats in the lower house, and they were not able either to oppose 
or retard the measures of the majority. The Covenant, together 
with the acts for erecting the high court of justice, for subscribing 
the engagement, and for declaring England a commonwealth, were 
ordered to be burnt by the hands of the hangman. The bishops 
were restored to their seats in parliament. The command of the 
militia was declared to be solely vested in the crown. The preamble 
to this statute went so fa- as to renounce all right even of defensive 
arms against the king. By passing the Corporation Act in this 
session, parliament compelled all corporate bodies to receive the 
sacrament according to the rites of the church of England, to re- 
nounce the Covenant, and to take the oath of Non-Resistance ; * 
following, in this and its other religious acts, the example set by 
the Long Parliament in respect to the Solemn League and Covenant. 

In the next year (1662) the Act of Uniformity was passed. 
Among other of its clauses, it was enacted that no person should 
hold preferment in the church of England, or administer the sacra- 
ment of the Lord's Supper, unless he had been episcppally ordained 
in the form and manner enjoined by the Book of Common Prayer. 
* Foi further detaila see Notes and Illustrations (A), 



a.d. 1662. HIS MARRIAGE. 457 

He was also to declare his assent to the said book ; to take the oath 
of canonical obedience ; abjure the Solemn League and Covenant ; 
and renounce the right of taking arms, on any pretence whatsoever, 
against the king. This act, which received the royal assent on 
May 19, and was to come into operation on St. Bartholomew's 
Day (August 24), reinstated the church in the same condition in 
which it stood before the commencement of the civil wars. It 
has been urged that some such act was necessary if the church 
of England was to continue and preserve uniformity in its teaching 
and ministrations. Its benefices had been usurped, in the late 
troubles, and freely given away to men who were most acceptable 
to those in power, for the violence of their denunciations against 
its doctrines and its discipline. Innumerable heresies had sprung 
up, partly the result of ignorance, partly in the absence of all 
authority, and were freely disseminated from the pulpit. Such, at 
that time, was the judgment of the nation as represented by parlia- 
ment, and there is no reason to suppose that it was represented falsely. 
§ 4. On the king's restoration proposals were received from 
Portugal for renewal of the alliance which the protector had made 
with that country. To bind the friendship closer, an offer was 
made of the Portuguese princess, Catharine of Braganza, and a por- 
tion of 500,000^., together with two fortresses, Tangier in Africa, 
and Bombay in the East Indies. The marriage was solemnized by 
bishop Sheldon (May 20, 1662). But though Catharine was a 
princess of virtue, she was never able, either by the graces of her 
person or her mind, to render herself agreeable to the king. Pur- 
suant to an address of the Commons, Lambert and Vane were now 
brought to trial. The indictment of Vane did not comprehend 
any of his actions during the life of the late king : it extended 
only to his behaviour after the late king's death, as member of 
the council of state, and secretary of the navy. Vane wanted 
neither courage nor capacity to avail himself of this advantage. 
He pleaded the famous statute of Henry VII., in which it was 
enacted that no man should be questioned for his obedience to 
the king de facto. He urged that, whether the established govern- 
ment were a monarchy or a commonwealth, the reason of the thing 
was still the same ; and maintained that the commons were the 
root and foundation of all lawful authority. But the zeal he 
had displayed in bringing Strafford to his death, steeled men's 
hearts against him. His courage deserted him not upon his con- 
demnation. Lest pity for his sufferings should make an impression 
on the populace, drummers were placed under the scaffold, whose 
noise, as he began to launch out in reflections on the government, 
drowned his voice (June 14). Lambert, though also condemned, 



458 



CHARLES II. 



Chap. xxrv. 



was reprieved at the bar ; and the judges declared that, if Vane's 
behaviour had been equally dutiful and submissive, he would have 
experienced like lenity from the king. Lambert survived his con- 
demnation thirty years. He was confined to the isle of Guernsey, 
where he amused himself with painting and botany. He died a 
Eoman catholic. 

§ 5. The fatal St. Bartholomew approached (August 24), the day 
when the clergy were obliged, by the late law, either to relinquish 
their livings or to sign the articles required of them. A large 
number relinquished their cures, and sacrificed their interest to 
their religious convictions. Bishoprics were offered to Calamy, 
Baxter, and Reynolds, leaders among the presbyterians ; but the 
last only could be prevailed on to accept promotion. 

In June, 1663, archbishop Juxon died, and was succeeded by 
Sheldon, bishop of London. This year, for the last time, the clergy 
granted four subsidies to the crown; for from this date, though 
never formally relinquishing their ancient right of taxing them- 
selves, they were taxed with the laity by their representatives in 
parliament. With a view of mitigating the rigours of the act of 
uniformity, a declaration was issued by the king on the 26th of 
December, 1662, in which he mentioned the promises of liberty 
of conscience contained in the declaration of Breda ; and he expressed 
his intention of making it his special care to incline the parliament 
to concur with him in some such act for that purpose as might 
enable him to exercise, with a more universal satisfaction, that 
power of dispensing with the penalties of the law, in case of 
dissenters, which he conceived to be inherent in him.* In confor- 
mity with this design, at the meeting of parliament (February 
18, 1663), the king made a speech intimating his desire of granting 
some indulgence to dissenters. But the commons were not inclined 
to concede it. They petitioned against it (February 18), and on 
the 1st of April followed up their opposition by an address, that 
all popish priests and Jesuits might be banished the kingdom. 
Whether they began to suspect the king of an inclination to Roman- 
ism, and were even then aware that his brother, the Duke of York, 
had embraced that faith, is uncertain.! 

Notwithstanding the supplies voted to Charles, his treasury was 



* The Dispensing and Suspending 
Powers, as they are called, were claimed 
both by Charles II and James II. The 
Dispensing Power consists in the exemp- 
tion of particular persons, under special 
circumstances, from the operation of penal 
laws ; the Suspending Power in nullifying 
the ».ntire operation of any statute or any 



number of statutes. (Amos, The Eng- 
lish Constitution in the Reign of Charles 
II. p 19, seq.) Charles II. made a 
second attempt in 1672 to suspend the 
penal laws against nonconformists. See 
below, p. 468. 

\ The duke did not avow his conversion 
until 1669. 



a.d. 1662-1664. TRIENNIAL ACT REPEALED. 459 

still very empty and very much indebted. The forces sent over to 
Portugal, and the fleets maintained in order to defend it, had already 
cost the king nearly double the money which had been paid as the 
queen's portion. The time fixed for payment of his sister's portion 
to the duke of Orleans was approaching. Tangier had become an 
additional burden to the crown, and Dunkirk cost 12O,000Z. a year. 
Clarendon advised the accepting of a sum of money in lieu of a place 
which he thought the king, from the narrow state of his revenue, 
was no longer able to retain ; and a bargain was at length concluded 
with France for 400,000Z. (November, 1662). The artillery and 
stores were valued at a fifth of the sum. The act was unpopular, but 
the impolicy of the sale consisted only in its having been made to 
France. (Supplement, Note VII.) 

§ 6. Next session the parliament (March, 1664) brought in a bill 
for repealing the triennial act ; and in lieu of the former securities 
passed a bill " for assembling and holding of parliaments once in 
three years at least." By the act of uniformity, every clergyman 
who should officiate without being properly qualified was punishable 
by fine and imprisonment. To give effect to this act, a statute was 
passed for " preventing and suppressing seditious conventicles." It 
provided that, wherever five persons above those of the same house- 
hold should assemble in a religious congregation, every one of them 
should be liable, for the first offence, to be imprisoned three months, 
or pay 5Z. ; for the second, to be imprisoned six months, or pay 101. ; 
and for the third, to be transported seven years, or pay 1001. A 
second conventicle act, passed six years later (1670), reduced the 
penalties on hearers, but inflicted a fine on preachers and those who 
lent their houses for this purpose. The commons likewise presented 
an address to the king, complaining of the wrongs offered to the 
English trade by the Dutch, and promising to assist the king with 
their lives and fortunes in asserting the rights of his crown 
against all opposition whatsoever. This was the first open step 
towards the Dutch war. The rivalship of commerce had produced 
among the English a violent enmity against the neighbouring re- 
public. The English merchants had the mortification to find that 
all attempts to extend their trade were still turned by the vigilance 
of their rivals to their loss and dishonour, and their indignation in- 
creased when they considered the superior naval power of England. 
The duke of York was eagerly in favour of the war with Holland, 
and desired an opportunity of distinguishing himself. The trade of 
the new African company was checked by the settlements of the 
Dutch.* The king yielded to the wishes of the nation ; war was 

* Guineas were now first coined in England of the gold brought from the settlement 
of that name. 



460 



CHARLES II. 



Chap. xxiv. 




Medal of James duke of York, afterwards James II., commemorating the Naval Victory 

over the Dutch, June 3, 1665. 
Obverse : iacobtjs . dvx . ebok . et . alban . dom . magn . admikaiaus . anglijE . &c. 
Bust to right. 

declared with the Dutch (February 22, 1665). To support it par- 
liament voted two millions and a half, the largest supply that had 
ever yet been given to any king of England. 

The English fleet, consisting of 98 sail, was commanded by the 
duke of York, and under him by prince Eupert and the earl of 
Sandwich. Opdam was admiral of the Dutch navy, of nearly equal 
force. A battle was fought in Solebay off the coast of Suffolk 
(June 3). In the heat of action, when engaged in close fight with 
the duke of York, Opdam's ship blew up. This accident much 
discouraged the Dutch, who fled towards their own coast. The 
vanquished had 1 9 ships sunk and taken ; the victors lost only one. 
In this war the method of fighting in line was first introduced into 
naval tactics by the duke of York. The French monarch, alarmed 
lest the English should establish an uncontrollable dominion over 
the sea and over commerce, resolved to support the Dutch in the 
unequal contest in which they were engaged, and declared war 



A.D. 16GG. 



THE PLAGUE OF LONDON. 



461 




Reverse : nec minor in teeris. A Naval Engagement : in front the Admiral's ship ; 
beneath, iivnii 1665. 



against England. (January 16, 1666). He was joined by the king 
of Denmark. 

In this year the plague broke out in London with great violence. 
In July the weekly deaths were 1100 ; they increased to 10,000 a 
week in September ; and not less than 100,000 persons were com- 
puted to have perished in the course of the year. In consequence 
of the plague, the king summoned the parliament to Oxford ; and 
they voted him 1,250,000Z., to be levied in two years by monthly 
assessments. In the same session was passed the Five-mile Act, 
by which it was enacted that any dissenting teacher who had not 
subscribed the declaration required by the act of uniformity, and 
refused to subscribe the oath of non-resistance, should not, except 
in travelling, come within five miles of any corporate town sending 
members to parliament, or of any place where he had formerly 
preached. The penalty was a fine of 401., and six months' im- 
prisonment. Many of the nonconformists after their ejection 
obtained a living by keeping schools, but this resource was denied 



462 CHAELES II. Chap. xxiv. 

them, under colour of removing them from places where their in- 
fluence might be dangerous. 

§ 7. After France had declared war, England was evidently over- 
matched in force. Louis had given orders to the duke of Beaufort, 
his admiral, to sail from Toulon with 40 sail. Monk, now duke of 
Albemarle, and prince Hupert commanded the English fleet, which 
exceeded not 74 sail. Albemarle detached prince Eupert with 
20 ships in order to oppose the duke of Beaufort. It had been 
reported that the Dutch fleet was not ready for sea ; but Albemarle, 
to his great surprise, descried off the North For* land the Dutch 
fleet of more than 80 sail, under De Iiuyter and Tromp, son of the 
famous admiral. Nevertheless he gave orders to attack. The 
battle that ensued is one of the most memorable that we read of in 
story, whether we consider its long duration or the desperate courage 
with which it was fought (June 1-4, 1666). Albemarle made here 
some atonement by his valour for the rashness of the attempt. On 
the first day darkness parted the combatants before any decided 
result had been achieved. On the second day 16 fresh ships joined 
the Dutch fleet during the action ; and the English were so shattered 
that their fighting ships were reduced to 28, and they found them- 
selves obliged to retreat towards their own coast. Next morning 
the English were compelled to continue their retreat. About two 
o'clock the Dutch had come up and were ready to renew the fight, 
when a new fleet was descried from the south, crowding all sail to 
reach the scene of action. It was prince Rupert's fleet ; and Albe- 
marle, who had received intelligence of the prince's approach, bent 
his course towards him. Unhappily the Prince Royal, a ship of 
100 guns, the largest in the fleet, ran on the Galloper sands, and 
was obliged to strike. Next morning the battle began afresh, with 
more equal force than ever, and with equal valour. After long 
cannonading, the fleets came to a close combat, which was continued 
with great violence till they were parted by a mist. The English 
retired first into their harbours, and victory remained uncertain. It 
was the conjunction alone of the French that could give a decisive 
superiority to the Dutch. In order to facilitate this conjunction, De 
Ruyter, having repaired his fleet, posted himself at the mouth of the 
Thames. The English, under prince Rupert and Albemarle, were 
not long in coming to the attack (July 25). The numbers of each 
fleet amounted to about 80 sail ; and the valaur and experience of 
the commanders, as well as of the seamen, rendered the engagement 
fierce and obstinate. The battle ended in the defeat of the Dutch ; 
and De Ruyter, full of indignation at yielding the superiority to 
the enemy, frequently exclaimed, "My God! what a wretch am I! 
Among so many thousand bullets, is there not one to put an end to 



A.D. 1666-1667. THE FIRE OF LONDOtf. 468 

my miserable life ? " All that night and next day the English 
pressed upon the rear of the Dutch, and it was only by the redoubled 
efforts of De Ruyter that the latter saved themselves in their har- 
bours. The English now rode incontestable masters of the sea, and 
insulted the Dutch in their havens. 

During this war a calamity happened in London which threw the 
people into great consternation. ' A fire, breaking out in a baker's 
house near the bridge, spread itself on all sides with such rapidity 
that no efforts could extinguish it till it had laid in ashes a consider- 
able part of the ci'.y. Four days and nights did the fire advance 
(September 2-5), and it was only by the blowing up of houses that 
it was at last extinguished. The king and the duke used their 
utmost endeavours to stop the progress of the flames, but all their 
efforts were unsuccessful. About 400 streets and 13,000 houses 
were reduced to ashes. The causes of this calamity were evident. 
The narrowness of the streets of London, where the houses were 
almost entirely built of wood, the dryness of the season, and a 
violent east wind: these were so many concurring circumstances 
which rendered it easy to divine the reason of the destruction. But 
the multitude was not satisfied with this obvious account. As the 
papists were the chief objects of public detestation, the rumour 
which threw the guilt on them was favourably received by the people. 
No proof, however, or even presumption, after the strictest inquiry 
by a committee of parliament, ever appeared to authorize such a 
calumny; yet, in order to give countenance to the popular prejudice, 
the inscription engraved by authority on the Monument ascribed 
this calamity to that hated sect. Though the ruins of the city 
extended over 436 acres, the fire proved in the issue beneficial. 
Care was taken to make the streets wider and more regular than 
before, and London became much more healthy. The plague, 
which used to break out with great fury twice or thrice every 
century, and indeed was always lurking in some corner or other of 
the city, has never appeared since that calamity. In this fire old 
St. Paul's was destroyed, and as the books published during that 
year were stored under its vaults, they perished in the flames. 

The fruitless and destructive nature of the war, combined with the 
plague and fire, disposed the English cabinet to make advances for 
a peace. Conferences were opened at Breda in May, 1667. Money 
was scarce in consequence of the embarrassments occasioned by the 
plague and the fire, and the large ships were laid up in the hopes 
of peace. De Witt, who governed the Dutch republic at this time, 
saw that it was a favourable opportunity for striking a blow which 
might at once restore to the Dutch the honour lost during the war, 
and severely revenge those injuries which he ascribed to the wanton 



464 CHARLES II. Chap. xxiv. 

ambition and injustice of the English. Instigated also by the 
English refuges in Holland, he refused an a— -listice, protracting the 
negociations at Breda, whilst he hastened the naval preparations. 
The Dutch fleet appeared in the Thajnes under the command of De 
Euyter. The new fort of Sheerness, built to replace the strong 
castle of Queenborough, foolishly dismantled by thr commonwealth, 
was destroyed (June 11). Taking ine advantage of a spring tido 
and an easterly wicd, the Dutch pressed on and broke the chain 
which had been drawn across the Medway, though the passage had 
been obstructed by sunken vessels. Three ships which guarded 
the chain were destroyed ; several more were damaged, others were 
bu-ned at Chatham (June 13). The Dutch Ml down the Medway 
without receiving any considerable damage ; and '.t was apprehended 
that they might next tide sail up the Thames, and extend their 
hostilities even to London bridge. Thirteen ships were sunk at 
Woolwich, four at Blackwall ; platforms were raised in many places, 
furnished with artillery ; the trained bands were called out ;. and every 
place was in a violent agitation. The Dutch sailed next to Ports- 
mouth, where they made a fruitless attempt ; they met with no 
better success at Plymouth ; they insulted Harwich ; they sailed 
again up the Thames as far as Tilbury, where they were repulsed. 
The whole coast was in alarm ; and had the French thought proper 
at this time to join the Dutch fleet and to invade England, conse- 
quences the most fatal might justly have been apprehended. But 
Louis had no intention to push the victory to such extremities : 
his interest required that a balance should be kept between the two 
maritime powers, not that an uncontrolled superiority should be 
given to either. 

The second Dutch war was ended by the treaty of Breda (July 21, 
1667). The acquisition of New York, formerly New Amsterdam, 
captured by sir Robert Holmes (August 27, 1664), was one of the 
chief advantages the English reaped from the war. By the same 
treaty Nova Scotia was given up to France in return for Antigua, 
Monserrat, and St. Kitts. 

§ 8. On the 11th of August the great seal was taken from the 
earl of Clarendon, who had always been the king's most trusty 
adviser, and was given to sir Orlando Bridgman. On the 15th of 
October both houses returned the king thanks for Clarendon's 
dismissal. Although the duke of York exerted his utmost interest 
in behalf of his father-in-law, these proceedings against the dis- 
graoed minister were followed up by an impeachment against him, 
opened in the House of Commons by Mr. Edward Seymour (Novem- 
ber 12). He was accused, amongst other offences, of venality and 
cruelty in his office as chancellor, of acquiring enormous wealth, 



A.D. 1667. THE CABAL. 465 

and selling Dunkirk to the French. Most of the cnarges were false 
or frivolous ; but some could not so easily be disproved ; and the 
minds of men were so much irritated against him that they were 
ready to condemn him on very insufficient evidence. During his 
administration he had offended both parties ; by cavaliers and 
presbyterians he was equally disliked ; and his severe and unbend- 
ing manners unfitted him to mix in a gay and licentious court. 
The marriage of his daughter, Anne Hyde, with the duke of York, 
the heir presumptive to the throne, did not tend to render Clarendon 
less austere and inflexible, or to conciliate adversaries. At the sug- 
gestion of Charles, the earl withdrew to the continent (December 1). 
From Calais he addressed a petition to the lords, which was voted 
scandalous by both houses, as reproaching the king and impugning 
the justice of the nation. It was condemned to be burned by the 
hands of the hangman. Both houses then passed upon him sentence 
of banishment, and this act received the royal assent (December 
19). He survived his sentence seven years, living first at Mont- 
pellier, afterwards at Rouen ; and he employed his leisure chiefly 
in reducing into order his celebrated " History of the Civil Wars," 
for which he had collected ample materials. 

§ 9. The ministry formed after the dismissal of Clarendon, called 
the " King's Cabal," from the initial letters of the names of its five 
principal members, consisted of sir Thomas Clifford, afterwards 
lord Clifford ; lord Ashley, afterwards earl of Shaftesbury ; the 
duke of Buckingham; lord Arlington, previously sir Henry Ben- 
nett ; and the earl of Lauderdale. But the word itself Is of much 
earlier origin. The ignominious close of the Dutch war, the fall of 
Clarendon, and the discontents of parliament, convinced the new 
ministry of the necessity of conciliating popular feeling ; and the 
policy which they now adopted equally surprised and delighted 
the nation. 

Louis XIV., who now filled the throne of France, surpassed all 
contemporary monarchs, as in grandeur, so likewise in fame and 
glory. His ambition, regulated by prudence, not by justice, care- 
fully provided every means of conquest ; and before he put himself 
in motion he seemed to have absolutely insured success. The sudden 
decline and almost total fall of the Spanish monarchy opened an 
inviting field to so enterprising a prince. Setting up a claim to the 
Spanish Netherlands in right of his wife Louis invaded the country 
with a powerful army ; Lisle, Courtray, and several other cities 
were immediately taken ; and it was visible that no force in the 
Netherlands was able to stop or retard the progress of the French 
arms. Sir "William Temple, the British resident at Brussels, urged 
upon his government the importance of forming a league with 



466 CHARLES II. Chai\ xxiv. 

Holland in order to save the Netherlands, and he received instruc- 
tions to go secretly to the Hague, and enter into negociations with 
the States. He found in De Witt, then the chief minister of the 
republic, a man of generous and enlarged sentiments ; and in five 
days' time an alliance was formed between England and Holland 
to check the ambitious schemes of Louis. This league was joined 
by Sweden, and hence is known by the name of the Triple 
Alliance (January 13, 1668). Louis was obliged to give way ; 
the plenipotentiaries of all the powers met shortly afterwards at 
Aix-la-Chapelle ; and a treaty was concluded upon the terms agreed 
upon by Temple and De Witt, by which it was arranged that Spain 
should resign to France all the towns conquered by the French in 
the last campaign, but should be guaranteed in the possession of 
the rest of Flanders. 

But the triple alliance was not popular with Charles. He had 
no liking for the Dutch, who were republicans, still less for the 
party of De Witt. Many of the bitterest opponents to the mon- 
archy, who still hoped for the restoration of the good old cause, as 
they termed the commonwealth, had found refuge and favour in 
Holland. From Holland their political and religious emissaries 
passed over to England, to sow disaffection and foment insurrections. 
However ostensibly submissive, parliament had resolved to keep 
the reins in its own hands ; and Charles did not trust parliament, 
nor had he much reason for trusting it. He was a keen observer of 
mankind, and it did not require much keenness of observation to 
see that those very men who were now loudest in their professions 
of loyalty had once been as loud in their denunciation of monarchy. 
But to secure independence, he must court the alliance of Louis. 
Accordingly, soon after the conclusion of the triple alliance, he 
entered into negociations with Louis through his sister, the duchess 
of Orleans, by whose means a secret treaty between England and 
France was concluded at Dover (May 22, 1670). By this treaty 
Charles was, at a convenient time, to make a public profession of 
the Roman catholic religion, and also assist Louis against Holland. 
Louis, in return, agreed to pay Charles 200,000Z. a year for the 
support of the fleet so long as the war lasted, and to aid him with 
an army of 6000 men in the event of an insurrection in England. 

The treaty was signed by all the members of the " Cabal ; " but 
the article relating to religion was divulged only to Clifford and 
Arlington, both of whom were catholics. The treaty was disgrace- 
ful ; but it is probable that neither of the principal contrahents 
ever seriously intended to carry out his part of the treaty. 
Louis was not to advance the money until Charles found it con- 
venient to turn catholic ; and Charles, on his part, never found it 



a.d. 1670-1671. blood's ceimes. 467 

convenient to turn catholic, because he never could be sure, if he 
did, that Louis would advance the money. 

§ 10. About this time Blood made himself memorable by his 
daring and his crimes. He was a disbanded officer of the protector's, 
and having been attainted for an insurrection in Ireland, he medi- 
tated revenge upon Ormond, the lord-lieutenant. Having by artifice 
drawn off the duke's footmen, he attacked his coach in the night 
time, as it drove along St. James's street in London, and made 
himself master of the duke's person. He might have accomplished 
his crime on the spot had he not meditated refinements in his 
vengeance. He was resolved to hang the duke at Tyburn, and for 
that purpose bound him, and mounted him on horseback behind 
one of his companions. They were advanced a good way into the 
fields, when the duke, making efforts for his liberty, threw himself 
to the ground, and brought down with him the assassin to whom 
he was fastened. As they were struggling together in the mire, 
Ormond's servants, roused by the alarm, came up to the rescue. 
Blood and his companions, firing their pistols in a hurry at the 
duke, rode off, and saved themselves by means of the darkness 
(December 6, 1670). Buckingham was at first, with some appear- 
ances of reason, suspected to be the author of this attempt ; and 
Ossory, Ormond's son, told him in the king's presence, that, if his 
father came to a violent end, he would pistol him, though he stood 
behind the king's chair. Shortly after, Blood nearly succeeded in 
carrying off the regalia from the Tower (May 9, 1671). He had 
wounded Edwards, the keeper of the jewel-office, and had got out of 
the Tower with his plunder, when he was overtaken and seized, 
with some of his associates. One of them was known to have 
been concerned in the attempt upon Ormond, and Blood was im- 
mediately concluded to be the ringleader. When questioned, he 
frankly avowed the enterprise, but refused to name his accomplices. 
" The fear of death," he said, " should never engage him either 
to deny guilt or betray a friend." These extraordinary circum- 
stances made him the general subject of conversation ; and the 
king was moved, by an idle curiosity, to see and speak with a 
person so noted for his courage and his crimes. Blood might now 
esteem himself secure of pardon, and he wanted not address to 
improve the opportunity. He told Charles that he had been 
engaged with others in a design to kill him with a carabine above 
Battersea, where his majesty often went to bathe ; that when he 
had taken his stand among the reeds, full of these bloody resolu- 
tions, he found his heart checked with an awe of majesty ; and he 
not only relented himself, but diverted his associates from their 
purpose. He warned the king of the danger which might attend 



468 CHARLES II. Chap. xxiv. 

his execution, saying that his associates had bound themselves by 
the strictest oaths to revenge the death of any of their confederates. 
Charles not only pardoned Blood, but conferred on him an estate 
of 5001. a year in Ireland. Eventually he died in prison. 

§ 11. Though peace had been concluded with the Dutch in 1667, 
and was apparently more strongly cemented by the triple alliance in 
the next year, their relations with England were far from satisfactory. 
Continual disputes took place between the Dutch and English 
fishermen, and the honour of the flag was a fertile source of dis- 
content and bickering. At the close of 1671, Temple, who was sent 
ambassador to Holland (January, 1669), was recalled ; and sir 
George Downing was sent over in his stead to demand satisfaction. 
But before declaring war it was necessary to raise a large sum of 
money. The supplies lately voted by the commons were nearly 
exhausted : and neither Charles nor his ministers ventured as yet 
upon levying money without consent of parliament. In this diffi- 
culty either Clifford or Ashley suggested the shameful expedient of 
seizing all the money which the bankers had intrusted to the 
exchequer. It had been usual for the bankers to lend large sums of 
money to the government, upon the security of the taxes, and they 
were repaid with interest as the latter came in. There were now 
about 1,300,000Z. thus advanced to the exchequer; and it was 
suddenly announced that the government did not intend to repay for 
twelve months the principal, but only the interest, to the depositors 
(January 2, 1672). The ruin of many followed this open violation 
of public credit. Many of the bankers stopped payment, and 
the commercial credit of the nation was shaken. About the same 
time Charles adopted other arbitrary measures, though some of 
them were not objectionable in themselves. Of these the most 
important was a proclamation, which he issued by virtue of his 
supreme power in ecclesiastical matters, suspending the penal laws 
enacted against all nonconformists or recusants whatsoever, and 
granting to the protestant dissenters the public exercise of their 
religion, to the catholics the exercise of theirs in private houses 
(March 15). 

England and France declared war against Holland, March 17, 
1672. The Dutch fleet, under the command of De Buyter, sailed 
against the combined English and French fleets, which lay in South- 
wold Bay, on the coast of Suffolk. The English fleet was com- 
manded by the duke of York. A desperate action ensued. The 
French kept aloof ; but both the English and Dutch fleets suffered 
severely. The earl of Sandwich, who led the English van, was 
killed. The fight continued till night, when the Dutch retired 
(May 28). On land Louis at first carried everything before him. 



a.d. 1672. WAR WITH HOLLAND. 469 

He crossed the Rhine at the head of an irresistible army ; city after 
city opened its gates to him, and three of the United Provinces 
were overrun by his arms. The small army of the republic was 
commanded by William, prince of Orange (afterwards William III. 
of England), then in the 22nd year of his age.* He gave strong 
indications of those great qualities by which his life was afterwards 
so much distinguished. Unable to stem the torrent, he retired into 
the province of Holland, where he expected, from the natural 
strength of the country, since all human art and courage failed, to 
be able to make some resistance. Amsterdam alone seemed to 
retain some courage ; and the sluices being opened, the neighbour- 
ing country, without regard to the damage sustained, was laid 
under water. All the provinces followed the example, and scrupled 
not, in this extremity, to restore to the sea those fertile fields which 
with great art and expense had been won from it. In these unfor- 
tunate circumstances, the Dutch, with the exception of Amsterdam, 
were prepared to make enormous sacrifices ; and ambassadors were 
despatched to implore the pity of the two combined monarchs. In 
answer to their request, Charles sent the duke of Buckingham, the 
earl of Arlington, and lord Halifax to Holland. When the duke 
represented to William the impossibility of successful resistance, 
and asked him whether he did not see that the commonwealth was 
ruined, " There is one certain means," replied the prince, " by which 
I can be sure never to see my country's ruin — I will die in the last 
ditch." The terms proposed by each were the hardest; both united, 
they appeared absolutely intolerable, and reduced the Dutch, 
who saw no means of defence, to despair. What- extremely aug- 
mented their distress were the violent internal factions with which 
they were agitated. De Witt still persevered in opposing the 
repeal of the perpetual edict by which the prince of Orange was 
excluded from the stadtholdership, and from all share in the 
civil administration. The people rose in insurrection at Dort, and 
by force constrained their burgomasters to sign the repeal so much 
demanded. This proved a signal for a general revolt throughout 
all the provinces. At Amsterdam, the Hague, Middlebourg, Rot- 
terdam, the people flew to arms, and, trampling under foot the 
authority of their magistrates, obliged them to submit. This move- 
ment was followed by the massacre of the brothers De Witt by the 
populace (August 4, 1672), who exercised on the dead bodies of those 
virtuous citizens indignities too shocking to be recited. But the 

* His lather had been stadtholder of the | jealousy was felt of the young prince, and 

provinces, but upon his death in 1650, the chief opponent of his party was De 

eight days before the birth of his son, the Witt, the grand pensionary of the pro-' 

dignity remained in abeyance. Great I vince of Holland. 
22 



470 CHARLES II. Chap. xxrv. 

republic, now firmly united under one leader, began to collect the 
remains of its pristine vigour. William, worthy of that heroic 
family from which he sprang, adopted sentiments becoming the 
head of a brave and free people. The intolerable conditions de- 
manded by their enemies he exhorted the States to reject with 
scorn ; and by his advice they put an end to negociations which 
served only to break the courage of their fellow-citizens and delay 
the assistance of their allies. The spirit of the young prince infused 
itself into his hearers. Those who lately entertained thoughts of 
yielding now bravely determined to resist, and defend those last 
remains of their native soil, of which neither the irruptions of Louis, 
nor the inundation of waters, had as yet bereaved them. In event 
of failure, they were resolved to take refuge in the Indies, and erect 
a new empire in those remote regions. Louis, finding that his 
enemies gathered courage behind their inundations, and that no 
further success was likely for the present to attend his arms, retired 
to Versailles. 

§ 12. In February, 1673, the English parliament met, after pro- 
rogations continued for nearly two years. They chose for their 
speaker sir John Charleton, who was displaced on account of illness 
to make way for Edward Seymour. The king declared to both 
houses the necessity of the war with the Dutch, desiring supplies. 
His indulgence to dissenters, he told them, had produced a good 
effect, and he was resolved to abide by it. He was followed by lord 
Shaftesbury, the chancellor, who made use of a remarkable expres- 
sion in his speech, much noticed at the time — Delenda est Car- 
thago ; meaning that the Dutch must be extirpated, for " they were 
England's eternal enemy by interest and inclination." On taking 
the king's speech into consideration, the commons resolved, by 168 
to 116, " that the penal statutes against dissenters could not be sus- 
pended except by act of parliament," and resolved to address his 
majesty to that effect. After a short resistance Charles gave way ; 
on March 8th he cancelled his declaration for suspension of the 
penal laws, and received the thanks of both houses. A motion had 
been rejected in the commons for declaring dissenters incapable of 
holding seats in parliament ; but a few days after a law was passed, 
known as the Test Act, which continued in force till the reign of 
George IV.* By this act all persons holding any public office were 
compelled to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, to receive 
the sacrament according to the rites of the church of England, and 
abjure the doctrine of transubstantiation. In consequence of this 
act, the duke of York resigned his commands, and was succeeded in 
the fleet by prince Kupert. He fought several battles with the 
* For further particulars see Notes and Illustrations (A). 



A.D. 1673-1674. PEACE WITH HOLLAND. 471 

Dutch this summer, but the victory was generallj r doubtful. The 
French alliance, and the war against Holland, became more and 
more unpopular ; and when the parliament met in the autumn they 
discovered great symptoms of ill humour (October 20). They ex- 
pressed great indignation at the marriage of the duke of York with 
a princess of the house of Modena, who was not of the Protestant 
religion. They voted the standing army a grievance, and declared 
that they would grant no more supplies, unless it appeared that 
the Dutch were so obstinate as to refuse all reasonable conditions 
of peace (November 4). To cut short these disagreeable attacks, 
the king prorogued the parliament to January 7. 

The " Cabal " ministry was now at an end. Lord Shaftesbury, 
disgusted with the king's compliance on the subject of indulgence, 
deserted the court, and became chief leader of the opposition 
(March). Directly after the prorogation he was dismissed from 
the office of chancellor (November 9), to which he had been 
elevated in the preceding year. The great seal was given to sir 
Heneage Finch, afterwards earl of Nottingham. The test had 
incapacitated Clifford, and the white staff was conferred on sir 
Thomas Osborne, soon after created earl of Danby,* a minister 
of some abilities, who had risen by his parliamentary talents. 
Parliament met at the day appointed (January 7, 1674), when the 
king desired that they would grant supplies for the war, and dis- 
charge his debts to the goldsmiths. But the opposition, reinforced 
and guided by the counsels and activity of Shaftesbury, proceeded 
to attack the king's ministers. Buckingham and Arlington were 
examined by the commons, and the latter was impeached. On the 
7th of February they indirectly attacked the king. They resolved 
that the maintaining any standing forces, other than the militia, 
was a grievance to the nation ; that the king ought not to retain 
any guards, for it was impossible to deliver the nation from a 
standing army until the guards were " pulled up by the roots." 
The king plainly saw that he could expect no supply from the 
commons for carrying on the war, and concluded a separate treaty 
with the Dutch (February 9, 1674). The honour of the flag was 
yielded to the English : all possessions were restored to the same 
condition as before the war : and the States agreed to pay to the 
king nearly 300,000?. Charles, though obliged to make a separate 
peace, still kept up his connections with the French monarch. He 
apologized for deserting his ally, by representing to him the diffi- 
culties under which he laboured. On February 24 Parliament was 
prorogued till November 10. 

* He was created by William III. I duke of Leeds in 1694, and from him the 
marquess of Carmarthen in 1689, and | present duke is lineally descended. 



472 CHARLES II. Chap. xxtv. 

§ 13. Considerable alterations were made about this time in the 
English ministry. Buckingham, who had long, by his wit and en- 
tertaining humour, possessed the king's favour, was dismissed ; and 
he now, like Shaftesbury, became a leader of the opposition. The 
earl of Danby, the lord-treasurer, obtained the chief direction of 
public affairs. He was a declared enemy to the French alliance. 
But, while he scorned the idea of making the king absolute by 
the assistance of a foreign court, he had the highest notions of the 
king's prerogative, and endeavoured to augment the power of the 
crown. Accordingly, in April, 1675, he introduced a bill into the 
House of Lords, by which all members of either house, and all 
who possessed any office, were required to swear that it was not 
lawful, under any pretence whatsoever, to take arms against the 
king ; that they abhorred the traitorous position of taking arms 
by his authority against his person ; and that they would not at 
any time endeavour to alter the protestant religion, or the estab- 
lished government either in church or state. Great opposition was 
made to this bill. For 17 days the debates were carried on 
with much zeal, and it was passed by two voices only in the 
House of Peers. During this year great heats arose on a 
question of privilege between the two houses, and all other 
business was suspended. To put an end to this unseemly alter- 
cation Charles, on June 9, prorogued the commons until October 
13. But as differences still continued, when the houses met 
again in the autumn, the commons were further prorogued, on 
November 22, to February 15, 1677. When the parliament met 
on that day, Buckingham took exception to its legality on the 
ground that, by a prorogation extending over 15 months, it was 
virtually dissolved. The question was debated at great length, and 
ended in the committal of the duke and his supporters, Shaftesbury, 
Salisbury, and Wharton,, to the Tower, for contempt of parliament. 
§ 14. Meantime the war continued on the continent. The prince of 
Orange, supported by the emperor and the German states, con- 
tinued manfully the struggle against Louis. The earl of Danby 
and the nation urged Charles to join the Dutch, and put an 
effectual curb upon the ambition of the French monarch ; and the 
commons promised suitable supplies. Accordingly, on the 16 th 
of April, 1677, the royal assent was given to a bill for raising 
money to recruit the fleet. But on the 25th of May when the 
king had shown them the necessity of supply before he ventured 
on a rupture with France, the commons declared they would 
grant nothing until the king had entered into an alliance offensive 
and defensive with Holland against France. The king stood upon 
his prerogative. He refused to be dictated to in matters of peace 



a.d. 1677-1678. 



PEACE OF NIMEGUEN. 



473 



or war, or that the commons should prescribe what alliances he 
should make. He had already, the year before (February 17), 
concluded a secret treaty with Louis XIV., by which, on receipt of 
a considerable pension, he had agreed to enter into no engagements 
with foreign powers without the consent of France. But Charles 
was distrusted by Louis as well as by his own subjects. The 
French ambassador entered into secret negociations with the 
popular party, and bribed the most eminent of the popular leaders to 
resist the war against France. Charles, however, was sincerely 
anxious for peace ; for he was sensible that so long as the war 
continued abroad he should never enjoy peace at home. As a 
means to this end, he was persuaded by the earl of Danby and sir 
William Temple to entertain proposals for marrying the princess 
Mary, the elder daughter of the duke of York, to the prince of 
Orange, who came over to England at the close of the campaign 
of 1677. The marriage was celebrated, November 4, and gave 
general satisfaction ; but it occasioned no alteration in the policy 
of Charles, except that he exerted himself more vigorously in 
arranging the terms of a peace. In the following year (1678) 
peace was signed at Nimeguen, between France and Holland 
(August 10). Louis resigned the city of Maestricht to the Dutch, 
but retained possession of Franche-Comte, together with Valen- 
ciennes, Cambray, and other towns in the Low Countries. The 
French king thus obtained considerable accession of territory at 
the expense of Spain. The king of Spain and the emperor were 
indignant at this treaty, but were obliged to accept the terms 
prescribed to them. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTEATIONS. 



A. TEST AND CORPORATION 
ACTS. 

The Corporation Act was passed in 
1661. In it a religious test was com- 
bined with a political test. All Corpo- 
rate Officers were required to have taken 
the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, 
" according to the rites of the Church of 
England," within one year before their 
elections, and, upon being elected, to take 
the oaths of allegiance and of supremacy, 
and the following oath: "I, A. B., do 
declare and believe that it is not lawful, 
upon any pretence whatsoever, to take 
arms against the King, and that I do 
abhor that traitorous position of taking 



arms by his authority against his person, 
or against those that are commissioned 
by him ; " besides subscribing a Declara- 
tion against the Solemn League and Cove- 
nant. The Corporation Oath of Non- 
resistance was abolished, not indeed at 
the Revolution, though it most probably 
became a dead letter at that epoch, but 
at the accession of the House of Bruns- 
wick, by the " Act for quietnig and 
establishing Corporations." (5 Geo. I. 
c. 6, s. 2.) 

The Test Act was passed in 1673, with 
the object of preventing political power 
being placed in the hands of Papists or 
dissenters. Its title is, " An Act for pre- 
venting dangers which may happen from 



474 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. xxiv. 



Popish Recusants." Under the provi- 
sions of the Act, all persons holding any 
office or place of trust, civil or military, 
or admitted of the King's or Duke of 
York's household, were to receive the 
Sacrament according to the usage of the 
Church of England, and to make and 
subscribe the following declaration : " I, 
A. B., do declare that I believe there is 
not any transubstantiation in the Sacra- 
ment of the Lord's Supper, or in the 
elements of bread and wine, at or after 
the consecration thereof by any person 
whatsoever." The Dissenters entertained 
such fears of the Papists that they 
actively supported the passing of this 
Act, though it included them not less 
than Papists, by reason of the requisition 
of taking the Sacrament according to the 
rites of the Church of England. 

The Parliamentary lest was imposed 
in the year 1678, five years after the first 
test. In this interval, the alarm in the 
country of the designs of Papists had 
been greatly increased by the discovery 
of the supposed Popish Plot. The title 
of the Act is, " An Act for tue more effec- 
tual preserving the King's person and 
government, by disabling Papists from 
sitting in either House of Parliament." 
Under the provisions of the Act, "No 
Peer or Member of the House of Commons 
shall sit or vote without taking the oaths 
of allegiance and supremacy, and a De- 
claration repudiating the doctrine of 
transubstantiation, the adoration of the 
Virgin, and the sacrifice of the Mass. 
Peers and Members offending are to be 
deemed and adjudged Popish Recusants 
convict, and are to forfeit 5001.," besides 
suffering numerous disabilities. These 
Acts were repealed in the reign of 
George IV.— See Amos, The English Con- 
stitution in the Reign of Charles II., p. 
135, seq. 

B. THE ACT OP UNIFORMITY. 

This Act is entitled " An Act for Uni- 
formity of Public Prayers, and adminis- 
tration of Sacraments and other rites and 
ceremonies; and for establishing the 
fjrm of making, ordaining, and conse- 
crating bishops, priests, and deacons in 
the Church of England." In treating of 
the Act it will be convenient to notice, 
I., those clauses which have been re- 
pealed; and II., those clauses touching 
assent and consent to the Book of Common 



Prayer and Episcopal Ordination, which 
continue in force in the present day. 

I. By the 34th section, all former 
statutes relating to the uniformity of 
prayer, and administration of the Sacra- 
ments, were re-enacted. The Act of 
Uniformity in force previously to the 
Statute of Charles II. was the 1st of 
Elizabeth, c. 2, which incorporates, by 
reference, penal clauses in the earlier 
Uniformity Act of 5th and 6th Edward VI., 
c. 1, which, again, incorporates, *by refer- 
ence, similar clauses in the Uniformity 
Act of the 2nd and 3rd Edward VI., c. 1. 
These obscure references will be found to 
include "the declaring or speaking any- 
thing in the derogation, depraving, or 
despising of the Book of Common Prayer, 
or of anything therein contained, or any 
part thereof, the punishment of which, 
for the third offence, is forfeiture of goods 
and chattels and imprisonment for life. 
Among other clauses included, by re- 
ference, in the Uniformity Act of 
Charles II., are the -compelling atten- 
dance at parish churches, and the offence 
of whoever shall «' willingly and wit- 
tingly hear or be present at any other 
manner or form of Common Prayer than 
is mentioned and set forth in the Book 
of Common Prayer," provisions which 
have been repealed by statutes of Vic- 
toria (7 and 8 Vict. c. 102 ; 9 and 10 Vict, 
c. 59). 

By the- 14th section of the Act, it is 
enacted, " that no person shall presume 
to administer the holy Sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper, before such time as he 
shall be ordained Priest, according to the 
form and manner in and by the said 
Book prescribed, unless he have formerly 
been made Priest by episcopal ordination, 
upon pain to forfeit for the said offence 
the sum of 100L" The 100L penalty was 
repealed by the Toleration Act of William 
and Mary. 

The 9th section of the Act contained 
the following declaration : " I, A. B., do 
declare that it is not lawful on any pre- 
tence whatsoever to take arms against 
the King ; and that I do abhor that 
traitorous position of taking arms by his 
authority against his person, or against 
those that are commissionated by him; 
and that I will conform to the liturgy of 
the Church of England as it is now by 
law established." This declaration was 
required to be subscribed not only by 



Chap. xxiv. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



475 



every person in holy orders, but also by 
public and private schoolmasters, who 
were likewise required to take out a 
license from the bishop of the diocese, 
under penalty of three months' imprison- 
ment. The Declaration, so far as it re- 
lates to non-resistance, was abrogated at 
the Revolution (1 Will, and Mary c. 8). 
The license of private tutors continued, 
though latterly a dead letter, till it was 
abolished by a statute of Victoria (9 and 
10 Vict. c. 59). 

A Declaration, repudiating the Solemn 
League and Covenant, was, by the Act of 
Uniformity, to be taken until the 25th 
of March, 1682, a period allowed for the 
extinction of Covenanters by the course 
of nature. 

II. With respect to the permanent 
clauses of the Act of Uniformity : these 
are, 1st, the Declaration of assent and 
consent to the Book of Common Prayer ; 
and 2nd, a provision requiring Episcopal 
Ordination. — Amos, ibid., p. 87, seq. 

C. IMMUNITY OF JURIES. 

Previous to the year 1670, juries were 
frequently fined if they gave a verdict 
contrary to the dictation of the judge. 
But in that year, this pernicious practice 
was finally abolished by the decision of 
Vaughan, chief justice of the Common 
Pleas. The Recorder of London had set 
a fine of 40 marks upon each of the jury 



who had acquitted the quakers Penn and 
Mead, on an indictment for an unlawful 
assembly. Bushell, the foreman, refused 
to pay, and being committed to prison, 
obtained his writ of Habeas Corpus from 
the Court of Common Pleas ; and on the 
return made, that he had been committed 
for finding a verdict against full and mani- 
fest evidence, and against the direction of 
the court, chief justice Vaughan held the 
ground to be insufficient, and discharged 
the prisoner. Erskine, in his famous 
speech for the dean of St. Asaph, ob- 
served that the country was almost as 
much indebted to Bushell, as to Hampden 
in resisting ship-money. 

In earlier times, when juries were also 
witnesses (see p. 150), they were liable to 
be punished by the terrible writ of Attaint,* 
if a second jury, consisting of 24 jurors, 
found them guilty of giving a false ver- 
dict. The ancient punishment was, in 
such a case, that the jurors should be de- 
prived of all their property, be imprisoned, 
and become for ever infamous ; and that 
the plaintiff should be restored to all he 
had lost by reason of the unjust verdict 
This odious proceeding, though obsolete 
even in the time of Elizabeth, was not 
abolished till the 5th of George IV. See 
Hallam's Constitutional History, iii. p. 9 ; 
Amos, The English Constitution in the 
Reign of Charles II, p. 279, seq. ; Kerr's 
Blackstone, iii. p. 433. 

* Attinctus, stained or blackened. 




Medal relating to the Rye-house plot. Obv. : peribvnt fvlminis ictv 1683. The 
king as Hercules menaced by a hydra-like monster, having seven human heads, which 
represented those of the supposed conspirators : above, a hand in the clouds holding 
a thunderbolt. 



CHAPTEE XXV. 

CHARLES II. CONTINUED. FROM THE PEACE OF NIMEGUEN TO THE 
DEATH OF THE KING, A.D. 1678-1685. 

§ 1. The popish plot. Oates's narrative. Godfrey's murder. § 2. Zeal of 
the parliament. Bedloe's narrative. Bill for a new test. § 3. Accusa- 
tion of Danby. Dissolution of parliament. § 4. Trial and execution i 
Coleman and others. The duke of Monmouth. § 5. A new parliament. 
Danby's impeachment. New council. §6. The Exclusion Bill. Habeas 
Corpus Act. § 7. Prosecutions of papists. Affairs of Scotland. Murder 
of archbishop Sharpe. § 8. Meal-tub plot. Whig and Tory. § 9. 
Violence of the new parliament. Exclusion Bill rejected in the lords. 
Trial and execution of lord Stafford. Parliament dissolved. § 10. 
The new parliament dissolved. Turn of the popular feeling. Court 
prosecutions. § 11. Trial of Shaftesbury London and other cities 
deprived of their charters. § 12. Ry°-house plot. Trial and execu- 
tion of lord Russell and Algernon Sidney. § 13. State of the narion. 
Monmouth banished. § 14. Marriage of prince George of Denmark and 
the prinoess Anne. Death and character of Charles II. 



§ 1. Jealousy of Romanism was no novel thing in this country. 
It had prevailed with greater or less degree of force from the reign 
of Elizabeth. The terrors engendered by the gunpowder plot had 
produced an indelible impression on the mind of the nation, and 
the dread of it, even when unfounded, had often been employed by 
politicians to work out their own purposes. It was in vain that the 
Stuart sovereigns wished to ameliorate the restrictions imposed 



A.v. 1678. 



THE POPISH PLOT. 



477 




Rev. : devs nobis H.2EC otia fecit. A shepherd, the king, keeping his flock, fn the 
midst of which two wolves hanging : in the distance a view of London. 



upon their Roman catholic subjects. All such efforts were resented 
by the commons, and exposed the authors of them to the un- 
generous suspicion of encouraging popery. The fanaticism of the 
Long Parliament, which found an outlet for its vengeance in perse- 
cuting and suppressing the church of England, was not yet ex- 
tinguished, but now had a solitary victim in the Roman catholics. 
The fire of London, as we have seen, was ascribed to their 
machinations, and though this might be only a popular delusion, 
an error suitable to the vulgar, the House of Commons had 
maintained its influence over the minds of men by a succession of 
anti-popery cries and remonstrances, which culminated in the 
Test Act. Popular apprehension was at this era augmented by 
the marriage of the duke of York, the heir presumptive to the throne, 
with a Roman catholic princess; by the duke's avowal of the same' 
faith ; by the successes of Louis XIV. ; by rumours of the true 
character of the treaty of Dover, of which it was impossible that 
either Shaftesbury or Buckingham, both violent opponents of the 
court, both fomenters of these disgraceful plots, could be ignorant ; 
by dark rumours spread in coffee-houses, which the government 
had attempted in vain to regulate ; by the reports of secret emissaries, 
chiefly sent over from Holland. The nation was agitated by some 
vague and uncertain apprehension, which only required an un- 
scrupulous agent to give it form and consistency. That agent was 
found in Titus Oates. On the 12th of August, 1678, as the king 
was walking in the park, he was accosted by one Kirby, a chemist. 
" Sir," said he, " keep within the company : your enemies have a 
design upon your life ; and you may be shot in this very walk." 



478 CHARLES II. Chap. xsv. 

Being asked the reason of these strange speeches, he said that two 
men, called Grove and Pickering, were engaged to shoot the king, and 
sir George Wakeman, the queen's physician, to poison him. This 
intelligence, Kirov added, had been communicated to him by Dr. 
Tonge, whom he proposed to introduce to his majesty. Tonge was 
rector of St. Michael's, Wood-street ; active, restless, full of projects, 
void of understanding. He brought certain papers to the king, 
which contained information of a plot, and were digested into 43 
articles. Tonge said that they had been secretly thrust under his 
door, and that, though he suspected, he did not know certainly, who 
was the author. The king gave no credit to the story ; but the 
duke of York, hearing that priests and Jesuits, and even his own 
confessor, had been accused, was desirous that a thorough inquiry 
should be made by the council into the intended conspiracy. Kirby 
and Tonge were found to be living in close connection with Titus 
Oates, the person who was said to have conveyed the first intelligence 
to Tonge. Oates was a man of infamous character. He had been 
originally an anabaptist, had become a clergyman of the established 
church at the Eestoration, and subsequently went abroad, pretending 
to be a convert to Eomanism. He had been expelled from the 
English college at St. Omer, where he had become acquainted with 
the names of the leading Eomanists. As this man expected more 
encouragement from the public than from the king and his ministers, 
he thought proper, before he was presented to the council, to go with 
his two companions to sir Edmondbury Godfrey, a noted and active 
justice of peace, and to give evidence before him of the conspiracy. 
The main articles of this wonderful intelligence were, that the pope 
had delegated the sovereignty of Great Britain to the Jesuits, who 
had proceeded to name a government and fill up the dignities of the 
church ; that the king, whom they named " the Black Bastard," was 
to be put to death as an heretic ; that Pere la Chaise, the celebrated 
confessor of Louis XIV., had remitted 10,000Z. to London, as a 
reward of the king's assassination, and other foreign ecclesiastics 
had offered further sums ; that London was to be fired in several 
places by means of fire-balls, which they called Tewkesbury 
mustard-pills ; that the protestants were to be massacred all over 
the kingdom ? the crown to be offered to the duke on condition of 
his receiving it as a gift from the pope, and utterly extirpating the 
protestant religion : if he refused these conditions, he himself was 
immediately to be poisoned or assassinated. To pot James must go — 
according to the expression ascribed by Oates to the Jesuits. 

Oates, when examined before the council, contradicted himself in 
many particulars (August 13). While in Spain, he had been carried, 
he said, to Don John, who promised great assistance to the execution. 



A.D. 1678. MURDER OF GODFREY. 479 

of the catholic designs. The king asked him what sort of a man 
Don John was : he answered, a tall lean man — directly contrary to 
truth, as the king well knew. He totally mistook the situation of 
the Jesuits' college at Paris, and failed to identify persons whom he 
pretended to know. 

Notwithstanding these objections, the violent animosity which 
had been excited against the catholics in general made the public 
swallow the grossest absurdities: the more diabolical any con- 
trivance appeared, the better it suited the tremendous idea enter- 
tained of the Jesuits. Danby, likewise, who opposed the French 
and catholic interest at court, was willing to encourage every story 
which might serve to discredit that party. By his suggestion a 
warrant was signed for arresting Coleman, who had been secretary 
to the late duchess of York, and whom Oates had implicated in his 
evidence. Coleman's papers were seized, among them copies of 
letters to Pere la Chaise and other eminent foreign catholics. These 
did indeed betray a scheme for the conversion of the nation to 
popery ; but instead of the king being murdered, he was to be 
bribed by the king of France, and the design was altogether different 
from Oates's pretended discovery. Yet his plot and Coleman's were 
universally confounded together ; and the evidence of the latter 
being unquestionable, the belief of the former, aided by the passions 
of hatred and of terror, took possession of the people. The murder 
of sir Edmondbury Godfrey completed the general delusion. The 
body of this magistrate was found lying in a ditch at Primrose 
Hill (October 17) : marks of strangling were thought to appear about 
his neck, and some contusions on his breast : his own sword was 
sticking in his body : he had rings on his fingers, and money in his 
pocket: it was therefore inferred that he had not fallen into the 
hands of robbers. Without further reasoning, the cry rose that he 
had been assassinated by the papists, on account of his taking Oates's 
evidence. The dead body of Godfrey was carried into the city, 
attended by vast multitudes. The funeral was celebrated with 
great parade. Yet the murder of Godfrey, in all likelihood, had no 
connection, one way or other, with the popish plot; and, as he was 
a melancholy man, there is some reason to suspect, notwithstand- 
ing the pretended appearances to the contrary, that he fell by his 
own hands. 

§ 2. When the parliament met (October 21), Danby, who hated 
ihe catholics and courted popularity, opened the matter in the 
House of Peers. The king was extremely displeased with this 
temerity, and told his minister that he had given the parliament a 
handle to ruin himself, and that he would surely live to repent it. 
Danby had afterwards sufficient reason to applaud the sagacity of 



480 CHARLES II. Chap. xxv, 

his master. The cry of the plot was immediately echoed from one 
house to the other. The authority of parliament gave sanction to 
that fury with which the people were already agitated. A solemn 
fast was appointed : addresses were voted for the removal of popish 
recusants from London, and for appointing the trained bands of 
Loudon and Westminster to be in readiness. The catholic lords 
Powys, Stafford, Arundel, Petre, and Bellasis, were committed to the 
Tower, and were soon after impeached of high treason. Both 
houses, after hearing Oates's evidence, voted that there had been, 
and still was, a damnable and hellish plot, carried on by popish 
recusants. Oates, though an infamous villain, was by every one 
applauded, caressed, and called the saviour of the nation ; was 
recommended by the parliament to the king ; was lodged in White- 
hall, protected by guards, and encouraged by a pension of 1200Z. 
a year. It was not long before such bountiful encouragement 
brought forth a new witness, William Bedloe, formerly a stable-boy 
to lord Bellasis, and a man, if possible, more infamous than Oates. 
When he appeared before the council, he gave intelligence of God- 
frey's murder only, which, he said, had been perpetrated in Somer- 
set House, where the queen lived, by papists, some of them servants 
in her family. He at first pretended ignorance of Oates's plot; 
but afterwards gave a narrative of it, making it to tally, as well as 
he could, with that of Oates, which had been published. But that 
he might make himself acceptable by new matter, he added some 
absurd circumstances of vast invasions projected by France and 
Spain. Lord Carrington and lord Brudenel, with all the other 
persons mentioned by Bedloe, as concerned in the conspiracy, were 
immediately committed to custody by the parliament. 

The king, though he scrupled not, wherever he could speak freely, 
to throw ridicule on the plot, and on all who believed it, yet found 
it necessary to adopt the popular opinion. In his speech to both 
houses, he told them that, provided the right of succession were 
preserved, he would consent to any laws ior restraining a popish 
successor ; exhorted them to think of effectual means for the con- 
viction of popish recusants; and highly praised the duty and loyalty 
of all his subjects who had discovered such anxious concern for his 
safety (November 9, 1678). 

An act for disabling papists, aimed by Shaftesbury, Russell, and 
their party, at the duke of York, passed the commons without much 
opposition ; but in the upper house the duke of York moved that 
an exception might be admitted in his favour. With great earnest- 
ness, and even with tears in his eyes, he told them, that he was 
now to cast himself on their kindness, in the greatest concern which 
he could have in the world ; and he protested that, whatever his 



a.d. 1678-1679. IMPEACHMENT OF DANBY. 481 

religion might be, it should only be a private thing between God 
and his own soul, and never should appear in his public conduct. 
Notwithstanding this strong effort, in so important a point, he pre- 
vailed only by two voices. By this bill no peer or member of the 
House of Commons could sit or vote without making a declaration 
repudiating the doctrine of transubstantiation, the adoration of the 
Virgin, and the sacrifice of the Mass. Thus all Roman catholics 
were excluded from both houses of parliament till the repeal of this 
act in the reign of George IV.* 

Encouraged by the general fury, Oates and Bedloe were now so 
audacious as to accuse the queen herself of entering into the design 
against the life of her husband. The commons, in an address to 
the king, gave countenance to this scandalous accusation ; but the 
lords could not be prevailed on to join in the address. Charles had 
sufficient generosity to protect his injured consort. " They think," 
said he, " I have a mind to a new wife ; but, for all that, 1 will not 
see an innocent woman abused." 

§ 3. The present ferment and credulity of the nation engaged 
even persons of rank and condition to become informers. Mon- 
tague, the king's ambassador at Paris, without obtaining or asking 
the king's leave, suddenly came over to England. Charles, suspect- 
ing his intention, ordered his papers to be seized ; but Montague 
had taken care to secrete two papers, which he laid before the 
House of Commons. One of these was a letter from the treasurer 
Danby, written during the negociations at Nimeguen. Montague 
was there directed to demand money from France ; in other words, 
to pledge the king's good offices to Louis, contrary to the general 
interests of his confederates. Unwilling to engage personally 
in this negociation, the king, to satisfy Danby, subjoined, with 
his own hand, these words : " This letter is writ by my order, 
C. R." The commons were inflamed with this intelligence against 
Danby, and immediately voted an impeachment of high treason 
against him (December 21). Danby made it appear to the lords, 
not only that Montague had all along promoted the money nego- 
ciations with France, but that he himself was ever extremely averse 
to the interests of that crown, which he esteemed pernicious to his 
master and to his country. The peers plainly saw that Danby's 
crime fell not under the statute of Edward III., and could not sub- 
ject him to the penalties annexed to treason. They refused, there- 
fore, to commit him. The commons insisted on their demand ; and 
a great contest was likely to arise, when the king first prorogued, and 
then dissolved, the parliament (January 24, 1679). Thus came to 
an end the parliament which had sat during the whole course of 

* See Notes and Illustrations, p. 474. 



482 CHARLES II. Chap. xxv. 

this reign. Being elected during the joy and festivity of the 
Eestoration, it consisted mainly of royalists, who were disposed to 
support the crown by all the liberality which the habits of that 
age would permit. Alarmed by the alliance with France, they 
gradually withdrew their confidence from the king ; and, finding 
him still to persevere in a foreign interest, they proceeded to dis- 
cover symptoms of the most refractory and most jealous disposition. 
The popish plot pushed them beyond all bounds of moderation ; 
and before their dissolution they seemed to be treading fast in the 
footsteps of the last long parliament, on whose conduct they threw 
at first such violent blame. 

§ 4. During the sitting of the parliament, and after its proroga- 
tion and dissolution, the trials of the pretended criminals were 
carried on, and the courts of judicature, places which, if possible, 
ought to be kept more pure from injustice than even national 
assemblies themselves, were strongly infected with the same party 
rage and bigoted prejudices. Coleman, the most obnoxious of the 
conspirators, was first brought to his trial. His letters were pro- 
duced. Oates and Bedloe deposed against him, and he was con- 
demned and executed, persisting to the last in the strongest pro- 
testations of innocence (December 3). The same fate attended 
Grove, Pickering, and father Ireland, who, it was pretended, had 
signed, together with 50 Jesuits, the great resolution of murdering 
the king. All these men, before their arraignment, were con- 
demned in the opinion of the judges, jury, and spectators ; and to be 
a Jesuit, or even a catholic, was of itself a sufficient proof of guilt. 

Bedloe still remained a single evidence against the persons accused 
of Godfrey's murder; but at last means were found to complete 
the legal evidence. One Prance, a silversmith and a catholic, had 
been accused by Bedloe of being an accomplice in the murder ; and 
upon his denial, being thrown into prison, loaded with heavy irons, 
and confined to the condemned hole, a place cold, dark, and full of 
nastiness, was at length wrought upon, by terrors and sufferings, to 
make a confession. Upon his evidence three servants of the queen 
were condemned and executed for the murder (February 21, 1679). 
All through the year the ferment continued. By a proclamation 
from the king, all catholics, not being householders, were com- 
manded to quit London. Posts and chains were provided in the 
city for securing the streets ; 50,000 men were kept continually 
under arms ; batteries were planted ; patrols paraded, and the great 
gates were kept constantly closed. 

As the army could neither be kept up, nor disbanded, without 
money, the king found himself obliged to summon a new parlia- 
ment (March 6, 1679). The popish plot had a great influence upon 



a.d. 1679. THE DUKE OF MONMOUTH. 483 

the elections, and, in spite of the exertions of the government, all 
the zealots of the former parliament were rechosen : fresh ones were 
added : and it was apprehended that the new representatives would, 
if possible, exceed the old in their refractory opposition to the 
court, and their furious persecution of the catholics. The king was 
alarmed, when he saw so dreadful a tempest arise from such small 
and unaccountable beginnings. To appease the parliament, he 
desired the duke to withdraw beyond sea, that no further suspicion 
might remain of the influence of popish counsels. The duke re- 
tired to Brussels ; but first required an order, signed by the king, 
lest his absenting himself should be interpreted as a proof of fear 
or of guilt. He also desired that his brother should satisfy him, as 
well as the public, by a declaration of the illegitimacy of the duke 
of Monmouth. That person was the king's natural son by Lucy 
Walters, and born about ten years before the Eestoration. He pos- 
sessed all the qualities which could engage the affections of the 
populace ; a distinguished valour, an affable address, a thoughtless 
generosity, a graceful person. But his capacity was mean ; his 
temper pliant : so that, notwithstanding his great popularity, he 
would never have been dangerous, had he not implicitly resigned 
himself to the guidance of Shaftesbury, a man of restless temper, 
subtle wit, and abandoned principles. That daring politician had 
flattered Monmouth with the hopes of succeeding to the crown. 
The story of a contract of marriage passed between the king and 
Monmouth's mother, and secretly kept in a certain black box, had 
been industriously spread abroad, and was greedily received by 
Monmouth's adherents. 

§ 5. In the new parliament the refractory humour of the lower 
house appeared in its first step. In the election of their speaker, it 
had ever been usual for the commons to consult the inclinations of 
the sovereign, although the Long Parliament in 1641 had thought 
proper to depart from the established custom. The king now desired 
that the choice should fall on sir Thomas Meres ; but Seymour, 
speaker to the last parliament, was instantly called to the chair by a 
vote which seemed unanimous. When Seymour was presented for 
his approbation, the king rejected him, and ordered the commons to 
proceed to a new choice. A great contest ensued, till by way of com- 
promise it was agreed to set aside both candidates. William Gregory, 
a lawyer, was chosen ; and the election was ratified by the king. It 
has ever since been understood that the choice of the speaker lies 
in the house, but that the king retains the power of rejecting any 
person disagreeable to him. The impeachment of Danby was 
revived. The king had beforehand taken the precaution to grant a 
pardon to Danby ; and, in order to screen the chancellor from all 



484 



CHARLES II. 



Chap. xxv. 



attacks of the commons, he had taken the great seal into his own 
hands, and had himself affixed it to the parchment. But the 
commons maintained that no pardon of the crown could he pleaded 
in bar of an impeachment, though the prerogative of mercy had 
hitherto been understood to be altogether unlimited in the king ; 
and James had remitted the sentence on lord Bacon. On the other 
hand, if such a principle were allowed, there was an end of the 
supposed responsibility of the advisers of the crown, and any 
minister might set parliament at defiance.* The commons per- 
sisted, and the peers ordered Danby to be taken into custody. 
Danby absconded ; but a bill having been passed for his attainder 
in default of his appearance, he surrendered, and was immediately 
committed to the Tower (April 16). 

In order to allay the jealousy displayed by the parliament and 
people, the king, by the advice of sir William Temple, laid the plan 
of a new privy council, without whose advice he declared himself 
determined for the future to take no measure of importance (April 
20). This council was to consist of 30 persons ; 15 of the chief 
officers of the crown were to be continued ; the other half was to be 
composed, either of men of character, detached from the court, or 
of those who possessed credit with both houses. The earl of Essex, 
a nobleman of the popular party, was created treasurer in the room 
of Danby ; the earl of Sunderland, a man of intrigue and capacity, 
was made secretary of state; viscount Halifax, a fine genius, 
possessed of learning, eloquence, industry, but restless and am- 
bitious, was admitted into the council. These three, together with 
Temple, who often joined them, though he kept himself more 
detached from public business, formed a kind of cabinet council, 
in which all affairs received their first digestion. Shaftesbury was 
made president of the council, contrary to the advice of Temple, 
who foretold the consequence of admitting a man of so dangerous 
a character into any part of the public administration. 

§ 6. As Temple foresaw, it happened. Shaftesbury, finding that 
he possessed no more than the appearance of court favour, was re- 
solved still to adhere to the popular party, by whose attachment he 
enjoyed an undisputed superiority in the lower house, and possessed 
great influence in the other. By his advice the celebrated Exclu- 
sion Bill was brought into parliament, the object of which was to 
exclude the duke of York from the succession to the throne. It 
was carried by a majority of 79 votes in the House of Commons, 
but its further progress was stopped by the dissolution of parlia- 

* This question was not finally decided under the great seal can be pleaded in 
till the Act of Settlement in 1701 (13 Will, bar of an impeachment of the commons. — 
III. c. 2), which provides that no pardon Hallam, Const. Hist, ii. 417. 



A.D. 1679. THE HABEAS CORPUS ACT. 485 

ment (May 27). Before its dissolution, the king had, though 
reluctantly, given his consent to the Habeas Corpus Act, for the 
enactment of which this parliament is entitled to the gratitude of 
posterity. The Great Charter had provided against arbitrary 
imprisonment, and the Petition of Right had renewed and extended 
the principle ; but some provisions were still wanting to render it 
complete, and prevent all evasion or delay by ministers and judges. 
By the act of Habeas Corpus it is prohibited to send any one to a 
prison beyond sea; no judge, under severe penalties, must refuse to 
any prisoner a writ of habeas corpus, by which the gaoler is directed 
to produce in court the body of the prisoner (whence the writ had 
its name), and to certify the cause of his detainder and imprison- 
ment; every prisoner must be indicted the first term after his 
commitment, and brought to trial in the subsequent term ; and no 
man, after being enlarged by order of court, can be recommitted for 
the same offence.* 

§ 7. But, whether parliament was sitting or was not sitting, the 
prosecution of the catholics continued with the same unrelenting 
severity. Whitbread, provincial of the Jesuits, and four others 
of the same order, w r ere condemned and executed (June 20). Lang- 
horne, an eminent lawyer, by whom all the affairs of the Jesuits 
were managed, was the next victim. Oates and Bedloe, as in the 
former cases, were the chief witnesses against him. When the 
verdict was given, the spectators expressed their savage joy by 
loud acclamations. So high indeed had the popular rage mounted, 
that the witnesses for this unhappy man, on approaching the 
court, were nearly torn in pieces by the rabble. The first check 
which the informers received was on the trial of sir George Wake- 
man, the queen's physician, whom they accused of an intention to 
poison the king. Oates, on his examination before the council, 
had said that he knew nothing against sir George ; yet, on the 
trial, he positively deposed to his guilt. The chief justice, Scroggs, 
who had hitherto countenanced the witnesses, gave a favourable 
charge to the jury ; for which Oates and Bedloe had the assurance to 
attack him to his face, and even to accuse him of partiality before 
the council (July 18). 

During these transactions, serious disturbances occurred in Scot- 
land. Lauderdale had ruled that country with great severity, and 
an incident at last happened which brought on an insurrection. 
The Covenanters were much enraged against Sharpe, the primate, 
whom they considered as an apostate from their principles, and 
found an unrelenting persecutor of all those who dissented from 
the established worship. A bodyof them falling in with him by 
* For further details, see Notes and Illustrations, p. 497. 



486 CHARLES II. Chap. xxv. 

accident on the road near St. Andrews, dragged him from his 
coach ; tore him from the arms of his daughter, who interposed 
with cries and tears; and piercing him with redoubled wounds, 
left him dead on the spot, and immediately dispersed (May 3). 
The assassins retired towards Glasgow ; obtaining reinforcements, 
they appeared in arms at Rutberglen (May 29), and defeated a 
small body of cavalry under Graham of Claverhouse, at Drumclog, 
near Loudon Hill (June 3). Pushing on to Glasgow, they made 
themselves masters of the city, dispossessed the established clergy, 
and issued proclamations, in which they declared they fought 
against the king's supremacy, against popery and prelacy, and a 
popish successor. But though they succeeded in raising an army of 
8000 men, they were soon dispersed by Monmouth, whom the king 
had sent against them, at the battle of Both well Bridge (June 22). 

In consequence of an illness of the king, the duke of York 
returned to England, and shortly afterwards was sent to Scotland 
as lord high commissioner. He is accused of using the Covenanters 
with great cruelty, but the evidence on which the accusation rests 
is doubtful. 

§ 8. The plan of government recommended by Temple was soon 
abandoned. Shaftesbury was dismissed from the presidency of the 
council, and became more violent than ever in his opposition to the 
court (October 15). Essex also quitted the ministry, and joined 
the opposition. Temple withdrew to his books and his gardens. 
Monmouth was sent to Holland. But Halifax and Sunderland still 
continued in office ; and the ministry was recruited by two new men 
who afterwards played a conspicuous part in public life. These 
were Lawrence Hyde, the second son of the chancellor Clarendon, 
who succeeded Essex at the treasury, and Sidney Godolphin. 

It was the favour and countenance of the parliament which had 
chiefly encouraged the rumour of plots; but the nation had got 
so much into that vein of credulity, and every necessitous villain 
was so much incited by the success of Oates and Bedloe, that even 
during the prorogation the people were not allowed to remain in 
tranquillity. There was ODe Dangerfield, a fellow who had been 
burned in the hand for crimes, transported, whipped, pilloried four 
times, fined for cheats, outlawed for felony, convicted of coining, 
and exposed to all the public infamy which the laws could inflict 
on the basest and most shameful enormities. The credulity of the 
people, and the humour of the times, enabled even this man to 
become a person of consequence. He was the author of a new 
incident called the Meal-tub Plot, from the place where some papers 
relating to it were found. Under pretence of betraying the con- 
spiracies of the presbyterians, he had been countenanced by some 



A.D. 1679. WHIG AND TORY. 487 

catholics of condition, and had even been admitted to the duke's 
presence and the king's ; and, under pretence of revealing new 
popish plots he had obtained access to Shaftesbury and some of 
the popular leaders. Which side he intended to cheat is uncertain, 
or whether he did not rather mean to cheat both ; but he soon 
found that the belief of the nation was more open to a popish than 
a presbyterian plot, and he resolved to strike in with the prevailing 
humour. 

The dismissal of Shaftesbury had only made him more violent. 
He got up in the metropolis an immense anti-popery demonstration, 
attended by 200,000 persons, on November 17, queen Elizabeth's 
accession, in which the effigies of the pope and the devil, sir George 
Jeffreys, and others who had provoked his displeasure, were carried 
in procession and burnt at Temple Bar. He sought to win popular 
favour in behalf of Monmouth's pretensions to the throne, as the 
only security against French invaders and popish rebels. To over- 
awe the court, he employed emissaries throughout the country to 
solicit subscriptions to petitions or addresses praying the king for 
the speedy meeting of parliament, in order to resist the ascendency of 
popery and the establishment of despotism. No man understood 
better the arts of inflaming the vilest passions of the multitude, 
and no one was more unscrupulous in using them. Charles was 
greatly angered. The intolerable factiousness of the earl, who 
trusted too much to the king's easiness or indolence, had at last the 
effect of rousing him into resistance. Unlike his father, Charles II. 
had no mind to sacrifice his ease to his principles, or to provoke oppo- 
sition, if he could possibly avoid it. Now his father's fate seemed 
looming over his own head. He swore though the whigs might 
" knock out his brains," they should " never cut off his head." He 
issued a proclamation to every magistrate, threatening with punish- 
ment all those who should subscribe petitions contrary to the laws 
of the land. A reaction followed. The friends of the court came 
forward with addresses expressing their abhorrence of any undue 
interference with the royal prerogative. Thus the two parties ob- 
tained the appellations of addressors and abhorrers. These names 
were soon forgotten. The court party reproached their antagonists 
with their affinity to the fanatical conventiclers in Scotland, who 
were known by the name of Whigs (sour whey) ; the country party 
found a resemblance between the courtiers and the popish banditti 
in Ireland, to whom the appellation of Tory was affixed ; and thus 
these terms came into general use. (Supplement, Note VIII.) 

In order to keep alive the ferment against popery, Shaftesbury 
appeared in Westminster Hall, attended by several persons of dis- 
tinction, and presented to the grand jury of Middlesex the duke of 



488 CHARLES II. Chap. xxv. 

York, who had returned from Scotland in February, 1680, as a popish 
recusant (June 26). While the jury were deliberating, the chief 
justice sent for them, and suddenly dismissed them. Shaftesbury, 
however, obtained his end by showing his followers the desperate 
resolution he had embraced, never to admit of any accommodation 
with the duke, who returned to Scotland (October 20). 

§ 9. The king opened his fourth parliament (October 21, 1680) with 
a speech containing many mollifying expressions, offering to give 
them any satisfaction for the security of the protestant religion ; but 
the commons displayed the most violent and refractory disposition. 
Great numbers of the abhorrers, from all parts of England, were 
seized by their order ; and they renewed the vote of the former 
parliament, which affirmed the reality of the horrid popish plot. 
The whole tribe of informers were applauded and rewarded ; 
and their testimony, however frivolous or absurd, met with a 
favourable reception. The king was applied to in their behalf for 
pensions and pardons ; and doctor Tonge was recommended for the 
first considerable church preferment which should become vacant. 
So much were the popular leaders determined to carry matters to 
extremities, that, in less than a week after the commencement of 
the session, a motion was made for again bringiDg in the Exclusion 
Bill, and a committee was appointed for that purpose. Shaftesbury 
and many considerable men of the party had rendered themselves 
irreconcilable with the duke, and could find their safety no way 
but in his ruin. Monmouth's friends hoped that the exclusion of 
that prince would make way for their patron; and the oountry 
party expected that the king would at last be obliged to yield to 
their demand. Though he had withdrawn his countenance from 
Monmouth, he was known secretly to retain a great affection for 
him. On no occasion had he ever been found to persist obstinately 
against difficulties and importunity ; and as his beloved mistress, 
the duchess of Portsmouth, had been engaged to unite herself with 
the popular party, this incident was regarded as a favourable prog- 
nostic of their success. Sunderland, secretary of state, who had 
linked his interest with that of the duchess, had concurred in the 
same measure. The debates were carried on with great violence on 
both sides. In the House of Commons the bill passed by a great 
majority (November 11). In the House of Peers the contest was 
violent. Shaftesbury, Sunderland, and Essex argued for it ; Hali- 
fax chiefly conducted the debate against it, and displayed an extent 
of capacity, and a force of eloquence, which had never been sur- 
passed in that assembly. The king was present during the whole 
debate, which was prolonged till eleven at night. The bill was thrown 
out by a considerable majority. The commons discovered much 



A.D. 1680-1681. EXECUTION OF STAFFORD. 489 

ill humour at this disappointment. The impeachment of the 
catholic lords in the Tower was revived ; and as viscount Stafford, 
from his age, infirmities, and narrow capacity, was deemed the least 
capable of defending himself, it was determined to make him the 
first victim, that his condemnation might pave the way for a sen- 
tence against the rest. The witnesses produced against the prisoner 
were Oates, Dugdale, and Turberville. The prisoner made a better 
defence than was expected either by his friends or his enemies. 
With a simplicity and tenderness more persuasive than the greatest 
oratory, he still made protestations of his innocence, and could not 
forbear, every moment, expressing the most lively surprise and 
indignation at the audacious impudence of the witnesses. The 
peers, after a solemn trial of six days, gave sentence against him by 
a majority of 24. Stafford received with resignation the fatal ver- 
dict. " God's holy name be praised ! " was the only exclamation 
which he uttered.* On the day of his execution (December 29), the 
populace, who had exulted at Stafford's trial and condemnation, 
were melted into tears at the sight of that tender fortitude which 
shone forth in each feature, motion, and accent of this aged noble. 
Their profound silence was only interrupted by sighs and groans. 
With difficulty they found speech to assent to those protestations 
of innocence which he frequently repeated. " We believe you, my 
lord ! " " God bless you, my lord ! " These expressions flowed from 
them with a faltering accent. The executioner himself was touched 
with sympathy. Twice he lifted up the axe, with an intent to 
strike the fatal blow, and as often felt his resolution to fail him. A 
deep sigh was heard to accompany his last effort, which laid Staf- 
ford for ever at rest. All the spectators seemed to feel the blow ; 
and when the head was held up to -them with the usual cry, "This 
is the head of a traitor ! " no clamour of assent was uttered. Pity, 
remorse, and astonishment had taken possession of every heart, 
and displayed itself in every countenance. This was the last blood 
which was shed on account of the popish plot. The execution of 
Stafford gratified the prejudices of the country party, but it con- 
tributed nothing to their power and security ; on the contrary, by 
exciting commiseration, it tended still further to increase that 
disbelief of the whole plot which now began to prevail. 

§ 10. The violence of the commons continued. On January 5, 
1681, they drew up articles of impeachment against the lord chief 
justice, Scroggs, for discharging the grand jury when the duke of 
York was presented for recusancy. They refused all supplies until 

* It adds to the infamy of these pro- j not a man beloved, especially of his own 
ceedings that his near relations among family," says Evelyn, 
the peers voted against him. " He was 



490 CHARLES II. Chap. xxv. 

the bill of exclusion should be passed. On the 10th they resolved 
that whoever should advise his majesty to prorogue the parliament 
should be adjudged a traitor. Finding them in this humour, the 
king prorogued them on the 10th, and dissolved them nine days after. 
His fifth parliament met at Oxford (March 21, 1681). The leaders 
of the exclusionists came, attended not only by their servants but 
by numerous bands of armed partisans. The four city members in 
particular were followed by great multitudes, wearing ribbons, in 
which were woven these words. No popery ! no slavery ! The king 
had his guards regularly mustered : his party likewise endeavoured 
to make a show of their strength : and, on the whole, the assembly 
at Oxford rather bore the appearance of a tumultuous Polish diet, 
than of a regular English parliament. 

The king, in his speech, offered to adopt any expedients the com- 
mons might propose to allay their fears of a popish successor, without 
altering the succession, and for keeping the administration in pro- 
testant hands. But the commons turned a deaf ear, and fell 
instantly into the same measures as their predecessors had done— 
the impeachment of Danby, the enquiry into the popish plot, and 
the bill of exclusion. So violent were they on this last article, that, 
though one of the king's ministers proposed that the duke of York 
should be banished, during life, 500 miles from England, and that 
on the king's demise the next heir should be constituted regent with 
regal power, even this expedient, which left the duke only the bare 
title of king, could not command the assent of the house. No 
method but their own of excluding the duke could give them any 
satisfaction. As there were no hopes of a compromise, Charles 
again dissolved the parliament, after it had sat only seven days. 
This rigorous measure, though it might have been foreseen, excited 
such astonishment in the country party as deprived them of all 
spirit and reduced them to despair. They were sensible, though 
too late, that the king had finally taken his resolution, and was de- 
termined to endure any extremity rather than submit to the terms 
which they had resolved to impose upon him. They found that 
he had patiently waited till affairs should come to full maturity ; 
and, having now engaged a national party on his side, had boldly 
set his enemies at defiance. The violences of the exclusionists 
were everywhere exclaimed against and aggravated, and even the 
reality of the plot, that great engine of their authority, was now 
openly called in question. The reaction was not a little assisted by a 
declaration published by the king, assigning his reasons for dissolving 
parliament. He insisted on its entire neglect of the public interest, 
and on its factious proceedings ; its arbitary violation of the laws, in 
taking his subjects into custody when its privileges were not con- 



a.d. 1681-1682. TRIAL OF SHAFTESBURY. 



491 



cerned ; its declaring many persons enemies to the king, without 
process of law or hearing their defence ; its pertinacious efforts to 
render him contemptible in the eyes of his subjects, by reducing 
him to the most helpless condition. This declaration was received 
with enthusiasm ; loyal addresses poured in, congratulating the king 
on his deliverance from the republicans, and offering support. The 
celebrated political satire of Dryden, called " Absalom and Achi- 
tophel," holding up to unsparing ridicule the characters and pre- 
tensions of the whig leaders, helped still further to turn the scale ; 
and, instead of being assailed, the king was now in a condition to 
become the aggressor. The gang of spies, witnesses, and informers, 
who had so long been supported and encouraged by the leading 
patriots, finding now that the king was entirely master, turned short 
upon their old patrons, the whigs, and offered their services to the 
ministers. One College, a London joiner, who had become extremely 
noted for his zeal against popery, and who had been in Oxford, 
armed with sword and pistol, during the sitting of the parliament, 
was indicted for conspiracy. The witnesses produced against him 
were Dugdale, Turberville, and others who had before given evi- 
dence against the catholics. College was condemned, and the. 
verdict was received with shouts of applause (August 17). 




Medal struck in commemoration of the acquittal of the earl of Shaftesbury. Obv. 

ANTONIO C< 'MITI DB SHAFTESBURY. Bust to right. Eev. : LvETAMVR ; a view of 

London, with the sun appearing from behind a cloud ; below, 24 nov. 1681. 

§ 11. The court now aimed their next blow at Shaftesbury ; and 
Turberville, Smith, and others, gave information of high treason 
against their former patron. There was found in his possession a 
manifesto against the duke of York, and indications of a design 
(as it was said) to compel the king to submit to the terms imposed 
upon him by the whigs. He was committed to prison, and his 
indictment was presented to the grand jury ; but the sheriffs of 



492 CHARLES II. Chap. xxv. 

London were engaged deeply to the country party, and they took 
care to name a jury devoted to the same cause. As far as swearing 
could go, the treason was proved against Shaftesbury. That veteran 
leader of a party, inured from his early youth to faction and 
intrigue, to cabals and conspiracies, was represented as betray- 
ing without reserve his treasonable intentions, and throwing out 
outrageous reproaches upon the king, such as none but men of low 
education could be supposed to employ. The grand jury rejected 
the indictment. The people in court testified their joy by their ac- 
clamations, which were echoed throughout the city (November 24, 
1681). 

In March, 1682, the duke of York left Scotland to visit the king 
at Newmarket, and so great was the change in the feelings of the 
city, that the mayor and corporation thought good to congratulate 
the king, at his return, on the safe arrival of the duke. Shortly 
before, the duke had held a parliament in Scotland, in which a test 
act had been framed, binding all persons from attempting any 
alteration in church and state. When the earl of Argyle was 
summoned to take the test, he attempted to make distinctions, 
which the crown lawyers there interpreted into a capital offence. 
He was imprisoned and condemned, but made his escape into 
Holland, and his estate was confiscated. The duke on his return 
to Scotland was shipwrecked (May 5). The frigate struck upon 
a rock; among the few survivors was Churchill, afterwards the 
famous duke of Marlborough, who owed his safety mainly to the 
efforts of the duke. Having constituted the Scotch council, the duke 
returned to England (May 27), was met by the king, congratulated 
by the citizens, and bonfires were lighted in honour of his safe 
return. Charles, however, still countenanced the duke's opponent, 
Halifax, whom he created a marquess, and made privy seal. Halifax 
maintained a species of neutrality between the parties, and was 
esteemed the head of that small body known by the denomination 
of Trimmers. Sunderland, more of a trimmer even than Halifax, 
who had promoted the Exclusion Bill, and had been displaced on 
that account, was, with the duke's consent, again brought into 
the administration. Hyde, created earl of Rochester, was first com- 
missioner of the treasury, and was entirely in the duke's interests. 
As the power of the whigs was greatest in the corporate towns, it was 
resolved to proceed against them by a writ of quo warranto, which 
would lead to a strict inquiry by what warrant they claimed their 
rights and privileges. The attack began upon London. After 
lengthy proceedings, it was declared to have forfeited its charter 
by imposing an illegal tax, and by circulating a libel upon the king, 
charging him with interfering with the liberties of his subjects by 



A.D. 1682. DEATH OF SHAFTESBURY. 493 

the prorogation of parliament. The common council petitioned and 
obtained a restoration of their former franchises ; the king retaining 
a veto, which is still exercised, on the appointment of the lord 
mayor, the sheriffs, the recorder, and other influential officers. These 
reforms were advantageous and honourable to the city, whatever 
opinion may be formed as to the means by which they were intro- 
duced. A similar course was taken, for the next five years, with 
other corporations, and procured both power and profit to the crown. 

§ 12. In the spring of 1681, when the king was seized with a fit 
of sickness at Windsor, the duke of Monmouth, lord William 
Eussell, and others, instigated by the restless Shaftesbury, had 
agreed, in case it should prove mortal, to rise in arms and to oppose 
the succession of the duke. Charles recovered, but these dangerous 
projects were not laid aside. Shaftesbury's imprisonment and trial 
put an end for some time to these machinations ; and it was not 
till the new sheriffs of London were chosen, after much dispute, 
that they were revived. Monmouth made a sort of triumphal pro- 
gress through the country, doubtless at the suggestion of Shaftes- 
bury. The gentry and nobility in several counties of England were 
solicited to rise in arms. The whole train was ready to take fire, 
but was prevented by the caution of lord Eussell, who induced 
Monmouth to delay the enterprise. Shaftesbury left his house and 
secretly lurked in the city. Enraged at perpetual cautions and 
delays in an enterprise which he thought nothing but courage and 
celerity could render effectual, he retired into Holland (October 19, 
1682), where he died next year (January 22). 

After Shaftesbury's flight, the conspirators with some difficulty 
renewed their correspondence with the city malcontents, and a 
regular project of an insurrection was again formed. A council of 
six was erected, consisting of Monmouth, Eussell, Essex,* lord 
Howard of Escrick, Algernon Sidney, and John Hampden, grand- 
son of the great parliamentary leader. These men entered into an 
agreement with Argyle and the Scottish malcontents, and insur- 
rections were anew projected in Cheshire and the west, as well as 
in the city. The conspirators differed extremely in their views. 
Sidney and Essex were for a commonwealth. Monmouth enter- 
tained hopes of acquiring the crown. Eussell, as well as Hampden, 
intended only the exclusion of the duke and the redress of 
grievances. Lord Howard was ready to embrace any party or 
design recommended by his immediate interest. While these 



* The title of earl of Essex became 
extinct on tbe death of the parliamentary 
general in 1646. The earl of Essex men- 
tioned in the text was the son of lord 
23 



Capel, beheaded in 1649 for his loyalty to 
Charles I. He was created earl of Essex 
in 1061, and was tbe aucestor of the present 
earl. 



494 CHARLES II. Chap. xxv. 

schemes were concerted among the leaders, there was an inferioi 
order of conspirators who carried on a project of their own. Rum- 
bold, an old republican officer, was a maltster, and possessed a 
farm called the Rye-house, which lay on the road to Newmarket, 
whither Charles commonly went once a year for the diversion of 
the races. A plan was formed by overturning a cart to stop the 
king's coach at that place, while they might fire upon him from 
the hedges, and be enabled afterwards, through by-lanes and across 
the fields, to make their escape. The scheme was disconcerted 
by the king leaving Newmarket eight days sooner than he in- 
tended (March 26, 1 688), in consequence of a fire. Some of the 
conspirators betrayed the plot ; and colonel Rumsey, who was ac- 
quainted with the conspiracy of Monmouth and the others, informed 
the government that the, latter had been accustomed to hold their 
meetings at the house of Shepherd, an eminent wine merchant in 
the city. Shepherd was immediately apprehended, and had not 
courage to maintain fidelity to his confederates (July). Upon his 
information, orders were issued for arresting the noblemen engaged 
in the conspiracy. Monmouth absconded ; Russell was sent to the 
Tower ; Howard was taken, while he concealed himself in a chimney, 
and scrupled not, in hopes of pardon, to reveal the whole conspiracy. 
Essex, Sidney, and Hampden were immediately apprehended upon 
his evidence. Several of the conspirators in the Rye-house plot 
were condemned and executed. From their trial and confession it 
was sufficiently apparent that the plan of an insurrection had been 
regularly formed, and that even the assassination had been often 
talked of, not without the approbation of many of their confederates. 
Lord Russell was next brought to trial. The witnesses produced 
against him were Rumsey, Shepherd, and lord Howard. On the 
whole, it was undoubtedly proved that the insurrection had been 
deliberated on by the prisoner, and fully resolved ; a surprisal of 
the guards deliberated on, but not fully resolved ; but Howard, the 
principal witness, stopped short of accusing him of any design 
upon the king's life. Russell contented himself with protesting 
that he had never been guilty of any such intention; but his veracity 
would not allow him to deny the conspiracy for an insurrection. 
The jury were men of fair and reputable characters, but zealous 
royalists ; after a short deliberation, they brought in the prisoner 
guilty. Applications were made to the king for a pardon. It is 
said that money to the amount of 50,000Z. was offered to the duchess 
of Portsmouth by the old earl of Bedford, father to Russell. The 
king was inexorable, and would go no further than remitting the 
more ignominious part of the sentence, which the law requires to be 
pronounced against traitors. Russell's consort, a woman of virtue, 



A.D. 1683. EXECUTION OF KUSSELL AND SYDNEY. 495 

daughter and heiress of the good earl of Southampton, threw herself 
at the king's feet, and pleaded with many tears the merits and 
loyalty of her father as an atonement for those errors, into which 
honest, however mistaken, principles had seduced her husband. 
But finding all applications vain, she collected courage, and not 
only fortified herself against the fatal blow, but endeavoured by her 
example to strengthen the resolution of her unfortunate lord. With 
a tender and decent composure they took leave of each other on 
the day of his execution. " The bitterness of death is now past," 
said he, when he turned from her. The scaffold was erected in 
Lincoln's Inn Fields. Without the least change of countenance, 
he laid his head on the block, and at two strokes it was severed 
from his body (July 21, 1683). 

On the day that lord Russell was tried, Essex was found in the 
Tower with his throat cut. The coroner's jury brought in a verdict 
of self-murder. Essex was subject to fits of deep melancholy ; yet 
the murder was unscrupulously ascribed to the king and the duke, 
who happened that morning to pay a visit to the Tower. 

Algernon Sidney was next brought to his trial. This gallant 
person, son of the earl of Leicester, was in principle a republican, 
and had entered deeply into the war against the late king. He had 
been named on the high court of justice which tried and condemned 
that monarch, but he thought not proper to take his seat among 
the judges, and had opposed Cromwell's usurpation with zeal and 
courage. After the Restoration he went into voluntary banishment ; 
but in 1677, having obtained the king's pardon, he returned to 
England. When the factions arising from the popish plot began 
to run high, Sidney, full of those ideas of liberty which he had 
imbibed from the great examples of antiquity, joined the popular 
party ; but his temper was sullen and morose, his conduct deficient 
in practical good sense, and his fame tarnished by acceptance of 
bribes from the French king. The only witness who deposed 
against Sidney was lord Howard ; but as the law required two 
witnesses, the deficiency was supplied by producing some of 
his papers, in which he maintained the lawfulness of resisting 
tyrants, and the preference of liberty to the government of a single 
person. Sir George Jeffreys, who had been created lord chief 
justice (September 23), presided at the trial, and the jury was easily 
prevailed on to give a verdict against Sidney. His execution followed 
a few days after (December 7) ; but he had too much greatness of 
mind to deny those conspiracies with Monmouth and Russell in 
which he had been an accomplice. He rather gloried that he now 
suffered " for that good old cause in which he had been engaged," 
as he said, " from his earliest youth." 



496 CHAKLES II. Chap. xxv. 

Howard was also the sole evidence against Hampden. He was 
convicted only of misdemeanour, but the fine imposed upon him 
was no less than 4O,O00Z. 

§ 13. Some other memorable causes were tried about this time. 
Oates, convicted of having called the duke a popish traitor, was 
condemned in damages to the amount of 100,000Z. (June 18, 1684). 
Sir Samuel Barnardiston was fined 10,000Z. because, in some private 
letters, which had been intercepted, he had reflected on the govern- 
ment, asserting that the plot for which Eussell and Sidney were 
condemned was a sham (February 14). 

Monmouth had absconded on the first discovery of the conspiracy ; 
but Halifax, having discovered his retreat, prevailed on him to write 
two letters to the king full of the tenderest and most submissive 
expressions. The king's fondness revived ; he permitted Monmouth 
to come to court on condition of his making a confession of his 
offences. He obtained his pardon in due form ; but finding that 
by taking this step he was entirely disgraced with his party, he 
instructed his emissaries to deny that he had ever made any such 
confession as that which was imputed to him, asserting it was an 
imposture of the court. Provoked at this conduct, the king 
banished Monmouth from his presence, and afterwards ordered 
him to quit the kingdom. 

§ 14. The duke of York now exercised great influence. Through 
his mediation Danby and the popish lords who had so long been 
confined in the Tower were admitted to bail — a measure just in 
itself, but deemed a great encroachment on the privileges of par- 
liament. The duke, who had been specially exempted from the 
Test Act, was restored to the office of high-admiral. But James's 
hasty counsels gave the king uneasiness. He was one day over- 
heard to say, " Brother, I am too old to go again on my travels ; 
you may if you choose it." 

On the 2nd February, 1685, the king was seized with a sudden 
fit, which resembled an apoplexy ; and though he recovered from it 
by bleeding, he languished only a few days, and expired on the 6th, 
in the 55th year of his age and the 25th of his reign. He was 
so happy in a good constitution of body, and had ever been so 
remarkably careful of his health, that his death struck as great a 
surprise into his subjects as if he had been cut off in the flower 
of his youth. At the solicitation of the duke of York, he received 
the rites of the Eomish church in his last illness. In society, 
Charles II. was the most amiable and engaging of men. This, indeed, 
is the most shining part of his character ; and he seems to have 
been sensible of it, for he was fond of dropping the formality of 
state, and of relapsing every moment into the companion. In his 



a.d. 1684-1685. 



HIS CHARACTER. 



497 



relations with the other sex he was loose and immorai. Yet he 
was a friendly brother, an indulgent father, and a good-natured 
master. As a sovereign his character was dangerous to his people, 
and dishonourable to himself. Negligent of the true interests of 
the nation, he was sparing only of its blood. It was remarked to 
Charles that he never said a foolish thing, nor ever did a wise one ; 
which he admitted, observing that his words were his own, but 
his actions were his ministers'.* 



* Hi3 favourite son, the duke of Mon- 
mouth, by Lucy Walters, was beheaded 
in the following reign, and left no issue. 
By the duchess of Cleveland (Barbara 
Villiers) he had three sons, the duke of 
Southampton, the duke of Grafton (an- 
cestor of the present duke), and the duke 



of Northumberland. The duke of Rich- 
mond (the ancestor of the present duke) 
was his son by the duchess of Portsmouth 
(Louise de Querouaille) ; and the duke 
of St. Albans (also the ancestor of the 
present duke) was his son by Eleanor 
Gwynu. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



HABEAS CORPUS ACT. 
31 Car. II. c. 2 (a.d. 1679). 

This celebrated statute did not intro- 
duce any new principle, but only con- 
firmed and rendered more available a 
remedy which had long existed. "The 
writ of Habeas Corpus, requiring a return 
of the body imprisoned and the cause of 
his detention, and hence anciently called 
corpus cum causa, was in familiar use 
between subject and subject in the reign 
of Henry VI. Its use by a subject against 
the crown has not been traced during the 
time of the Plantagenet dynasty ; the 
earliest precedents known being of the 
date of Henry VII." (See Amos, The 
English Constitution in the Reign of 
Charles II, p. 171, and the authorities 
there quoted.) The privilege of Habeas 
Cmpus was twice solemnly confirmed in 
the reign of Charles I., first by the Peti- 
tion of Right (1628), and secondly by the 
statute abolishing the Star Chamber and 
other arbitrary courts (1640), which con- 
tained a clause that any person impri- 
soned by orders of the abolished courts, 
or by command or warrant of the king or 
any of his council, should he entitled to a 
writ of Habeas Corpus from the courts of 
King's Bench or Common Pleas, without 
delay upon any pretence whatsoever. 
But as Charles II . and his ministers still 



found means to evade these enactments, 
the celebrated statute was passed in 1679, 
known as the Habeas Corpus Act. Its 
principal author was lord Shaftesbury, 
and it was for many years called " Lord 
Shaftesbury's Act." It enacts :— 

"1. That on complaint and request in 
writing by or on behalf of any person 
committed and charged with any crime 
(unless committed for treason or felony 
expressed in the warrant ; or as accessory 
or on suspicion of being accessory before 
the fact to any petit treason or felony ; or 
upon suspicion of such petit treason or 
felony plainly expressed in the warrant ; 
or unless he is convicted or charged in 
execution by legal process), the lord chan- 
cellor, or any of the judges in vacation, 
upon viewing a copy of the warrant or 
affidavit that a copy is denied, shall (un- 
less the party has neglected for two terms 
to apply to any court for his enlargement) 
award a habeas corpus for such prisoner, 
returnable immediately before himself or 
any other of the judges ; and upon the re- 
turn made shall discharge the party, if 
bailable, upon giving security to appear 
and answer to the accusation in the 
proper court of judicature. 2. That such 
writs shall be indorsed as granted in pur- 
suance of this act, and signed by the per- 
son awarding them. 3. That the writ 
shall be returned and the prisoner brought 



498 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. xxv. 



up within a limited time according to the 
distance, not exceeding in any case twenty 
days. 4. That officers and keepers neg- 
lecting to make due returns, or not 
delivering to the prisoner or his agent 
within six hours after demand a copy of 
the warrant of commitment, or shifting 
the custody of the prisoner from one to 
another without sufficient reason or 
authority (specified in the act), shall for 
the first offence forfeit 1001., and for the 
second offence 2001., to the party grieved, 
and be disabled to hold his office. 5. That 
no person once delivered by habeas 
corpus shall be recommitted for the 
same offence, on penalty of 500J. 6. That 
every person committed for treason or 
felony shall, if he requires it, the first 
week of the next term, or the first day of 
the next session of oyer and terminer, be 
indicted In that term or session, or else 
admitted to bail, unless the king's wit- 
nesses cannot be produced at that time ; 
and if acquitted, or not indicted and tried 
in the second term or session, he shall be 
discharged from his imprisonment for 
such imputed offence; but that no per- 
son, after the assizes shall be open for the 
county in which he is detained, shall be 
removed by habeas corpus till after the 
assizes are ended, but shall be left to the 
justice of the judges of assize. 7. That 
any such prisoner may move for and 
obtain his habeas corpus as well out of 



the Chancery or Exchequer as out of the 
King's Bench or Common Pleas ; and the 
lord chancellor or judges denying the 
same on sight of the warrant or oath that 
the same is refused, forfeits severally to 
the party grieved the sum of 5001. 8. 
That this writ of habeas corpus shall run 
into the counties palatine, cinque ports, 
and other privileged places, and the 
islands of Jersey and Guernsey. 9. That 
no inhabitant of England (except persons 
contracting or convicts praying to be 
transported, or having committed some 
capital offence in the place to which they 
are sent) shall be sent prisoner to Scot- 
land, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, or any 
places beyond the seas within or without 
the king's dominions, on pain that the 
party committing, his advisers, aiders, 
and assistants, shall forfeit to the party 
aggrieved a sum not less than 500Z., to be 
recovered with treble costs ; shall be dis- 
abled to bear any office of trust or profit ; 
shall incur the penalties of praemunire ; 
and shall be incapable of the king's 
pardon ." 

The Habeas Corpus Act was confined 
to criminal cases, but by the 56 Geo. III. 
c. 100, it was extended not only to cases 
of illegal restraint by subject on subject, 
but also to those in which the crown has 
an interest, as in instances of impress- 
ment or smuggling.— See Kerr's Black- 
stone, iii. 137 ; Amos, p, 201. 




Obverse of medal of James II. and Mary of Modena. iacobvs . ii . et . maeia . d . G . 
mag . bei . fean . et . hib . eex . et . eegina. Busts of king and queen to right. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

james n., K a.d. 1633; r. 1685-1688; oh. 1701. 

§ 1. Accession of James. His arbitrary proceedings. Conviction and 
punishment of Titus Oates. § 2. Invasion and execution of Argyle. 
Monmouth's invasion, defeat, and execution. § 3. Cruelties of Kirke 
and Jeffreys. § 4. A parliament. Popish measures. § 5. Court of 
High Commission revived. Sentence against the bishop of London. 
Penal laws suspended. Embassy to Rome. § 6. The king's violent 
proceedings with corporations. Affair of Magdalen college. Imprison- 
ment and trial of the seven bishops. § 7. Birth of the prince of Wales. 
Conduct of the prince of Orange. § 8. Coalition of parties in his 
favour. The king retracts his measures. § 9. The prince of Orange 
lands at Torbay. The king deserted by the army and by his family. 
§ 10. The king's flight. His character. § 11. Convention summoned. 
Debates. Settlement of the crown. § 12. Review of the Stuart 
dynasty. Principles of government. § 13. Foreign affairs. § 14. 
Internal state of England. § 15. Revenue. Army and navy. § 16. 
Colonies and commerce. § 17. Manners, literature, art, etc. 

§ 1. The first act of James's reign was to summon the privy 
counoil, where, after some praises bestowed on the memory of his 
predecessor, " I shall make it my endeavour," he said, " to preserve 
the government, both in church and state, as it is now by law estab- 
lished." But the first exercise of his authority seemed little in 
harmony with these professions. Before parliament could be as- 



500 JAMES II. Chap. xxvi. 

sembled, he issued a proclamation, ordering the customs and excise 
to be collected as usual. He excused this act by stating that the 
necessities of trade required it, and that the forthcoming parliament 
would settle, without doubt, a sufficient revenue on the crown for 
the service of government. He went openly, and in royal state, to 
mass, and liberated from prison, on his own authority, Romanists 
and nonconformists. The earl of Danby and the Roman catholic 
lords committed to the Tower on the charge of Titus Oates were 
brought to the bar of the House of Lords and discharged. Neverthe- 
less all the chief offices of the crown continued still in the hands of 
protestants. Rochester was made treasurer ; his brother Clarendon 
lord privy seal ; Godolphin chamberlain to the queen ; Sunderland 
secretary of state ; Halifax president of the council. On the 23rd 
of April James and his queen were crowned by archbishop Sancroft 
in Westminster Abbey. The communion and a few minor cere- 
monies only were omitted. Parliament assembled on May 19. 
Many of the new House of Commons were strongly biased in favour 
of the crown, but it also contained no small number of the king's 
former enemies, the exclusionists. On the 22nd the king repeated 
the declaration he had already made, adding that he desired the 
continuance of his revenues as they were granted to his predecessor. 
To this the commons unanimously assented, proposing to assist 
him with their lives and fortunes against the earl of Argyle, who 
had broken out into rebellion. 

Three days before the meeting of parliament Oates was convicted 
of perjury on two indictments, was fined 1000 marks on each, and 
sentenced to be whipped on two different days from Aldgate to 
Newgate, and from Newgate to Tyburn, to be imprisoned during 
life, and to stand in the pillory five times every year. Oates 
survived this terrible sentence. At the Revolution he was sought 
out by William III., received from the king a pension, and died 
in 1705. 

§ 2. Monmouth, when ordered to depart the kingdom during the 
late reign, had retired to Holland, where he was well received by 
the prince of Orange. Pushed on by his followers, and especially by 
the earl of Argyle, contrary to his judgment as well as inclination, 
he made a rash and premature descent upon England. The fate 
of Argyle, however, was decided before that of Monmouth. Having 
landed in Argyleshire in May, 1685, he collected and armed a 
body of about 2500 men ; but his small and still decreasing army, 
after wandering about for a little time, was at last dissipated with- 
out a battle. Argyle himself, in attempting to escape, was seized 
and carried to Edinburgh, where, after enduring many indignities 
with a gallant spirit, he was publicly executed (June 30). 



a.d. 1685, DEFEAT OF MONMOUTH. 501 

Meanwhile Monmouth, leaving Holland in three ships, with a 
small force of 150 men, but with equipments for an army, had 
landed at Lyme in Dorsetshire (June 11). So popular was his name, 
that in four days he had assembled above 2000 horse and foot. Most 
of them were tbe lowest of the people ; and the declaration which he 
published was chiefly calculated to suit the prejudices of the vulgar, 
or the most bigoted of the whig party. He called the king, duke of 
York ; and denominated him a traitor, a tyrant, an assassin, and a 
popish usurper. He imputed to him the fire of London, the murder 
of Godfrey and of Essex, nay, the poisoning of the late king; and 
he invited all the people to join in opposition to his tyranny. 

At Taunton, where twenty-six young maids presented him with a 
pair of colours, their handiwork, together with a copy of the Bible, 
Monmouth took upon himself the title of king. His numbers had 
now increased to 5000 ; and he was obliged every day, for want 
of arms, to dismiss many who crowded to his standard. He entered 
Bridgewater, Wells, Frome, and was proclaimed in all these places ; 
but forgetting that such desperate enterprises can only be ren- 
dered successful by the most adventurous courage, he allowed the 
expectations of the people to languish, without attempting any 
considerable undertaking. 

The king's forces, under the command of Feversham and 
Churchill, now advanced against him ; and Monmouth, observing 
that no considerable persons joined him, finding that an insurrection 
which was projected in the city had not taken place, and hearing 
that Argyle, his confederate, was already defeated and taken, sunk 
into despondency. He had resolved to withdraw, and leave his 
unhappy followers to their fate ; but was encouraged, by the negli- 
gent disposition made by Feversham, to attack the king's army 
at Sedgemoor, near Bridgewater, and might have obtained a victory 
had not his own misconduct and the cowardice of lord Grey, who 
commanded his cavalry, prevented it. After a combat of three 
hours the rebels gave way, and were pursued with great slaughter 
(July 6). Monmouth fled from the field of battle above 20 miles, 
till his horse sank under him. He then changed clothes with a 
peasant in order to conceal himself. The peasant was discovered 
by the pursuers, who now redoubled the diligence of their search. 
At last the unhappy Monmouth was found lying at the bottom 
of a ditch, covered with fern, in Cranborn Chase; his body de- 
pressed with fatigue and hunger ; his mind, by the memory of past 
misfortunes, and by the prospect of future disasters (July 8). He 
burst into tears when seized by his enemies, and he seemed still 
to indulge the fond hope and desire of life. He wrote to James 
a most submissive letter, conjuring him to spare the issue of a 
23* 



502 JAMES II. Chap. xxvr. 

brother who had always been strongly attached to his interest. 
He had a secret, he said, to reveal, of the utmost importance to the 
kind's safety. Brought to London five days after, he stood before 
the king with his hands free and his arms tied behind him. Twice 
he fell on his knees and begged his life with the most abject 
entreaties. But James remained inexorable. Either Monmouth 
had no secret to reveal or on reflection altered his mind. "Is 
there no hope for me, sire ? " said the unhappy prisoner. James 
made no reply. The same day the duke w£f attainted in parlia- 
ment. He prepared himself for death, with a spirit better suited 
to his rank and character. He appeared on the scaffold, on Tower 
Hill, in a long peruke and a grey suit lined with black. He warned 
the executioner not to fall into the error which he had committed 
in beheading Kussell, where it had been necessary to repeat the 
blow. The precaution served only to dismay the executioner. He 
struck a feeble blow on Monmouth, who raised his head from the 
block and looked him in the face, as if reproaching him for his 
failure. He then laid down his head a second time, and the 
executioner struck him again, to no purpose. Throwing aside the 
axe, he cried out that he was incapable of finishing the bloody office. 
The sheriff obliged him to renew the attempt, and at two blows 
more the head was severed from the body, amidst the tears of the 
spectators (July 15, 1685). 

§ 3. When Monmouth fled, the peasants and miners fought 
bravely, and 300 of the royal troops fell dead on the field. Fever- 
sham pursued the fugitives, and hanged 20 prisoners without trial ; 
but he was outdone by Colonel Kirke, a soldier of fortune, who 
had long served at Tangier, and had contracted, from his inter- 
course with the Moors, an inhumanity less known in European and 
in free countries. At his entry into Bridgewater, three days after 
the battle, he executed nine of the insurgents for high treason, with- 
out any trial. Other barbarous actions are related of him and his 
soldiers, whom, by way of pleasantry, he used to call his lambs, 
from the device which they bore on their colours, an appellation 
long remembered with horror in the west of England.* 

To punish those who had taken part in the rebellion, the lord 
chief justice, Jeffreys, was sent into^the west, with four other 
judges, to try the rebel prisoners (August 26). He opened his 



* This was the ensign they had adopted 
in their wars with the Moors to signify 
that they were Christians. Coarse, how- 
ever, and brutal as Kirke and Jeffreys 
might be, these and similar stories must 
not be implicitly accepted. Many of 
them were gross exaggerations ; many 



were fabrications to serve the purposes 
of the Revolution, and render the reign 
of James more odious by the contrast. 
It was in Somersetshire, and at Taunton 
in particular, that James II. found his 
warmest adherents in 1692. 



a.d. 1685. EXECUTION OF ARGYLE. 503 

court at Winchester with the trial of Mrs. Alice Lisle, the widow 
of one of king Charles's judges. She was convicted of harbouring 
two of the rebels, and, with great barbarity, was sentenced to 
be burnt. Through the influence of the clergy she obtained a 
respite, but only to suffer death by beheading (September 2). 
The commission passed through the tainted districts, complying 
strictly with the legal forms, but with indecent haste, and marking 
all their proceedings with merciless severity. Women as well as 
men were condemned and executed for harbouring those who had 
taken part in the rebellion; and, according to the barbarous 
usage of the times, in the case of treason, their mangled limbs 
were exposed in the streets, the highways, and on public buildings, 
to strike the passers-by with the greater terror. Besides Mrs. 
Lisle, the burning of Mrs. Gaunt, for a similar offence, was espe- 
cially cruel and unjust.* In this way, it has been computed that 
more than 200 persons suffered. Even those who received pardon 
were obliged to atone for their guilt by fines which reduced them 
to beggary ; or, where their former poverty made them incapable 
of paying, were condemned to cruel whippings or severe imprison- 
ments. Jeffreys was soon after created chancellor (September 28). 
The insurrection in Scotland was quelled with little bloodshed. The 
Scotch parliament showed entire subserviency to the government. 
§ 4. On November 9, at the opening of parliament, James 
avowed his gratitude to many catholic officers who had distin- 
guished themselves in his service, and his determination to pro- 
tect them. The declaration struck terror into the church, which 
had hitherto been the chief support of monarchy ; and it even dis- 
gusted the army. At the same time the revocation by Louis XIV. 
of the edict of Nantes, granted by Henry IV. in favour of his 
protestant subjects, tended mightily to excite the animosity of the 
nation against the Eoman catholics. Above 500,000 of the most 
useful and industrious subjects deserted France; and exported, 
together with immense sums of money, those arts and manufactures 
which had chiefly tended to enrich that kingdom. Nearly 
50,000 refugees passed over into England ; and all men were dis- 
posed, from their representations, to entertain the utmost horror 
of the projects which they apprehended to be formed by the king 
for the abolition of the protestant religion. The smallest approach 
towards the introduction of popery, in the present disposition of the 
people, afforded reason for jealousy. Yet the king was resolute ; and, 
having failed to convince the parliament, he made an attempt, with 
more success, for establishing his dispensing power by a verdict of 
the judges (December). A feigned action was instituted. Sir 
* She was condemned by eight of the Judges, but Jeffreys was not of the number. 



<..■• 



504 JAMES II. Chat, xxvi. 

Edward Hales, a new proselyte, Lad accepted a commission of 
colonel ; and directions were given to his coachman to prosecute 
him for the penalty of 500Z. which the Test Act had granted to 
informers (June 16, 1686). Before the cause was tried, four of the 
judges — Jones, Montague, Charlton, and Nevil — were displaced 
(April 21). Sir Edward Herbert, the chief justice, declared that 
there was nothing with which the king might not dispense ; and 
when the matter was referred to the judges, eleven out of the twelve 
adhered to this decision. The nation thought the dispensing 
power dangerous, if not fatal, to liberty. It was not likely that 
an authority which James had assumed through so many obstacles 
would in his hands lie long idle and unemployed. Four catholic 
lords were brought into the privy council — Powys, Arundel, Bellasis, 
and Dover (August 16, 1686). Halifax had been dismissed already, 
and the office of privy seal given to Arundel. The king was open 
as well as zealous in his desire of making converts ; and men plainly 
saw that the only way to acquire his affection and confidence was to 
sacrifice their religion. Sunderland had not scrupled to gain favour 
at this price, and Rochester, the treasurer, though the king's brother- 
in-law, had been turned out of office because he refused to give a 
similar instance of complaisance (December, 1685). The treasury 
was put in commission, and Bellasis was placed at the head of it. 
In Scotland James's zeal for proselytism was still more successful. 
In Ireland the mask was wholly taken off. The duke of Ormond had 
been recalled (March 27, 1685), and the whole power lodged in the 
hands of Talbot, soon after created earl of Tyrconnel — a man carried 
away by the blindness of his prejudices, and the fury of his temper, 
with immeasurable ardour for the catholic cause. Protestants were 
disarmed on pretence of securing the public peace. The army was 
new-modelled ; the militia, with most of its officers, being pro- 
testants, and consisting of 4000 or 5000 men, were disbanded, and 
deprived of their arms and regimentals. When Clarendon, who had 
been named lord-lieutenant, came over, he soon found that, as he 
had refused to give the king the desired pledge of fidelity by 
changing his religion, he possessed little credit or authority ; and he 
was even a kind of prisoner in the hands of Tyrconnel. All judi- 
cious persons of the Roman catholic communion were disgusted 
with these violent measures, and easily foresaw the consequences. 

§ 5. The proceedings of the court awakened the alarm of the 
established church. Instead of avoiding controversy, according to 
the king's injunctions, the preachers everywhere declaimed against 
popery ; and among the rest, doctor Sharp, rector of St. Giles's, 
London, particularly distinguished himself. His discourses gave 
great offence at court ; and positive orders were issued to Compton, 



a.d. 1C86. THE BISHOP OF LONDON SUSPENDED. 505 

bishop of London, to suspend Sharp till his majesty's further pleasure 
(June, 1686). The prelate replied that he was not empowered to in- 
flict punishment in such a summary manner, even upon the greatest 
delinquent. But neither this obvious reason, nor the most dutiful 
submissions, both of the prelate and of Sharp himself, could appease 
the king. The court of High Commission had been abolished in the 
reign of Charles I. by act of parliament ; and although that act 
was partly repealed after the Eestoration, yet the clause was 
retained which prohibited its re-erection in all future times. An 
ecclesiastical commission was issued anew, almost in the words 
which created the court under Elizabeth, and seven commissioners 
were vested with full and unlimited authority over the church of 
England (August 16, 1686). The bishop of London was cited 
before them, and by a majority of votes he, as well as Sharp, was 
suspended. 

Almost the whole of this short reign consists of attempts, always 
imprudent, often illegal, sometimes both, against whatever was 
most loved and revered by the nation. Not content with granting 
dispensations to particular persons, the king assumed a power of 
issuing a declaration of general indulgence, and of suspending at 
once all the penal statutes, by which conformity was required to 
the established religion. In this declaration he promised that he 
would maintain his loving subjects in all their properties and pos- 
sessions, as well of church and abbey lands as of any other. Men 
thought that if the full establishment of popery were not at hand, 
this promise was quite superfluous ; and they concluded that the 
king was so replete with joy on the prospect of that glorious event, 
that he could not, even for a moment, refrain from expressing it. 
But what afforded the most alarming prospect was the continuance 
and even increase of the violent and precipitate conduct of affairs 
in Ireland. Clarendon was dismissed, and Tyrconnel set in his 
place. The catholics were put in possession of the council-table, 
of the courts of judicature, and of the bench of justices. The 
charters of Dublin and of all the corporations were annulled ; and 
new charters were granted, subjecting the corporations to the will 
of the sovereign. The protestant freemen were expelled, and catho- 
lics introduced ; and as they were always the majority in number, 
they were now invested with the whole power of the kingdom. 
But, not content with discovering in his own kingdom the im- 
prudence of his conduct, the king was resolved that all Europe 
should be witness of it. He publicly sent the earl of Castlemaine 
as ambassador extraordinary to Eome, in order to express his obedi- 
ence to the pope, and to make advances for reconciling his king- 
doms, in form, to the catholic communion. : The pope in return 



506 JAMES II. Chap. xxvi. 

sent Francisco d'Adda as nuncio to England (July 3, 1687) ; and 
though any communication with the pope was treason, yet so little 
regard did the king pay to the laws that he gave the nuncio a 
puhlic and solemn reception at Windsor. Four catholic bishops 
were publicly consecrated in the king's chapel ; the regular clergy 
of that communion appeared at court in the habits of their order; 
and some of them were so indiscreet as to boast that in a little time 
they hoped to walk in procession through the capital. Disgusted 
with these proceedings, the earl of Shrewsbury, lord Lumley, and 
admiral Herbert resigned. The whole conduct of affairs fell into 
the hands of the earl of Sunderland and father Petre, of whom the 
former was as dishonest as the latter was incapable. 

§ 6. By the practice of annulling the charters, the king had be- 
come master of all the corporations, and could at pleasure change 
everywhere the whole magistracy. The church party, therefore, 
was deprived of authority; and, by an unnatural and impolitic 
coalition, the dissenters were, first in London and afterwards in 
every other corporation, substituted in their place. Not content 
with this violent and dangerous innovation, the king appointed 
certain regulators to examine the qualifications of electors; and 
directions were given them to exclude all such as adhered to the 
(est and penal statutes. He sought to bring over the chief public 
functionaries to his views in private conferences which were then 
called closetings. The whole power in Ireland had been committed 
to catholics. In Scotland, the ministers whom the king chiefly 
trusted were converts to that religion. The great offices in England, 
civil and military, were gradually transferred from the protestants. 
Nothing remained but to open the door in the church and univer- 
sities to the intrusion of the catholics, and it was not long before 
the king made this rash effort. Cambridge successfully resisted 
the king's mandate to confer the degree of master of arts on father 
Francis, a Benedictine; but Massey, a Bomanist, was installed 
dean of Christ Church in Oxford (December 29, 1686), and an 
attempt was made to thrust Farmer into the headship of Magdalen 
college, in the same university; and, when this failed, doctor 
Parker, suspected of an inclination to Bomanism, was forced upon 
the fellows as president. In April, 1687, the king published 
a declaration of indulgence for liberty of conscience; and, 
fortified in his resolution by various addresses from non- 
conformists and others in its favour, he proceeded to put 
forth another (April 25, 1688), almost in the same terms as 
the former; and ordered that, immediately after divine service, 
it should be read by the clergy in all the churches on May 20. 
Hereupon six of the bishops— Lloyd of St. Asaph, Ken of Bath 



a.d. 1687-1688. TRIAL OF THE SEVEN BISHOPS. 



507 



and Wells, Turner of Ely, Lake of Chichester, White of Peter- 
borough, and Trelawney of Bristol — held a consultation with the 
primate, and drew up a 
respectful petition to 
the king, representing 
that, as this declara- 
tion of indulgence was 
founded on a preroga- 
tive formerly declared 
illegal by the parlia- 
ment, they could not, 
in prudence, honour, or 
conscience, make them- 
selves parties to its 
publication, and they 
besought the king that 
he would not insist upon 
their reading it (May 
18). The king imme- 
diately embraced a reso- 
lution of punishing the 
bishops for a petition so 
popular in its matter, 
and so prudent and 
cautious in its expres- 
sions. He summoned 
them before the council ; 
and when they avowed 
the petition, an order 
was immediately drawn 
for their commitment 
to the Tower. The 
crown lawyers received 
directions to prosecute 
them for the seditious 
libel which, it was pre- 
tended, they had com- 
posed and uttered. When 

the people beheld these fathers of the church brought from court 
under the custody of a guard, and saw them embark at the Thames 
to be conveyed to the Tower, their affection for liberty and zeal for 
religion blazed up at once. The whole shore was covered with 
crowds of prostrate spectators, who at once implored their blessing, 
and addressed their petitions towards heaven for protection during 




Medal of archbishop Sancroft and the seven bishops. 

Obv. : GVIL . SANCROFT . ARCHIEPISC . CANTUAR . 

1688. Bust to right. Rev. : Busts of the 6even 
bishops in circles, with their names. 



508 JAMES II. Chap. xxvi. 

this extreme danger to which their country and their religion were 
exposed. Even the soldiers, seized with the contagion of the 
same spirit, flung themselves on their knees before the distressed 
prelates, and craved their benediction. Their passage, when con- 
ducted to their trial, was, if possible, attended by greater masses 
of anxious spectators. Twenty-nine temporal peers (for the 
other prelates kept aloof) attended the seven prisoners to West- 
minster Hall. Such crowds of gentry followed the procession that 
scarcely room was left for the populace to enter. No cause, even 
during the prosecution of the popish plot, was ever heard with so 
much zeal and attention. The arguments of counsel in favour of 
the bishops were convincing in themselves, and were heard with a 
favourable disposition by the audience. The jury, however, for 
some cause unknown, took several hours to deliberate, and kept the 
people in the most anxious expectation. Night was setting in 
when they retired. The next morning, at ten, on the assembling 
of the court, the foreman returned a verdict of not guilty (June 18). 
The announcement was received with deafening shouts of applause 
They were repeated by the thousands outside, who in vain crowded 
for admittance. From the court to the Thames, from the Thames 
to the Tower, the news spread like wildfire. The city bells rang 
out with one universal peal; at nightfall, bonfires blazed and 
windows were illuminated. James was then in the camp at 
Hounslow, where he had formed a standing army of about 16,000 
men. It happened that, the very day on which the trial of the 
bishops was finished, he had reviewed the troops, and had retired 
into the tent of lord Feversham, the general, when he was surprised 
to hear a great uproar in the camp, attended with the most ex- 
travagant symptoms of tumultuary joy. He suddenly inquired 
the cause, and was told by Feversham, " It was nothing but the 
rejoicing of the soldiers for the acquittal of the bishops." " Do you 
call that nothing ? " replied he. " But so much the worse for them.' 

§ 7. A few days before the acquittal of the bishops the queen was 
delivered of a son (June 10, 1688), who was baptized by the name 
of James. This blessing had been impatiently longed for, not only 
by the king and queen, but by all zealous catholics both abroad 
and at home. Vows had been offered at every shrine for a male 
successor, and pilgrimages undertaken, particularly one to Loretto, 
by the duchess of Modena. But the protestant party went so far as 
to ascribe to the king the design of imposing on the world a suppo- 
sititious child, who might be educated in his principles, and after 
his death support the catholic religion in his dominions. 

Until now the nation, sick of factions and the civil war, had 
endured with extraordinary patience the arbitrary proceedings of 



A.D. 1688. CONDUCT OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE. 509 

James. He was well advanced in years, and had had no issue by his 
queen, except such as had died prematurely. In the event of his 
death, the crown would devolve on his daughter Mary, married to 
William of Orange, and in her default on Anne, both of whom were 
staunch protestants. Now, by the birth of his son, all these hopes 
were disappointed. It was certain that the child would be brought 
up under influences most hostile to the religion of the nation, and 
a protestant succession had thus become more remote than ever. 
Unhappily, too, for James, whatever hopes his son-in-law or his 
daughters had once entertained of succeeding him — and Mary had 
no children — were equally dashed by the birth of an heir. He 
had offended the church of England ; he had alienated from himself 
and his counsels the tory nobility, and driven them, by his foolish 
partiality for father Petre and the most violent of the Eomish 
communion, into the ranks of the whigs. He was without support 
and without advice. Already, in 1687, William had sent over 
Dykvelt as envoy to England, and given him instructions to apply, 
in his name, to every sect and denomination. To the church party 
he sent assurances of favour and regard ; whilst the nonconformists 
were exhorted not to be deceived by the fallacious caresses of a 
popish court, but to wait patiently till laws, enacted by protestants, 
should give them that toleration which, with so much reason, they 
had long demanded. Dykvelt executed his commission with such 
dexterity, that all orders of men turned their eyes towards Holland, 
and many of the most considerable persons, both in church and 
state, made secret applications through him to the prince of Orange. 

The event which James had so long made the object of his 
most ardent prayers, and from which he expected the firm estab- 
lishment of his throne, proved the immediate cause of his ruin. 
William had sent over Zuleistein to congratulate the king on 
the birth of his son. The Dutch envoy brought back to the prince 
entreaties from many of the great men in England, to assist them 
in the recovery of their laws and liberties. At the suggestion of 
Edward Eussell, a cousin of William, lord Kussell, who, like Her- 
bert, had been a member of the duke of York's household, a formal 
invitation was addressed to William by the earls of Danby, Devon- 
shire, and Shrewsbury, and other discontented leaders of the whigs. 
Even Sunderland, the king's favourite minister, entered into corre- 
spondence with the prince ; and, at the expense of his own honour 
and his master's interests, secretly favoured a cause which, he 
foresaw, was likely soon to predominate. 

§ 8. The prince was easily engaged to yield to these applications. 
The time when he entered on his enterprise was well chosen, as the 
people were then in the highest ferment, on account of the insult 



510 JAMES II. Chap. xxvi. 

which the imprisonment and trial of the bishops had put upon the 
church, and indeed upon all the protestants of the nation. The 
political condition of Europe enabled William to carry on his 
preparations without attracting observation. In 1686 several of 
the continental powers had framed the league of Augsburg, nomi- 
nally with a view of maintaining the peace of the empire, in reality 
to oppose the power of France. As France moved to support 
the elector of Cologne, "William set on foot an army of 20,000 
men, and ordered the fleet to be increased. So secret were his 
counsels, so fortunate the situation of affairs, that he could still 
cover his preparations under other pretences. Yet all his artifices 
could not entirely conceal his real intentions from the sagacity of 
the French court. Louis conveyed the intelligence to James, and 
offered to join a squadron of French ships to the English fleet, and 
to send over any number of troops which James should judge 
requisite for his security. But the French king's proposals were 
imprudently rejected. Solemnly assured by Citters, the Dutch 
ambassador, that the prince's preparations were not intended against 
him, James could not be convinced that his son-in-law intended 
an invasion of England. Notwithstanding the strong symptoms 
of discontent which broke out everywhere, a universal combination 
in rebellion appeared to him nowise credible. 

In September James received a letter from the Hague, which 
informed him with certainty that he must soon look for a power- 
ful invasion from Holland. Though he could reasonably expect 
no other intelligence, he was astonished at the news ; his colour 
fled, and the letter dropped from his band. His eyes were now 
opened, and he found himself on the brink of a frightful precipice, 
which his delusions had hitherto concealed from him. His minis- 
ters and counsellors, equally astonished, saw no resource but in a 
sudden and precipitate withdrawal of all those fatal measures by 
which he had created to himself so many enemies, foreign and 
domestic. He paid court to the Dutch, and offered to enter into 
any alliance with them for common security ; he replaced in all the 
counties the deputy-lieutenants and justices, who had been deprived 
of their commissions for their adherence to the test and the penal 
laws; he restored the charters of London, and of other corpora- 
tions ; he annulled the court of ecclesiastical commission ; he took 
off the bishop of London's suspension ; he reinstated the expelled 
president and fellows of Magdalen college ; and he was even reduced 
to caress those bishops whom he had so lately persecuted and in- 
sulted. But all these measures were regarded as symptoms of fear, 
not of repentance. 

§ 9. Meanwhile the prince of Orange published a declaration 



A.D. 1688. PRINCE OF ORANGE LANDS IN ENGLAND. 511 

(September 30), which was dispersed over the kingdom. It set 
forth that the prince, from his near relationship to the kingdom, felt 
it was a duty imposed upon him to protect the civil and religious 
liberty of its people ; that he had no other object in view except 
to facilitate the calling of a free parliament, and enquiring into the 
birth of the prince of Wales. He set sail from Helvoetsluys 
(October 19), with 60 ships of war and 700 transports, carrying 
4500 cavalry and 11,000 foot, with large military stores. He had 
intended to land in Yorkshire, where the earl of Derby was await- 
ing his arrival; but a strong west wind setting in at night, he 
was compelled to return. He sailed again on November 1, and 
landed safely in Torbay on November 5, the anniversary of the 
gunpowder treason. The Dutch army marched first to Exeter, 
when the prince's declaration was there published ; but the whole 
country was so terrified with the executions which had ensued on 
Monmouth's rebellion, that no one for several days ventured to 
join him. Sir Edward Seymour made proposals for an associa- 
tion, and by degrees the earl of Abingdon, Mr. Eussell, son of the 
earl of Bedford, and others, came to Exeter. All England was in 
commotion, and the nobility and gentry in various counties em- 
braced the cause of the invader. 

But the most dangerous symptom was the disaffection which had 
crept into the army. The officers seemed disposed to adhere to the 
interests of their country and of their religion. Lord Cornbury, 
son of the earl of Clarendon, was the first to desert his sovereign, and 
carried off with him part of his cavalry regiment (November 14). 
The contagion of such an example spread rapidly. In the north the 
standard of rebellion was raised by Danby and Lumley, by Delamere 
and Brandon in Cheshire, by Devonshire in the midland counties. 
James joined his camp (November 19), but only to find treachery. 
On the 22nd lord Churchill (afterwards duke of Marlborough), who 
had been raised from the rank of a page, had been invested with a 
high command in the army, had been created a peer, and had owed 
his whole fortune to the king's favour, went over to the enemy. He 
carried with him the duke of Grafton, natural son of the late king, 
colonel Berkeley, and some troops of dragoons. In this perplexity 
James embraced a sudden resolution of drawing off his army, and 
retiring towards London — a measure which could only serve to 
betray his fears and provoke further treachery. 

But Churchill had prepared a still more mortal blow for his dis- 
tressed benefactor. His lady and he had an entire ascendency over 
the family of prince George of Denmark ; and the time now ap- 
peared seasonable for overwhelming the unhappy king, who was 
already staggering with the violent shocks which he had received. 



512 JAMES II. Chap. xxvi. 

Andover was the first stage of James's retreat towards London ; 
and there prince George, together with the young duke of Ormond 
and some other persons of distinction, after supping with the king, 
deserted him in the night-time, and retired to the prince's camp. 
No sooner had this news reached London, than the princess Anne, 
pretending fear of the king's displeasure, withdrew herself in com- 
pany with the bishop of London and lady Churchill. She fled to 
Nottingham ; where the earl of Dorset received her with great 
respect, and the gentry of the county quickly formed a troop for 
her protection. The king burst into tears when the first intelli- 
gence of this astonishing event was conveyed to him. " God help 
me ! " cried he, in the extremity of his agony, " my own children 
have forsaken me ! " Unable to resist the torrent, he called a 
council of the peers and prelates who were in London ; and, follow- 
ing their advice, issued writs for a new parliament, sending Halifax, 
Nottingham, and Godolphin as commissioners to treat with the 
prince of Orange. 

§ 10. The prince of Orange, with keen policy, declined a personal 
conference with James's commissioners, and sent the earls of 
Clarendon and Oxford to treat with them (December 8-9). It was 
his purpose throughout that those who had joined him should so 
implicate themselves as to render retreat impossible. He gained 
also the further advantage of making it appear that whatever he 
did emanated from Englishmen, not from himself. The terms 
which he proposed implied almost a present participation of the 
sovereignty; and he stopped not a moment the march of his army 
towards London. The news which the king received from all 
quarters served to continue the panic into which he had fallen. 
Impelled by his own fears and those of others, he precipitately 
embraced the resolution of escaping into France ; and he sent off 
beforehand the queen and the infant prince, under the conduct of 
count Lauzun, an old favourite of the French monarch. He him- 
self disappeared in the night-time, attended only by sir Edward 
Hales, and made the best of his way to a ship which waited for 
him near the mouth of the river (December 11). Nothing could 
equal the surprise which seized the city, the court, and the king- 
dom, upon the discovery of this strange event. The more effectu- 
ally to involve everything in confusion, the king threw the great 
seal into the river ; and he recalled all those writs which had been 
issued for the election of the new parliament. 

By this temporary dissolution of government, the populace be- 
came masters. They rose in a tumult and destroyed the catholic 
chapels They even attacked and rifled the houses of the Floren- 
tine envoy and the Spanish ambassador, where many of the cathe- 



A.D. 1688. ABDICATES THE THRONE. 513 

lies had lodged their most valuable % effects. Jeffreys, the chancellor, 
who had disguised himself in order to fly the kingdom, was dis-' 
covered by them, and so maltreated that he died not long after in the 
Tower (April 18, 1689). To add to the disorder, Feversham, the 
royal general, had no sooner heard of the king's flight, than he 
disbanded the troops in the neighbourhood, and, without either dis- 
arming or paying them, let them loose to prey upon the country. 
In this extremity, the bishops and peers who were in town thought 
proper to assemble, and to interpose for the preservation of the 
community. Archbishop Sancroft absenting himself, the marquis 
of Halifax was chosen speaker. They gave directions to the mayor 
and aldermen for keeping the peace of the city ; they issued orders, 
which were readily obeyed, to the fleet, the army, and all the gar- 
risons ; and they declared their adhesion to the prince of Orange in 
his design of calling a free parliament. The citizens begged him to 
march at once to London ; and the prince, on his part, was not want- 
ing to the tide of success which flowed in upon him. 

While every one, from principle, interest, or animosity, turned 
his back on the unhappy king, who had abandoned his own cause, 
the unwelcome news arrived that he had been seized by some fisher- 
men near Sheerness, as he was making his escape in disguise. On 
his arrival in London (December 16), the populace, moved by com- 
passion for his unhappy fate, and actuated by their own levity, 
received him with shouts and acclamations. But this change in the 
humours of the populace did not suit the partisans of William. 
Halifax hastened to Henley, and urged him to come instantly to 
London. To get rid of James, it was determined to push him into 
that measure which, of himself, he seemed sufficiently inclined to 
embrace. Lord Feversham, whom he had sent on a civil message 
to the prince desiring a conference, was put under arrest, on the 
pretence that he had come without a passport ; the Dutch guards 
were ordered to take possession of Whitehall ; and Halifax, Shrews- 
bury, and Delamere delivered a message to the king in bed after 
midnight, ordering him to leave his palace next morning, and to 
depart for Ham, a seat of the duchess of Lauderdale's (December 
17). He desired permission, which was easily granted, of retiring 
to Eochester, a town near the seacoast. Here he lingered some 
days, under the protection of a Dutch guard ; but, urged by earnest 
letters from the queen, he privately embarked on board a frigate 
which waited for him (December 23), and arrived safely at Amble- 
teuse, in Picardy. Hence he hastened to St. Germains, where 
Louis received him with the highest generosity, sympathy, and 
regard. 

§ 11. William of Orange entered London (December 18) with 6000 



514 JAMES II. Chap. xxvi. 

Dutch troops. Strictly speaking, the purposes for which he came, 
as set forth in his declaration, were in great measure accomplished, 
and nothing remained except for the prince to retire and allow 
the nation to call a "free parliament." For this the peers then 
sitting at Guildhall might he considered amply qualified ; and, as 
William appeared to acquiesce in their powers to speak in behalf 
of the nation, and even to command their natural sovereign, it 
seemed no more than ajjpropriate that they should issue writs for 
a new election, and use the liberty the prince had held out to 
them. But this was by no means William's intention. He took 
the sovereign authority at once into his own hands, and on the 
23rd of December he published an order commanding those who 
had served as members in any parliament held in the reign of 
Charles II. to meet him at St. James's three days after, together 
with the aldermen and 50 of the common council of London. This 
act must have opened men's eyes to William's real intentions, and the 
hopelessness at the same time of resisting a victorious prince, with 
a foreign army at his heels. Still more hopeless was the case of 
those whom he had contrived to implicate in this invasion, and 
made responsible for it. To go back was to confess themselves 
traitors ; to go forward was to accept all William's pretensions. 
With mixed feelings, therefore, the lords, most of whom had already 
deserted to William, and afterwards the commons, requested the 
prince to take upon him the administration of public affairs, both 
civil and military — as if he had not done it in reality already — 
and to dispose of the revenue, until the meeting of a convention, 
for which he was requested to issue writs. With that prudence 
for which he was distinguished, William observed all the consti- 
tutional forms on this occasion. He gave proofs to Englishmen 
that no native sovereign could be more tender and careful than he 
of their national rights and privileges. Though hostile in reality 
to the church of England, and indifferent to all forms of religion, he 
received the sacrament from the bishop of London. He was con- 
siderate to every one ; he authorized all officers and magistrates to 
continue in their places. He was severe to none, except papists ; 
and such severity was popular. Such moderation contrasted all 
the more favourably with the earnest but narrow-minded pre- 
judices of his father-in-law, who would make no concessions to 
the religious or political scruples of other men. The conduct of 
the prince with regard to Scotland was founded on the same pru- 
dent and moderate maxims. He summoned all the Scotchmen of 
rank at that time in London, who, without any authority from their 
nation, made an offer to the prince of the government, which he 
willingly accepted. 



a.d 1689. WILLIAM AND MARY PROCLAIMED. 515 

The English convention assembled at Westminster (January 
22, 1689) , and, as two-thirds of them were whigs, they experienced 
no difficulty in choosing Halifax as speaker in the upper., and 
Powle as speaker in the lower house. They returned thanks to 
William for delivering them from popery and arbitrary power. 
Next day the commons sent up to the peers the following vote 
for their concurrence : " That king James II. having endeavoured 
to subvert the constitution of the kingdom, by breaking the original 
contract between king and people ; and, by the advice of Jesuits 
and other wicked persons, having violated the fundamental laws, 
and withdrawn himself out of the kingdom, has thereby abdi- 
cated the government, and that the throne is become vacant.' 
This vote, carried by Hampden to the upper house, met with 
great opposition. Part of them desired the conditional restoration 
of James ; others advocated a regency during his life, thus securing 
the succession of his son, whom it seemed unjust to exclude for 
the offences of his father. Great debates followed on the word 
abdicated, for which it was unanimously resolved to substitute the 
word deserted. The next question arose, whether the throne was 
vacant in consequence of desertion ; and it was declared by a 
majority of 14 that it was not. William kept wary and watchful 
eyes on these discussions. Till now he had remained silent ; but, 
though he had come to secure a free parliament, this was a freedom 
to which he would be no party. Sending for Halifax, Danby, and 
other whig chiefe, he plainly assured them he would not consent 
to a regency, nor share the throne with his wife simply for her 
lifetime. This declaration produced the necessary effect. Some 
anticipated, not unreasonably, that it was better to offer a crown, 
with good grace, of which William was in effect possessed already ; 
others dreaded political disturbances. By a majority of 15, the 
resolution of the commons was accepted without any amendment, 
but 28 of the peers protested (February 6). 

Thereupon, the marquis of Halifax, in the name of the convention, 
tendered the crown to William and Mary (February 13, 1689), who 
accepted the offer, and were proclaimed king and queen of England, 
France, and Ireland. The crown was settled on the prince and 
princess of Orange, the sole administration to remain in the prince. 
The succession was to rest in William and Mary and their issue ; 
next in Mary's issue by any husband; then in Anne and her 
children ; lastly, in the children of William. The convention an- 
nexed to this settlement a Declaration of Eights, by which the 
prerogative was more narrowly circumscribed and more exactly de- 
fined. This declaration was subsequently confirmed and extended 
by the Bill of Bights, as will be related in the following chapters. 



510 JAMES II. Chap. xxvi. 

§ 12. Thus ended, for the present, the long dispute between the 
prerogative of the crown and the privileges of the House of Com- 
mons. James L, in adopting the maxim, " a Deo rex, a rege lex," 
raised the abstract question of principle, and inculcated on his 
subjects his own divine right, and their duty of passive obedience. 
Fortunately for the nation, Charles 1. and James II., possessed 
sufficient courage, or sufficient obstinacy, to stake their lives and 
fortunes on the maintenance of what they considered a sacred 
principle, and thus to bring the question to an issue, which James 
I. had avoided out of natural timidity, and Charles II. partly from 
good sense and partly from the careless indolence of his temper. 

The antagonistic theories of the times provoked a host of writers 
to treat on the fundamental principles of government, and to 
examine the foundations on which all legislative and executive 
authority is built. Harrington, Sidney, Milton, and Locke ranged 
themselves on the side of popular liberty : of the other side, Hobbes, 
a profound and original thinker, is the chief ; a writer who affords 
a striking instance that the utmost freedom and originality of 
philosophical speculation may not be incompatible with the enter- 
tainment of arbitrary political principles. Nothing can more 
strongly show how generally the theory of government occupied 
the attention of reflecting men in the time of the Stuarts, than the 
solemn assertion by the convention of 1688 of an original contract 
between prince and people; an hypothesis utterly incapable of 
proof, however wholesome in itself, and however useful as the 
postulate of a political disquisition. (Supplement, Note IX.) 

§ 13. With regard to foreign affairs, the era of the first four 
Stuarts presents almost a blank ; and what little is to be noted is 
not very creditable to the nation. James I. added to England the 
power of Scotland as well as that of pacified Ireland. The short 
effort of Charles I. in favour of the French protestants was inglorious 
and unsuccessful ; and the domestic troubles, which occupied the 
remainder of his reign, diverted his attention from the affairs of the 
continent. The energetic administration of Cromwell revived for 
a while the lustre of the English arms. Under Charles II., the 
pensioner of France, England was eclipsed by the glories of Louis 
XIV. 

§ 14. Yet during the reigns of the Stuarts the nation advanced 
steadily, though slowly, in wealth, power, and civilization. In the 
time of Charles II., the population of England had increased to 
about five millions and a quarter. The addition was principally in 
the southern counties. The district north of Trent still continued 
thinly peopled, and comparatively barbarous ; although the coal- 
beds which it contained were destined eventually to attract to it an 



A.D. 1689. REVENUE. 517 

immense increase of population, and to make it the seat of manufac- 
turing industry. The archiepiscopal province of York, which at 
the time of the Revolution was thought to contain only one-seventh 
of the English population, contained in 1841 two-sevenths. In 
Lancashire the number of inhabitants appears to have increased 
ninefold.* But the means of communication throughout the 
kingdom were wretched in the extreme. Canals did not exist ; the 
roads were execrable, and infested with highwaymen. Four horses, 
sometimes six, were required to drag the coaches through the mud ; 
and the traveller who missed the scarce discernible track over the 
heaths, which were then frequent and extensive, might wander lost 
and benighted. Some improvement was effected by the introduction 
of posts in the reign of Charles I., which were brought to more 
perfection after the Restoration. In 1680, a penny post was 
established in London for the delivery of letters and parcels several 
times a day. The first law for erecting turnpikes was passed in 
1662 ; but no very considerable improvement in the roads took 
place till the reign of George II. 

§ 15. The annual revenue of James I. was estimated at about 
450,000?., a great part of which arose from the crown lands, from 
purveyance and other feudal rights which were abolished, as before 
related, soon after the Restoration. The customs in the reign of 
James I. never exceeded 190,000?., and were supposed to be an ad 
valorem duty of five per cent., both on exports and imports. The 
excise was not established till the next reign, when both the customs 
and the total amount of the revenue had more than doubled ; the 
income previous to the meeting of the Long Parliament being about 
900,000?., of which the customs formed about 500,000?. During 
the commonwealth the revenue was about 2,000,000?. ; yet it was 
exceeded by the expenditure. The average revenue of Charles II. 
was about 1,200,000?. The first parliament of James II. put him 
in possession of 1,900,000?. per annum, though the country was at 
peace; and, adding his income as duke of York, James had a 
revenue of about 2,t00,000?. The national debt at the time of the 
Revolution was only a little more than 1,000,000?. 

These facts show a vast increase in the trade and resources of the 
country. But the increased revenue was absorbed by augmented 
expenditure. The first two Stuarts had no standing army. 
Regular troops were first kept constantly on foot in the time of the 
Commonwealth. Charles II. had a few regiments of guards ; but 
James II. possessed a regular force of 20,000 men. The navy was 
also vastly augmented under the Stuarts. In Elizabeth's reign the 
whole naval force of the kingdom consisted of only 33 ships, 

* Macaulay, History of England, i. 286. 
24 



518 JAMES II. Chap. xxn. 

besides pinnaces, and the largest of them wou not now equal a 
fourth rate. In the reign of James I. a ship was constructed larger 
than had yet been seen in the English navy, being of 1400 tons, 
and carrying 64 guns. The navy was greatly increased under Charles 
I. and Charles II., and still more under James II. The last had 
an affection for the service, showed considerable talent as an 
admiral, and was the inventor of naval signals. He was well 
seconded by Pepys, the secretary of the admiralty. At the period 
of the Eevolution the fleet consisted of 173 vessels, manned by 
42,000 seamen. 

§ 16. The increase of revenue and of military power denoted, and 
was accompanied with, a corresponding increase in wealth and com- 
merce. The first foundations of the North American colonies were 
laid, as we have seen, in the reign of James I. ; when also the 
Bermudas and the island of Barbadoes were planted, the East India 
trade began to flourish ; Greenland was discovered, and the whale 
fishery begun. The population of the North American colonies was 
augmented in the reign of Charles I., when the puritans settled in 
New England, and many catholics in Maryland. Under Charles 
II., New York and the Jerseys were recovered or conquered, and 
Carolina and Pennsylvania settled. The two Dutch wars, by 
disturbing the trade of that republic, promoted the commerce of this 
island ; and after Charles II. had made a separate peace with the 
States, his subjects enjoyed unmolested the trade of Europe. The 
commerce and riches of England increased very fast from the Re- 
storation to the Revolution ; and it is computed that during these 
28 years the shipping of England was more than doubled. Several 
new manufactures were introduced, and especially that of silk, by 
the French protestants who took refuge here after the revocation of 
the edict of Nantes. Sir Josiah Child, the banker, who wrote upon 
trade, states that in 1688 there were more men on 'Change worth 
10,0002., than there were in 1650 worth 10002. 

§ 17. The manners of the nation underwent great changes during 
this period. Under the first two Stuarts many religious sects sprung 
up ; that of the Quakers was founded about 1650 by George 
Fox, a native of Drayton, in Leicestershire. Of this sect, Penn, 
the founder of Pennsylvania, was an eminent member. Each 
of these classes had its literature. The greatest genius among the 
puritans, and indeed one of the greatest among the English poets, 
was Milton. The writers who succeeded the Restoration, and who 
belonged to what may be called the cavalier literature, are more 
numerous but less remarkable than their predecessors. Their 
works, and especially those of the dramatists, though often sparkling 
with wit, are for the most part disfigured by indecency. It is the 



a.d. 1689. LITERATURE, ART, ETC. 519 

chief merit of these authors to have moulded our language, and 
especially its prose, into that easy, perspicuous, and equable flow 
which makes their writings still seem modern. The principal 
refiners of our language and versification were Denham, AValler, 
and Dryden. The prose of the last has seldom been equalled; 
whilst Jeremy Taylor, South, and Bunyan, as preachers or writers 
in their own particular subjects, have never been surpassed. 
The same era of the Stuarts counts the names of our greatest 
philosophers ; among others those of Bacon, Hobbes, Locke, Boyle, 
Newton, and Harvey, the discoverer of the circulation of the blood. 
The Royal Society was founded in 1660 by a small circle of Oxford 
philosophers, and obtained the king's letters patent. 

Charles I. encouraged the fine arts ; but we cannot yet be said 
to have had a school either of painting or sculpture. The artists 
employed were commonly foreigners, as Vandyck, Verrio, Kneller, 
Lely, and others. Cibber, the sculptor, was a Dutchman. Almost 
the only Englishmen eminent in art at this period we^elnigo Jones 
and Wren, the architects. The former built Whitehall and several 
mansions of the nobility. The great fire which swept away the 
wooden tenements of London opened a noble field for the display of 
Wren's genius, which, however, was checked by the penuriousness of 
the government. Nevertheless we are indebted to him for St. Paul's 
cathedral, as well as for several of the finest churches in London. 

Had there existed in the time of the Stuarts better vehicles for the 
expression of public opinion, they might probably have been saved 
from some of those schemes which proved so fatal to themselves. 
Newspapers had indeed been established in the reign of Charles 1. ; 
but even in that of his successor they were small and unimportant, 
and appeared only occasionally. Towards the close of his reign 
Charles II. would allow only the London Gazette to be published. 
Till 1679 the press in general was under a censorship ; but though 
it was then emancipated for a short period, till the censorship- was 
revived by James, the liberty was not extended to gazettes. In this 
state of things the coffee-houses, which were established in the reign 
of Charles II. — for tea, coffee, and chocolate were first introduced 
about the time of the Restoration — were the chief places for the 
ventilation of political and literary opinions. The government re- 
garded these places of resort with much uneasiness and suspicion, 
and once made an ineffectual attempt to suppress them. 



520 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Ceap. xxvi. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTKATIONS. 



AUTHORITIES FOR THE PERIOD 
OF THE STUARTS. 

During this epoch the materials of 
history become more abundant. The 
following list gives only the more im- 
portant writers. 

For the reign of James I, the chief 
authorities are — Winwood's Memorials; 
Camden's Annals of King James I., and 
Wilson's History of King James I. (both 
in Kennett) ; Dalrymple's Memorials and 
Letters, illustrative of the reigns of James 
I. and Charles I. ; Carleton's Letters dur- 
ing his embassy in Holland ; Rush worth's 
Historical Collection (1618-1648) ; Birch's 
Negotiations from 1592 to 1617 ; Bacon's 
works ; king James's works. Sully's Mi- 
moires and Boderie's Ambassades en Angle- 
terre throw considerable light on the state 
of James's foreign relations. 

For the reign of Charles I., Clarendon's 
History of the Rebellion is the principal ; 
a classical performance in regard to 
style and historical description, espe- 
cially the delineation of characters, but 
not always trustworthy. An unmuti- 
lated edition of this work was not 
published till 1826. To this must be 
added Clarendon's Life and State Papers; 
Whitelock's Memorials (from Charles I. 
to the Restoration), Nalson's Collection 
(1639-1648); Scobell's Acts and Ordi- 
nances (1640-1656); Husband's Collection 
(1642-1646) ; Thurloe's State Papers (1638- 
1660) , May's History of the Long Parlia- 
ment; Strafford's Letters and Despatches ; 
the Sydney State Papers; Spriggs's Anglia 
Rediviva; Dugdale's Short View of the 
late Troubles; Robert Baillie's Letters 
and Journals (1637-1662); Ludlow's 
Memoirs ; Lucy Hutchinson's Memoirs of 
her husband, colonel Hutchinson ; sir John 
Berkeley's Memoirs ; John Ashburnham's 
Narrative; Fairfax's Memorials; sir T. 
Herbert's Memoirs ; Slingsby's and Hodg- 
son's Memoirs ; Baxter's Life and Times ; 
Bishop Hacket's Memorial of Archbishop 
Williams; Laud's Remains, with the 



History of his Troubles and Trial ; Carte's 
Life of Ormonde ; sir P. Warwick's Me- 
moirs of Charles I. ; Denzil lord Holles's 
Memoirs (1641-1648); Bishop Hall's 
Hard Measure ; Evelyn's Memoirs (1641- 
1796); sir Ed. Walker's Historical Dis- 
courses relative to king Charles I. ; Dr. 
John Walker's Number and Sufferings of 
the Clergy sequestered in the Great Re- 
bellion ; Clement Walker's History of In- 
dependency; Burton's Cromwellian Diary; 
sir John Temple's History of the Irish 
Rebellion ; Oliver Cromwell's Letters and 
Speeches, with elucidations by Thomas 
Carlyle; S. R. Gardiner's History of 
England from 1603-1637 ; Markham's 
Life of Fairfax; Forster's Life of Sir 
John Eliot, and other works. 

For the reigns of Charles II. and James 
II. — Burnet's History of his own Times ; 
Reresby's Memoirs; North's Examen 
and the Lives of the Norths; Pepys's 
Diary (1659-1669) ; Dalrymple's Memoirs 
of Great Britain and Ireland, from 
Charles II. to the battle of La Hogue ; 
Life of Charles II., collected out of 
Memoirs writ of his own hand, edited by 
the Rev. J. S. Clarke ; Correspondence of 
Henry and Lawrence Hyde, earls of 
Clarendon and Rochester ; Diary of Lord 
Clarendon ; and Christie's Life of 
Shaftesbury. The Memoires de Gram- 
mont illustrate the court and times of 
Charles II. It is scarcely necessary to 
mention the recent work of lord Macaulay. 
The (Euvres de Louis XIV., and the letters 
of Barillon and D'Avaux, show the rela- 
tions of Charles II. and his brother with 
the French court. Among the latest 
authorities is Ranke's History of the 
Seventeenth Century. 

Other works which illustrate the whole 
period are— the Journals of the Lords and 
Commons, the Parliamentary History, 
Howell's State Trials, the Hardwicke 
Papers, Coke's Detection of the Court and 
State of England from James I. to Queen 
Anne, Neal's History of the Puritans, and 
Luttrell's Diary. 




Medal of William III. invictissimvs gviilelmvs mag. Bust laureate to right. 

BOOK VI. 

FROM THE REVOLUTION OF 1688 TO THE 
YEAR 1878. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

WILLIAM III. AND MARY II. 

william, I. a.d. 1650 ; r. 1689-1702. 
maey, b. a.d. 1662; r. 1689-1694. 

§ 1. Character of William III. His ministry. Convention parliament. 
§ 2. Discontents and mutiny. Nonjurors. Toleration Act. Settle- 
ment of Scotland. § 3. James lands in Ireland. Naval action at 
Bantry Bay. Siege of Londonderry. Battle of Newton Butler. 
§ 4. Bill of Rights. Attainders reversed. Change of ministers. 
§ 5. William proceeds to Ireland. Battle of the Boyne. Siege of 
Limerick and return of William. § 6. Action off Beachy Head. 
Campaign in Ireland. Pacification of Limerick. § 7. Altered views of 
William. Massacre of Glencoe. § 8. Intrigues in favour of James. 
Marlborough sent to the Tower § 9. Battle of La Hogue. § 10. 
Attack on the Smyrna fleet. Growing unpopularity of William. Ex- 
pedition to Brest betrayed by Marlborough. § 11. Bill for triennial 



522 



WILLIAM AND MARY. 



Chap, xxvii. 



parliaments. Death of queen Mary. §12. General corruption. Aboli- 
tion of the censorship. Campaign in Flanders. § 13. Conspiracy 
against the king. Loyal association. Attainder of sir J. Fenwick 
§ 14. Treaty of Ryswick. § 15. Miscellaneous transactions. Negotia- 
tions respecting the Spanish succession. First partition treaty. § 16. 
William's unpopularity. Dismissal of his Dutch guards. Resumption 
of forfeited estates in Ireland. § 17. Second treaty of partition. 
William acknowledges the duke of Anjou as king of Spain. § 18. 
The cabinet council. § 19. Discontent of the commons. The grand 
alliance. Death of king James II. Preparations for war. Death of king 
William. 

§ 1. William Henry, prince of Orange, ascended the throne by the 
title of William III., and was now in his 39th year. In person he 
was of the middle size, his shoulders bent, his limbs slender and 
ill-shaped, yet capable of sustaining considerable fatigue in hunting 
and other athletic sports, in which he delighted. His forehead was 
shaded by light-brown hair ; his nose was high and aquiline ; a pene- 
trating eye lighted up a pale and careworn countenance, the expres- 
sion of which indicated a degree of sullenness as well as thought and 
resolution. His manners were ungraceful and taciturn, and little 
calculated to win love or popularity ; and, though he had the art 
to conceal his designs, he could not always suppress the mani- 
festation of his passions. Notwithstanding his feeble health, he 
frequently indulged to excess in the pleasures of the table, and 
abandoned the society of his wife for that of other women. He 
possessed some skill as a linguist, and knew enough of mathematics 
to understand fortification ; but he had no taste for literature and 
art. A very indifferent soldier, he was an excellent politician, never 
suffering his judgment to be swayed by affection or enthusiasm. 

In the choice of his ministers William seemed to ignore personal 
as well as political animosities and predilections. The earl of 
Nottingham, who had violently opposed his elevation to the throne, 
as well as the earl of Shrewsbury, who had zealously promoted it, 
were made secretaries of state. Danby and Halifax took their seats 
in the council, the former as president, the latter as privy seal. 
The great seal was intrusted to commissioners, with sergeant 
Maynard at their head. The treasury was also put into com- 
mission, the chief commissioner being lord Mordaunt, afterwards 
earl of Peterborough ; but that post was not then so important as it 
subsequently became. At the same time William's Dutch favourites 
were not forgotten, much to the discontent of many Englishmen. 
Bentinck * was made a privy councillor, privy purse, and groom of 



* Bentinck was created earl of Portland 
in 1689. He died in 1T09, and was suc- 
ceeded in the title by his son, who was 



created in 1T16 duke of Portland, and was 
the ancestor of the present duke. 



a.d. 1689. 



THE CONVENTION PARLIAMENT. 



523 



the stole ; Zuleistein * was appointed master of the robes : Schom- 
berg f was placed at the head of the ordnance ; and Auverqnerque J 
became master of the horse. To these he gave his entire confidence, 
and was guided by their counsels, to the neglect of his English 
ministers. For himself William claimed the full and undivided 
authority of the crown. The name of Mary, the heiress by blood, was 
indeed inserted with his own in all the acts of government ; yet, as 
her easy and unambitious temper disposed her to implicit obedience 
to her husband, she soon appeared to sink into the position of a queen 
consort, and lost all importance in the consideration of the people. 

In order to avoid the hazards of an election under existing cir- 
cumstances, the convention passed a bill for converting itself into 
a parliament. The bill received the royal assent on the 23rd 
of February. Some members of the opposition party in the 
commons retired from an assembly which they declared to be 
illegal ; and even those who remained displayed the greatest 
frugality in their votes for the public service. They postponed the 
settlement of the revenue, until the return of expenditure and 
income had been brought in ; granting the king extraordinary 
assessments. They even established the precedent, which has since 
been followed, of appropriating the supplies, and determined that 
one-half of the sum voted should be applied to the public expenses, 
and the other half to the civil list. When William represented 
the justice and necessity of refunding the charge of 700,000Z. in- 
curred by the Dutch republic for his expedition, they voted only 
600,000Z. This frugality alienated the king's mind from the whigs, 
and he talked of abandoning the government. 

§ 2. No sooner was William seated on the throne than he seemed 
to have lost all his former popularity. The emissaries of James 
were active, and even Halifax and Danby expressed their apprehen- 
sion that, if he would only give securities for the maintenance 
of the protestant religion, nothing could prevent his restoration. 
Symptoms of discontent having shown themselves in the army, the 
king resolved to send the malcontent regiments to Holland, and to 
supply their place at home with Dutch troops. The first regiment 
of the line, composed chiefly of Scotchmen, being ordered abroad, 
resented this order, as William was not yet their king, and marched 
northwards with drums beating and colours flying, carrying with 



* Zuleistein was created in 1695 earl of 
Rochford. The title became extinct on 
the death of the fifth earl in 1830. 

f Schomberg was created duke of 
Schomberg in 1689. His son Charles, the 
second duke, was killed at the battle of 
Marsaglia, 1693. Another son, Meinhardt, 



third duke of Schomberg, and first duke of 
Leinster in Ireland, died in 1719, when the 
title became extinct. 

J Auverquerque was created in 169S 
earl of Grantham. He died in 1754, when 
the title became extinct. 



524 WILLIAM AND MARY. Chap, xxvii. 

them four pieces of artillery ; but being overtaken, near Sleaford, by 
three regiments of Dutch dragoons under Ginkell, they were com- 
pelled to surrender, and men and officers were treated with great 
ignominy (March 15). This affair occasioned the mutiny bill. The 
soldier had been hitherto regarded only as a citizen, and amenable 
to the civil tribunals : the army was now placed under martial law, 
and the mutiny bill has since been continued from year to year. 

The House of Commons, or such members of it as remained, did 
not hesitate to take the oath of allegiance (March 5) ; but many of 
the temporal peers, as well as eight bishops, including the primate 
Sancroft, refused, and their example was speedily followed by about 
400 of the inferior clergy, all of whom were afterwards deprived. 
The party that refused the oaths were designated by the title of non- 
jurors. The oaths were to be taken by the beneficed clergy, and by 
those holding academical offices, on the ensuing 1st of August. 
This opposition on the part of the church furnished the king with 
an opportunity for displaying his predilection for dissenters, towards 
whom he was naturally inclined by his religious tenets. The bill 
known as the Toleration Act, to relieve protestant dissenters 
from certain penalties, was introduced this session, and passed on 
the 24th of May. All who took the new oaths of allegiance and 
supremacy, and made a declaration against transubstantiation, were 
thereby exempted from the penalties incurred by absenting them- 
selves from church, or by frequenting unlawful conventicles. Dis- 
senters were restrained from meeting with locked doors ; but, on the 
other hand, a penalty was enacted against disturbing the congrega- 
tion. The ancient penal statutes remained, however, unrepealed, 
and persons who denied the Trinity, as well as papists, were excluded 
from the benefit of the new act. In November, a commission was 
issued to the archbishop of York and nine other bishops, to review 
the liturgy, in order to admit dissenters by adopting certain altera- 
tions, and leaving certain ceremonies discretionary. But their 
recommendations were rejected by convocation, and have never 
since been renewed. 

• During the debates on these measures William and Mary were 
crowned in Westminster Abbey (April 11). Sancroft, the primate, 
declined to act, and the ceremony was performed by Compton, the 
bishop of London. With regard to Scotland, it has been already 
mentioned that the prince of Orange was acknowledged in January 
by an unauthorized assemblage of Scotch nobility and gentry 
resident in London. A more regular convention was held at Edin- 
burgh in March ; and 50 malcontent members having deemed it 
prudent to withdraw, it was unanimously decided that James had 
forefaulted his right, and that the throne had become vacant. 



AD. 1689. JAMES LANDS IN IRELAND. 525 

There was, however, in Scotland a strong party in favour of James, 
headed by the duke of Gordon, and supported by the archbishop 
of Glasgow, the earl of Balcarras, viscount Dundee (formerly 
Graham of Claverhouse), and others. Dundee succeeded in raising 
between 2000 and 3000 Highlanders, with whom he defeated at 
Killiecrankie, on July 27, the king's forces of double the number. 
But Dundee received a mortal wound in the action, and with him 
expired all James's hopes in Scotland. The Highlanders, dispi- 
rited by the loss of their leader, dispersed after a few skirmishes, 
and the duke of Gordon having surrendered Edinburgh Castle on 
June 13, the whole country was reduced to obedience to William. 
In return he abolished episcopacy, and presbyterianism was estab- 
lished as the only lawful religion of the state. 

§ 3. In Ireland Tyrconnel was still lord deputy. His govern- 
ment had been marked by violence towards the protestants ; many 
towns were deprived of their charters, and the public offices were 
filled with Boman catholics. Alarmed, however, at William's 
success, he pretended to enter into negociations for the surrender 
of Ireland. The design was vehemently opposed by the Irish. 
Tyrconnel then invited James to return, and employed himself in 
raising a force of half-wild, half-armed, and worse disciplined Irish. 
James landed at Kinsale on the 12th of March, and was received 
with every demonstration of joy. Louis XIV. had furnished him 
with 16 ships of the line, 7 tenders, and 3 fireships ; but the whole 
land force which he brought with him consisted only of 1200 of his 
own subjects in the pay of France, and 100 French officers. 

At Cork James was met by Tyrconnel, whom he raised to the 
rank of duke. The view of the troops that were to fight for his 
cause was not calculated to inspire him with very sanguine hopes of 
success. Scarcely two in a hundred were provided with muskets 
fit for service ; the rest were armed with clubs and sticks tipped 
with iron. James found himself obliged to disband the greater part, 
and retained only 35 regiments of infantry and 14 regiments of horse. 
His whole artillery consisted of 12 field-pieces and 4 mortars. 
After summoning a parliament to meet at Dublin on the 7th of 
May, James set out for his army in the north, where Londonderry 
was invested. That place and Enniskillen, being inhabited by 
protestants, were the only towns in Ireland that declared for king 
William. Lundy, the governor of Londonderry, had sent a message 
to James's head-quarters, with assurances that the place would be 
surrendered on the first summons ; but his treachery was fortunately 
discovered, and it was with difficulty that he escaped with his life, 
by letting himself down from the walls in the disguise of a porter. 
James, who had ridden up with his staff to within a short distance 
24* 



526 WILLIAM AND MARY. Chap, xxvii. 

of the gates, was saluted with a cry of " No surrender ; " and at the 
same time a discharge from the fortifications killed an officer hy his 
side. The citizens, after the flight of Lundy, chose Walker, a 
clergyman, and major Baker, for their governors, and resolved to 
hold out to the last extremity. 

The army of James was destitute of all the materials required 
for a siege. Few of the soldiers had even muskets, and it was 
therefore resolved to turn the assault into a blockade. James now 
returned to Dublin. But his cause was ruined hy the violence of 
the Irish parliament. Disregarding the king's wishes, it repealed 
the act of settlement, thus confiscating at a blow all the English 
property in the country. It passed a general bill of attainder, com- 
prehending more than 2000 persons ; and the scheme for replenishing 
the king's coffers by an issue of base coin occasioned universal dislike. 

In June marshal de Bosen was appointed to take the command 
of the besieging army at Londonderry. The town being completely 
invested on the land side, and cut off from all relief by sea by 
means of a boom about a mile and a half down the Foyle, the 
inhabitants were reduced to the last extremity of famine, and 
obliged to subsist on horses, dogs, rats, starch, and other food of 
the like revolting kind. The hopes of the garrison had been raised 
and disappointed by the appearance of a small squadron in the 
Lough, commanded by Kirke, of west of England notoriety, who 
was obliged to retire. Towards the end of July, however, he again 
appeared, and two merchantmen, the Mountjoy and the Phoenix, 
covered by the Dartmouth frigate, succeeded on the 30th in 'breaking 
the boom. The Phoenix easily forced a passage. De Bosen's 
trenches were filled with water ; and the relief of the town deter- 
mined him to abandon the siege. On the 1st of August his army 
decamped, after burning their huts. The siege, one of the most 
memorable in the history of Britain, lasted 105 days, and the 
garrison had been reduced from 7000 to about 3000 effective men. 

On the same day that Londonderry was relieved, lord Mount- 
cashel had been completely routed by the protestants of Enniskillen 
at Newton Butler, and he himself wounded and taken prisoner. 
To add to James's misfortunes, Schomberg, whom the commons 
had presented with 100,O0OZ. , landed with 10,000 men near Dona- 
ghadee, on the coast of Down (August 12). Carrickfergus sur- 
rendered after a short siege, and was treated with great cruelty. 
He then encamped in the neighbourhood of Dundalk, the duke 
of Berwick, James's natural son, retiring on his approach. James, 
having in vain endeavoured to draw him to a battle, closed the 
campaign of 1689 by retiring into winter quarters at Atherdee. 

§ 4. While these things were passing in Ireland, the English 



A.D. 1689-1690. BATTLE OF THE BOYNE. 527 

parliament had been employed on important measures. The chief 
of these was the Bill of Eights, the third great charter of English 
liberty, which embodied and confirmed the provisions of the De- 
claration of Bight* and also included a settlement of the crown 
in the manner already related in the preceding chapter.f It reversed 
the attainders of lord Eussell, Algernon Sidney, alderman Cornish, 
and Mrs. Lisle. The exorbitant fines imposed in the preceding 
reign were declared illegal, and the money extorted by Jeffreys was 
charged against his estate, with interest. All these proceedings 
were unexceptionable ; but the same cannot be said of the reversal 
of the judgment on the perjured Oates, and the granting him a 
pension of 300Z. a year (June 6). 

To the dismay of the whigs, William dissolved the convention 
parliament on February 6, 1690. Halifax was soon after removed 
from office ; and Dan by, now marquess of Caermarthen, appointed 
many of his own creatures to the higher offices of state. The new 
parliament, which met in March, comprised many tories. The king 
announced his intention of passing over to Ireland, and a supply 
of 1,200,000Z. was unanimously voted. 

§ 5. William arrived at Carrickfergus on June 14, 1690, and 
proceeded to Schomberg's head-quarters at Lisburn. His army 
amounted to about 36,000 men, variously composed of English, 
Dutch, Germans, and other foreigners. On his approach the Irish 
army retired to the south bank of the Boyne, which is steep and 
hilly, and had been fortified with intrenchments. When James 
joined them there with 10,000 French troops under Lauzun, his 
whole army amounted to about 30,000 men ; and, though his force 
was thus considerably inferior to that of William, he was induced, 
by the strength of the position, to hazard a battle. On the 30th 
of June both armies were in presence on either bank of the river ; 
and on the following morning (July 1) James drew up his troops 
in two lines, his left being covered by a morass, whilst in his rear 
was the village of Dunmore, and three miles further on the narrow 
pass of Duleek. William, who had been reconnoitring the enemy's 
position, was slightly wounded the day before the action by a 
cannon-ball which grazed his shoulder. He ranged his army in 
three columns. The centre, led by the duke of Schomberg, was 
to ford the river in front of the enemy ; the right, under count 
Schomberg, his son, was to cross near the bridge of Slane ; while 
William himself headed the passage of the left between the camp 
and the town of Drogheda. The attack was successful at all 
points ; the Irish horse alone made some resistance ; the foot fled 

• See p. 515. 

f The Bill of Rights is printed at lengLh in Notes and Illustrations, p. 544. 



528 WILLIAM AND MARY. Chap, xxyii. 

without striking a blow. James parted from his army at the pass of 
Duleek, and made the best of his way to Dublin. This engagement, 
celebrated as the Battle of the Boyne, decided the fate of James, 
though the loss on both sides was small, that of the Irish being 
about 1500, chiefly cavalry, whilst that of William was only 500, 
but among them was the duke of Schomberg. Walker, the brave 
defender of Londonderry, also fell in this engagement. James, 
having no army left — for the Irish had dispersed themselves in 
the night — abandoned Dublin and hastened to Kinsale, where he 
got on board a French frigate, and arrived at Brest on July 9. 

William arrived in Dublin a few days after his victory, and 
treated the inhabitants with considerable harshness. He then 
marched southwards, took Wexford, Clonmel, Waterford, Dun- 
cannon, and laid siege to Limerick (August 8-30) ; but having 
been repulsed in an assault, and the rains setting iu, he found it 
necessary to raise the siege, and early in September he left Ireland 
for London. Soon after his departure, Marlborough landed near 
Cork with 5000 men ; and, having received some reinforcements, 
captured that town after a short siege. He next took Kinsale after 
a desperate resistance ; and, as the winter was approaching, he 
returned to England, from which he had been absent only five weeks. 

§ 6. Whilst William was in Ireland, a naval engagement took 
place off Beachy Head, on the 30th of June, between the combined 
Dutch and English fleets, commanded by admiral Herbert, now 
created earl of Torrington,* and the French fleet under admiral 
Tourville. Torrington, with a policy hardly justifiable, placed the 
Dutch vessels in the van, which in consequence suffered severely. 
The victory remained with the French ; and Torrington, taking 
the disabled ships in tow, made for the Thames. London was filled 
with consternation, as it was expected that the French would sail 
up the river ; but they made little use of their victory. An inva- 
sion at this juncture would probably have been successful, as 
the French had the command of the sea, and might easily have 
disembarked a large army, whilst there were not 10,000 regular 
troops in England ; but they attempted no more than the burning 
of Teignmouth. William was incensed against Torrington on 
account of the losses suffered by the Dutch, and denounced him to 
parliament in the speech with which he opened the autumnal session. 
Torrington was tried by a court-martial at Sheerness, and honour- 
ably acquitted; but the king deprived him of his pommand, and 
forbad him his presence. (Supplement, Note X.) 

* The title became extinct on the death I son of sir George Byng, created viscount 
of the first earl in 1716. The present Torrington in 1721. 
viscount Torrington is descended from a . 



a.d. 1690-1691. SIEGE OF LIMERICK. 529 

In the following year (1691) the campaign in Ireland was brought 
to a close. That country was in a very distracted state. Bodies of 
wild Irish, called rapparees, from a species of pike with which they 
committed their massacres, went roaming about the country, and 
hung upon and infested the quarters of the English army, who in 
their turn committed great barbarities. Towards the end of June, 
Ginkell, who commanded the English forces, bombarded and took 
Athlone. It was a masterpiece of audacity, as a large army of Irish, 
commanded by St. Ruth, a Frenchman, lay behind the town, while 
the storming columns had to ford the Shannon, with the water 
breast-high, in order to gain the breach. St. Ruth now took up a 
strong position at Aghrim, where Ginkell did not hesitate to attack 
him. For some time the battle raged with doubtful fury, till, St. 
Ruth being killed by a cannon-ball, his army was seized with a 
panic, and fled in disorder towards Limerick (July 12). Ginkell 
sat down before that place on the 25th of August ; and, after a siege 
of six weeks, the Irish, much to the discontent of the French, 
agreed to the very favourable terms which he offered for a general 
pacification. By the chief articles of this treaty, signed October 3, 
and called the Pacification of Limerick, it was agreed that the Irish 
should enjoy the exercise of their religion as in the time of Charles II.; 
that all included in the capitulation should remain unmolested in 
their estates and possessions ; and that those who wished to retire 
to the continent should be conveyed thither at the expense of the 
government. By virtue of this last clause, Sarsfield and about 
12,000 men were • conveyed to France, and entered the service of 
Louis XIV. Thus an end was put in every part of the empire to 
the authority of James, who had been de facto king in Ireland more 
than a year and a half after his flight from England. 

As Sancroft, the primate, and six of the bishops still refused to 
take the oath of allegiance, they were deprived of their sees on 
February 1, 1691. Tillotson, dean of St. Paul's, succeeded Sancroft 
as archbishop of Canterbury. 

§ 7. William had spent the greater part of the year in Holland, 
fur the purpose of conducting the campaign against Louis XIV. He 
had repaired thither in the middle of January ; and though the wea- 
ther was foggy, and the coast lined with ice, he attempted to land 
in a boat. The steersman lost his way, and the king was obliged to 
pass the night in the boat, covered up with a cloak. The following 
day he succeeded in landing at Goree. The campaign was not 
marked by any important event, except the taking of Mons by 
Louis. William paid a short visit to England in April, and finally 
returned in October to open the parliament. A bill was passed 
for facilitating the execution of the Pacification of Limerick, though 



530 WILLIAM AND MARY. Chap. xxvh. 

that treaty was not approved of in England. Although William had 
been brought in by the whigs, he was now chiefly supported by the 
tories. He rejected a bill which had passed both houses for making 
the judges independent of the crown; and his reign was now 
sullied by an act of great barbarity — the infamous massacre of 
Glencoe. A pacification had been entered into in August with the 
Scotch Highlanders, and an indemnity offered to all who should 
take the oaths of allegiance to the king and queen by the 31st 
of December, 1691. All the Jacobite heads of clans had complied, 
except the chief of the M'Donalds of Glencoe, whose delay arose 
more from accident than design. He had repaired to Fort William 
on the 31st of December, where to his surprise and alarm he found 
nobody who could administer the oath. Colonel Hill, the com- 
mandant, directed him to Inverary ; but the season was rigorous, 
the country mountainous and covered with deep snow, so that 
Maclan did not arrive till the 6th of January 1692. After many 
entreaties, sir Colin Campbell, the sheriff of Argyle, consented to 
receive his oath ; but sir John Dalrymple, the master of Stair, 
and secretary for Scotland, who bore a deadly hatred to the 
M'Donalds and the Highlanders, took advantage of Maclan's 
negligence to destroy him and his whole clan, having procured from 
William an order for that purpose. 

On the 1st of February, 1692, a body of 120 soldiers appeared 
in that lonely mountain-glen, which lies near Loch Leven. They 
were commanded by Campbell of Glenlyon : and as Campbell was 
the uncle of young M' Donald's wife, they were welcomed with 
unsuspecting friendship. For nearly a fortnight the troops en- 
joyed free quarters and hospitable entertainment. On the evening 
of the 12th the officers played at cards in the house of Maclan. 
At five o'clock the next morning, lieutenant Lindsay, with a 
party of soldiers, appeared at his door and were instantly ad- 
mitted. They had come in the guise of friendship to act the 
part of assassins. Maclan was shot in the back as he was rising 
from his bed ; his wife, who had already risen, was stripped, and the 
rings torn from her fingers by the soldiers' teeth. Young and old 
were murdered without pity ; even some of the women fell in attempt- 
ing to defend their children. About 40 persons were massacred, and 
as many more, chiefly women and children, who had escaped among 
the mountains, perished there of cold and hunger. The massacre 
wouid have been more complete had lieutenant-colonel Hamilton, 
whom the master of Stair had charged with the execution, arrived 
at the appointed time. The severity of the weather delayed his 
arrival till the following day, and nothing remained for nim but to 
complete the inhuman deed by burningjhe houses, driving off the 



A.D. 1692. THREATENED INVASION BY JAMES. 531 

cattle, and dividing the spoil. By this fortunate delay 150 men 
were enahled to escape through the mountain-passes, which were 
not sufficiently guarded.* 

§ 8. This year (1692) William again embarked for Holland, 
leaving the administration of affairs in England to queen Mary. 
He was not aware of all the danger that threatened his newly 
acquired crown. Intrigues had been formed for the restoration of 
James, and were entered into not only by nonjurors and tories, but 
even by whigs. One of the principal leaders in them was the in- 
constant and treacherous Marlborough, who had induced the prin- 
cess Anne to write a letter to her father, in which she penitently 
asked his forgiveness. Admiral Eussell, commander of the fleet, 
lord Godolphin, and others, were also implicated. Marlborough 
invited James to invade England, and in some degree pledged him- 
self for the conduct of the English army. A large body of Irisli 
troops had been conveyed to France in 1690 ; and by the Pacifica- 
tion of Limerick, which allowed a free passage, their number had 
been swelled to nearly 20,000. These were at James's disposal, 
and Louis engaged to add 10,000 French. A camp was formed 
in the Cotentin, near La Hogue ; and marshal Bellefonds was 
appointed to command the army of invasion, which was to be 
convoyed by 80 sail of the line. Early in 1692 everything was 
in a state of forwardness, and James had even drawn up his 
manifesto. With his usual infelicity of judgment, its tone was 
impolitic, and disgusted many who might have been prepared to 
serve him. From the general indemnity held out to others he 
excepted not only many noblemen, but even the fishermen who 
had insulted him near Sheerness. The English ministry thought 
that they could not do him a greater injury than to publish the 
document at full length, accompanied with a biting commentary. 

The government had received some vague information of a plot ; 
and the earls of Marlborough, Huntingdon, and Scarsdale were ap- 
prehended and sent to the Tower on the information of one Young, 
a man of infamous character, and actually in Newgate on a charge 
of forgery. As the government suspected Marlborough, they en- 
couraged Young, paid his fine, and released him from prison , and 
Marlborough was detained some weeks in the Tower, till Young's 
falsehood was discovered. 

* It is urged in palliation of this bar- | and that tribe, if they can be well dis- 
parity that William did not read the war- ! tinguished from the rest of the High- 
rant, though it was carefully signed by ' landers, it will be proper for the vindica- 
him at top and at bottom, and the contents I tion of public justice to extirpate that set 
of it are too brief and too singular to have I of thieves. — W. E." The king never 
been easily overlooked. It runs as follows : i marked his abhorrence of the deed by 
— " William R. AsforMacIanof Glencoe 1 punishing the actors. 



532 WILLIAM AND MARY. Chap, xxvii. 

§ 9. The combined Dutch and English fleets, consisting of 99 
sail of the line, together with many frigates and. fireships, carrying 
6000 guns and about 40,000 men, assembled at St. Helens m May. 
As the fidelity of the admiral himself, as well as of many of his officers, 
was suspected, with good reason, Mary wrote a letter which Kus.sell 
was ordered to read to all the officers of the fleet assembled on his 
quarter-deck. In it she stated that she had heard certain reports 
respecting their conduct, but that she regarded them as calumnies, 
and put entire confidence in their loyalty. This politic step was 
attended with excellent effects. At tbe same time the militia was 
called out, and a camp formed between Petersfield and Portsmouth. 

James was waiting at La Hogue for the arrival of admiral Tour- 
ville, who was to bring 44 ships from Brest. About the middle of 
May Tourville's fleet was descried off the coast of Dorsetshire, 
whence it made for La Hogue, where the army of invasion was 
embarking. Eussell also directed his course towards that port ; 
and on the 19th of May, the haze having suddenly cleared off, the 
hostile fleets came unexpectedly in sight of each other. Tourville, 
though much inferior in force, bore down upon the allies, in the 
expectation that several of the English ships would come over to 
his side; but in this he was disappointed. Eussell's ship, the 
Britannia, of 100 guns, engaged that of the French admiral, of 104 ; 
and the battle, which raged from 11 o'clock to about 4, soon 
became general. The French admiral's ship was disabled. Towards 
evening, a breeze having sprung up from the east, and the haze 
having cleared a little, the French were descried running on all 
sides, and signal was given to chase ; but the pursuit was arrested 
by the flood-tide and the approach of night. Several of the smaller 
French ships escaped through the race of Alderney into St. Malo ; 
the larger ones sought refuge at Cherbourg and La Hogue (May 19). 
Altogether 16 French men-of-war, eight of which were three-deckers, 
were sunk or burnt, besides several transports that were cut out of 
the harbour. This victory averted the threatened invasion. After 
this battle queen Mary ordered the royal palace at Greenwich to 
be converted into an hospital for disabled seamen.* 

§ 10. The campaign in Flanders was unfavourable to the arms 
of William. In June, 1692, he lost Namur ; on August 3, he was 
defeated, with great loss, at Steinkirk. Next year he sustained a 
further reverse at Landen, where he was driven by Luxembourg 
from a formidable position. The only important event at sea, in 
1693, was also disastrous to the allies. The Smyrna fleet, con- 
sisting of about 400 English, Dutch, and Hamburg merchantmen, 

* The first stone of the new building, the present Greenwich Hospital, was not laid 
till 1696 It is now the chief naval college. 



a.d. 1693-1694. DEATH OF QUEEN MARY. 533 

was intrusted, after passing Ushant, to the convoy of a detached 
squadron of 23 English and Dutch men-of-war under sir George 
Rooke, while the remainder of the combined fleet returned to Torbay. 
Tourville, with a far superior force, now issued from the bay of 
Lagos ; Rooke was obliged to fly, and signalled the merchantmen 
to shift for themselves. About 80 of the latter were captured, as 
well as three Dutch men-of-war; the rest escaped into Spanish 
ports (June 17). 

This disgrace, as well as William's ill success in the Netherlands, 
tended to increase his unpopularity and to encourage the party of 
James (1694). Bristol, Exeter, and Boston adhered to his cause. 
In the north several considerable bodies of horse were enlisted in 
his name ; and many of the nobility and gentry engaged for them- 
selves, as well as for different towns and counties with which they 
were connected. Sunderland had again veered round, and entered 
into correspondence with James. The treason of Marlborough 
proved more useful to Tames and more disastrous to his own country- 
Marlborough informed him of an expedition that was fitting out at 
Portsmouth, under the command of the earl of Berkely and general 
Talmash, for an attack upon Brest. Berkely appeared off that port 
on the 7th of June, and 900 men were landed in Camaret Bay : but 
the French were prepared to receive them, and they were all slain 
except 100, Talmash himself receiving a mortal wound. Dieppe, 
Havre, Calais, and Dunkirk were afterwards bombarded, but with- 
out much effect. 

§ 11. As the parliament, which met in November (1694), refused 
to grant supplies except on the passing of a bill for triennial 
parliaments, William, though he had previously refused his assent 
to a similar bill, was now obliged to yield. He had also another 
motive. Mary lay dangerously ill with the small-pox ; and in the 
event of her death, which must naturally shake his influence with 
the nation, William was unwilling to incur any further unpopularity. 
The queen died on the 28th of December. In person she was tall 
and well proportioned, and her countenance, though not regularly 
beautiful, was animated and pleasing. Her manners were affable. 
She was a submissive wife, but her affections were no less limited 
than her abilities. Her death made no change in the government ; 
and William, in accordance with the act for settling the succession 
of the crown, became sole ruler. Tillotson had died shortly before 
the queen (November 22), and was succeeded in the primacy by 
Tenison, bishop of Lincoln. 



534 WILLIAM III. Chai\ xxvii. 

WILLIAM III. alone, 1694-1702. 

Anne, influenced by Marlborough and his wife, had lived on bad 
terms with her sister and brother-in-law ; but now, at the instance 
of Sunderland, she was induced to send a letter of condolence to 
William, who thought it politic to meet her advances, and even 
presented her with the greater part of Mary's jewels. 

§ 12. The session of 1695 was signalized by the discovery of an 
almost universal corruption in high places. Sir John Trevor, 
speaker of the House of Commons, for taking a bribe of 1000 guineas, 
was expelled the house (March 18). The East India Company had 
distributed upwards of 87,O0OZ. in bribes in order to secure a new 
charter ; of this sum 10,000?. were said to be traced to the king 
himself, 5000Z. to Danby (now duke of Leeds), and further sums 
to other men in power. The commons impeached the duke of 
Leeds ; but the court connived at the escape of his Swiss servant, 
the only person who could establish his guilt, and the case was 
brought to an end by the sudden prorogation of parliament (May 3). 

As the licensing act expired in 1693, the liberty of the press was 
established. An unsuccessful attempt was made to renew it this 
year. But the authors of the abolition were hardly aware of the 
important step they were taking. Their arguments turned solely 
on matters of detail, such as the hardships occasioned to printers, 
booksellers, etc. ; nor was the measure noticed in any contemporary 
publication. The abolition of the censorship was soon followed by 
the establishment of several newspapers. The London Gazette was 
the only one previously published. 

This session was also memorable for an excellent statute respect- 
ing the law of treason. " It provides that all persons indicted for 
high treason shall have a copy of their indictment delivered to 
them five days before their trial, a period extended by a subsequent 
act to ten days, and a copy of the panel of jurors two days before 
their trial ; that they shall be allowed to have their witnesses 
examined on oath, and to make their defence by counsel. It clears 
up any doubt that could be pretended on the statute of Edward 
VI., by requiring two witnesses, either both to the same overt act, 
or the first to one, the second to another overt act of the same 
treason (that is, the same kind of treason), unless the party shall 
voluntarily confess the charge. It limits prosecutions for treason 
to the term of three years, except in the case of an attempted 
assassination of the king. It includes the contested provision for 
the trial of peers by all who have a right to sit and vote in parlia- 
ment. A later statute, 7 Anne, c. 21, which may be mentioned 
here as the complement of the former, has added a peculiar privi- 



a.d. 1695-1696. CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE KING. 535 

lege to the accused, hardly less material than any of the rest. Ten 
days before the trial a list of the witnesses intended to be brought 
for proving the indictment, with their professions and places of 
abode, must be delivered to the prisoner, along with a copy of the 
indictment. The operation of this clause was suspended till after 
the death of the pretended prince of Wales." * 

After the prorogation of the parliament, William passed over 
to Holland, and distinguished himself this year, in the campaign 
in the Low Countries, by his greatest military feat, the taking 
of Namur in presence of a large force of the enemy (July 2). 
The marshal de Luxembourg was dead, and the French army 
was now commanded by marshal Villeroi and marshal Boufflers : 
France was becoming exhausted with the length of the war, and 
Louis was anxious to conclude a peace on any decent terms, whilst 
William's reputation was rising in Europe. His success abroad 
confirmed his power at home ; for, though the Jacobite party was 
increasing in England, they could hardly hope to succeed without 
the aid of France. 

§ 13. A conspiracy against the throne and life of William was, 
nevertheless, formed and detected early in 1696. The principal 
agent in it was sir George Barclay, a Scotch officer, who received a 
commission from James to attempt a general insurrection in his 
favour. Barclay arrived in London in January, and associated in 
his design one Bookwood, a priest ; Charnock, formerly a fellow of 
Magdalen college, Oxford, but now a captain ; sir John Friend, sir 
William Perkins, a captain Porter, and others. Their first scheme 
was to seize William and carry him over to France ; but as this 
seemed impracticable without taking his life, they resolved to 
attack him in the midst of his guards between Turnham Green 
and Brentford, through which places he passed every Saturday 
to hunt in Bichmond Park. With this view they procured a 
body of 40 armed men, and fixed the 15th of February for the 
attempt. But the secret was betrayed to the earl of Portland, a 
day or two previously, by captain Fisher, one of the conspirators, 
and his information was soon after confirmed by an Irishman 
named Prendergast. The king having consequently remained at 
home on the 15th, and again on the 22nd, to which day the con- 
spirators had adjourned the execution of their plot, they were seized 
with alarm ; some of them fled, but others were captured the next 
night in their beds. 

On the following day the king laid the whole plot before the 
parliament, and both houses responded with a joint address, breath- 
ing the most zealous expressions of duty and affection. A loyal 
* H illam's Constitutional History, iii. 221. 



536 WILLIAM III. Chap, xxvii. 

association was formed in imitation of that in the reign of Elizabeth, 
which was signed the same day by 400 members of the House of 
Commons ; and such members as were absent were required to sign 
it by the 16th of March, or to notify their refusal. The association 
was adopted, with very little alteration, by the House of Lords; 
and of the whole parliament, only 15 peers and 92 commoners 
refused to add their names. Shortly afterwards an act was passed 
to make the signing of the association imperative on all holders 
of civil or military employments. 

Charnock, King, sir John Friend, sir "William. Perkins, and 
four other conspirators were condemned and executed. On the 
execution of Friend and Perkins, the celebrated Jeremy Collier, 
the nonjuring divine, appeared on the scaffold, and publicly 
absolved them (April 3). The trial of sir John Fenwick, implicated 
in a scheme for a Jacobite rising, who had been captured at New 
Romney while endeavouring to escape to France, did not corne 
on till the autumn. "While he lay in Newgate he sought to pro- 
cure a pardon by turning evidence, and accused the duke of 
Shrewsbury, the earls of Bath and Marlborough, lord Godolphin, 
ind admiral Russell, of corresponding and intriguing with king 
James. Though this information is now known to have been correct, 
William refused to listen to it. As only one witness could be 
produced against Fenwick, while the law required two in cases of 
high treason, admiral Russell, to his lasting disgrace, brought in 
a bill of attainder against him, which was passed after consider- 
able opposition. Fenwick was beheaded on Tower Hill, on January 
28, 1697. 

§ 14. During the campaign of 1696 the French remained on the 
defensive ; nor did anything of importance take place at sea. All 
parties were looking forward to a peace ; and on the 9th of May a 
conference was opened between the belligerent powers, on the 
mediation of the king of Sweden, at Ryswick, a village between 
Delft and the Hague. "William had as usual gone over to Holland. 
Alt that he desired was to fix a barrier to the French power in 
Flanders, and to procure from Louis the acknowledgment of his 
title to the English throne ; but the negociations were protracted by 
the emperor of Germany and the king of Spain, who were desirous 
of continuing the war. William, therefore, while the hostile armies 
Jay opposed to each other near Brussels, caused a separate negocia- 
tion to be opened in July between the earl of Portland on his part 
and marshal Boufflers on that of Louis. 

The taking of Carthagena, in America, by a French squadron, and 
the capture of Barcelona by a French army, inclined the Spaniards 
to come to terms with Louis, and the Peace oe Ryswick was 



a.d. 1697-1698, THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. 537 

signed on September 10. 1697. Louis resigned several of his con- 
quests, and recognized William as king of England. The peace of 
Ryswick seems to have been necessary in consequence of the defec- 
tion of the duke of Savoy, and of the bad state of public credit in 
England; but William foresaw that it could be no more than * 
sort of armistice, and that a fresh struggle must soon take place on 
the subject of the Spanish succession. 

§ 15. The parliament, which met soon after the peace of Ryswick. 
voted that the army should be reduced to 7000 men, and they were 
with difficulty persuaded to allow it to remain at 10,000; at the 
same time they granted the king the large sum of 700,000?. for the 
civil list.* William was exceedingly annoyed at the vote for reducing 
the army ; and, before he repaired to Holland in the spring (1698), 
he ventured to leave sealed orders that the army should be 
raised to 16,000 men, which his ministers refused to obey. 
During his residence in Holland he negociated a treaty respecting 
the Spanish succession. Charles II. of Spain was now supposed 
to be at the point of death ; and as he left no heirs within the 
kingdom, the question of his succession threatened to disturb 
the peace of Europe. Philip IV- of Spain had had three chil- 
dren : one son, Charles II., and two daughters — the eider, Maria 
Theresa, was married to Louis XIV. of France, and the younger, 
Margaret Theresa, to the emperor Leopold I. Maria Theresa had 
renounced her pretensions to the Spanish succession on her marriage 
with the king of France. The younger sister, Margaret Theresa, 
made a similar renunciation on her marriage with Leopold; and 
their only child, a daughter, married to Maximilian Emanuel, 
elector of Bavaria, followed their example. France and Bavaria 
maintained that these princesses had no power to renounce the 
claims of their posterity ; Louis XIV. therefore demanded the 
Spanish throne for his son the dauphin, and the elector of Bavaria 
for his son the electoral prince. A third claimant was the emperor 
Leopold, who by a second marriage had two sons, Joseph king of 
the Romans, and the archduke Charles. Leopold claimed the* 
succession as the son of Maria Anne, daughter of Philip III., but 
waived his claim in favour of the archduke Charles.f 

William would have been content to gratify France, by conceding 
part of the Spanish dominions; and Louis was, or pretended to 
be, better satisfied with this partial inheritance than to have to 
fight for the whole. A treaty for the partition of Spain was ac- 
cordingly negociated in the summer at Loo, and signed on the 1st 

* They had resolved, in March, 1689, I f The genealogical table in the follow- 
that the fixed revenue of the crown should ing page exhibits the relationship of the 
be 1,200,0001. I different claimants. 



538 



WILLIAM III. 



Chap. xxvn. 



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A.D. 1698-1700. HIS UNPOPULARITY. 539 

of October ; according to which, on the death of Charles II., the 
dauphin was to be put in possession of Naples and Sicily, the ports 
on the Tuscan shore, and the marquisate of Final, in Italy ; while 
on the Spanish frontier he was to have all the territory on the 
French side of the Pyrenees, and of the mountains of Navarre, 
Alava, and Biscay. The son of the elector of Bavaria was to in- 
herit Spain, the Netherlands, and the Indies ; and Milan was to be 
assigned to the archduke Charles, second son of the emperor. It 
was intended to keep this treaty a profound secret from the king of 
Spain, but it came to his ears and naturally roused his indignation. 
Anxious to preserve the integrity of the empire, he drew up a 
will appointing the electoral prince of Bavaria his universal heir, 
according to the previous disposition of Philip IV. But Charles 
unexpectedly recovered ; and both the treaty and the will were de- 
feated by the demise of the electoral prince at Brussels (February 
8, 1699). 

§ 16. The new parliament, which assembled on December 6, 1698, 
exhibited strong symptoms of discontent. It insisted on the reduc- 
tion of the army to 7*000 men, and also voted that they should be 
natives of the British dominions. This involved the dismissal of 
the Dutch guards, the severest mortification which William had 
ever experienced. On this occasion he even condescended to send 
a message to the commons by lord Kanelagh, entreating them as 
a personal favour that his guards might be retained ; and when 
they refused to comply, he burst into a violent passion, and threat- 
ened to abandon the kingdom. All the debates of the commons 
continued hostile to the king. In the last session they had ap- 
pointed commissioners to inquire into the grants of forfeited estates 
in Ireland ; and the report being now brought in, it appeared that 
no fewer than 3921 persons had been outlawed in that country 
since February, 1689, and that more than 1,060,000 acres of 
land had been declared forfeited, the annual rent of which was 
computed at 211,623Z. It also appeared that large grants of 
these lands had been made to foreigners, as Keppel,* Bentinck, 
Ginkell, and Ruvigny, who had also obtained peerages in one of 
the two kingdoms. But the most obnoxious of all was the grant 
of king James's private estates, containing 95,000 acres and 
valued at 25,995L per annum, to William's mistress, Elizabeth 
Villiers, now countess of Orkney. The commons resolved unani- 
mously that all these forfeitures should be applied to the public 
use ; and they even added that the grants which had been made 

* Keppel was created earl of Albemarle l of Portland, as already related (see p 
in 1697, and was the ancestor of the 522); Ginkell, earl of Athlone; and 
present earl. Bentinck was created earl I Ruvigny, earl of Galway. 



540 WILLIAM III. Chap, xxvii. 

of them were a reflection upon the king's honour (January 18, 1700). 
To secure the king's assent, the bill for the resumption of these 
forfeitures was tacked to the bill of supply. Several amendments 
were proposed and carried in the lords, and angry conferences 
ensued between the two houses. The commons threatened to 
impeach the earls of Portland and Albemarle, and resolved to 
address the king that no foreigners, except prince George of Den- 
mark, should be admitted to the royal councils. William began 
to be alarmed, and. sent a private message to his friends in the 
lords to withdraw their opposition. The bill having passed in its 
original state, the king came to the house, gave his assent to it, 
and then suddenly prorogued the parliament without any speech 
(April 11). 

§ 17. The rapid decline of the king of Spain's health hastened 
the conclusion of a second treaty of partition, which was signed at 
London on the 21st February, and at the Hague on the 14th of 
March, 1700. William had spent great part of the preceding sum- 
mer and autumn at Loo in negotiating the treaty, as he and tbe 
States were desirous of bringing the emperor into their views ; but in 
October Leopold formally rejected any partition whatever. By this 
new treaty the share formerly allotted to the electoral prince was to be 
transferred to the archduke Charles, and Milan was to be added to 
the dauphin's portion, with power to exchange it for Lorraine. To 
prevent tbe union of the imperial crown with that of Spain, it was 
provided that the king of the Romans should not succeed to the 
Spanish kingdom in case of the archduke's death; and a like pro- 
vision was made with regard to tbe king of France and the dauphin. 

The long-expected death of Charles II. of Spain, which followed 
on the first of November, soon discovered how fruitless had been 
all the pains bestowed on the partition treaties. The pride of the 
Spanish nation was naturally wounded by the treaty, and Charles 
especially was grievously offended by it. The French ambassador 
availed himself of this feeling to persuade Charles to make another 
will, in favour of Philip, duke of Anjou, the second son of the 
dauphin ; nor did Lewis hesitate to accept this magnificent bequest 
to his grandson. In case of his refusal, the Spanish throne was 
to be tendered to tbe archduke Charles. William found it prudent 
to acquiesce in the new arrangement, and ultimately acknowledged 
the title of the duke of Anjou. 

§ 18. In the last year or two there had been several changes 
in the ministiy. The king trimmed between whigs and tories 
with a dexterity which rendered it difficult to say to which he 
most inclined. In this year the tory earl of Rochester was appointed 
to the lord-lieutenancy • of Ireland. A cabinet council, that is, a 



A.D. 1701. THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 541 

select body of ministers with whom the king exclusively consulted, 
and who prepared and digested the measures which were subse- 
quently laid before the general body of the privy council rather 
as a matter of form than of necessity, was now regularly established. 
Traces of a cabinet first begin to appear under Charles I., and 
become more frequent under Charles II. ; but it was not till the 
reign of William that it became the regular mode of government. 
In earlier times the sovereign was accustomed to consult the whole 
body of the privy council, and was guided by the opinion of the 
majority. The cabinet, therefore, was a sort of silent revolution 
which crept in unobserved, and has never been recognized by the 
constitution. 

§ 19. In the new parliament which assembled in February, 1701, the 
tories had the majority, aud Robert Harley, oue of their leaders, 
was chosen speaker. As the death of the duke of Gloucester, 
the only survivor of Anne's large family, which happened in the 
preceding July at the age of 11, left the succession of the crown' 
unprovided for after the demise of William and Anne, it became 
necessary to make a new settlement, and the king recommended 
the subject to the consideration of parliament.' The nest in 
blood, after the children of James II., was the duchess of Savoy, 
daughter of Henrietta, duchess of Orleans, and then the family 
of the elector palatine, all of whom, however, had abjured the 
reformed faith, with the exception of his daughter Sophia, married 
to the elector of Hanover j to her, therefore, as papists were 
excluded from the succession by act of parliament, it became 
necessary to revert. Nor was William averse to this arrangement. 
As he was desirous of securing the accession of the elector of 
Hanover to the grand alliance he was then meditating, Sophia 
and the heirs of her body, being protestants, were declared next 
in succession to the king, after the princess of Denmark and their 
respective heirs. The act to settle the protestant succession was 
passed in the summer of 1701. (Supplement, Note XL) 

The commons took advantage of this settlement to supply some 
deficiencies in the Bill of Rights, and therefore this act (12 and 13 
William III. c. 2) became a most important one, and put as it were 
the seal to the English constitution. The tory government showed 
themselves on this occasion no less the friends of liberty than the 
whigs, and moved and carried certain resolutions as preliminary 
to the settlement of the succession, to the following effect : That 
whoever should hereafter come to the throne should join in com- 
munion with the church of England, as by law established ; that 
in case of the crown devolving on a foreigner, the nation shall not 
be obliged to enter into any foreign war without the consent of 
25 



542 WILLIAM ILL Chai\ sxvii. 

parliament ; that no future sovereign shall leave Great Britain or 
Ireland without consent of parliament ■ that all matters cognizable 
in the privy council shall be transacted there, and all resolutions 
taken be signed by such of the privy council as shad consent to 
them ; that none but a person born of English parents shall be 
capable of holding office under the crown, or receiving a grant from 
it, or being a member of parliament ; that no person in the service 
of the crown, or receiving a pension, shall be capable of sitting 
in the House of Commons; that the commissions ot the judges 
shall be irrevocable so long as they conduct themselves properly 
(" quamdiu se bene gesserint "), but that they may be removed on 
an address of both houses ; and that no pardon under the great seal 
shall be pleadable to an impeachment of the commons. 

These provisions, and especially the last two, were highly im- 
portant safeguards to the liberty and welfare of the country. That 
respecting placemen sitting in parliament was repealed in 1706 ; 
but it was provided at the same time that any member of the 
lower house accepting office should vacate his seat, and again offer 
himself to his constituents ; and that no person holding any office 
created since October 25, 1705, should be eligible at all. The 
obligation an privy councillors to sign their names to the resolu- 
tions they approved was also abrogated. The article respecting the 
sovereign leaving the United Kingdom was repealed soon after the 
accession of George I., and that respecting the privy council by Anne. 

§ 20. Both houses of parliament expressed the highest disappro- 
bation of the partition treaties, to which they ascribed the will of 
Charles II. in favour of the duke of Anjou. The commons addressed 
the king to remove the earl of Portland, the earl of Orford,* lord 
Halifax,! and lord Somers J from his presence and councils for 
ever, and ordered them to be impeached at the bar of the lords, on 
account of the steps they had taken in promoting the partition 
treaties, as well as for other alleged illegal practices. But as an 
irreconcilable difference sprang up between the two houses as to 
the mode of proceeding, and the commons refused to appear on the 
day appointed by the peers, the impeached ministers were acquitted 
(June, 1701). 



* The earl of Orford was admiral Rus- 
sell, who received this title in 1697. It 
became extinct upon his death in 1727, 
but was revived in 1742 in favour of the 
celebrated sir Robert Walpole. 

f This lord Halifax was Charles Mon- 
tague, a grandson of the first earl of 
Manchester, and was created lord Halifax 
in 1700, and earl of Halifax in 1714. He 
was of a different family from the cele- 



brated George Savile, marquess of Halifax, 
who died in 1695, and was succeeded in 
the title by his son, who died in 1700, 
when the title became extinct. 

I Somers was lord chancellor, and had 
been dismissed from office in the previous 
year (1700") in consequence of the attacks 
made upon him in parliament. The 
present earl Somers is a descendant of the 
eldest sister of the chancellor. 



a.d. 1701. DEATH OF KING JAMES II. 543 

Although William had acknowledged the new king of Spain, he 
was hy no means satisfied with that arrangement, especially as it 
proved so distasteful to his subjects. During the summer, which 
he spent in Holland, negociations had been going on between him 
and D'Avaux, the French ambassador; but when these utterly 
failed, William, about the beginning of August, 1700, set on foot 
a treaty with the emperor, who had already commenced the War 
of the Spanish Succession by attacking the French in Italy. 
William, however, would engage himself no further than for the 
recovery of Flanders and the Milanese, the former as a barrier to 
Holland, the latter as a barrier to the empire. He likewise stipu- 
lated that England and Holland should retain whatever conquests 
they might make in both the Indies. On these conditions a treaty 
was signed (September 7th, 1701) between the emperor, England, 
and the States, which afterwards obtained the name of the Grand 
Alliance. 

On the 6th of September king James II. expired at St. Germains. 
Ever since the peace of Eyswick, which extinguished his hopes of 
regaining the English crown, he had abandoned himself to all the 
austerities of his temper and his religion; and some time before 
his decease he had fallen into a kind of lethargy. Louis paid him 
a visit as he lay on his deathbed, and in the presence of his attend- 
ants, whom he would not suffer to withdraw, and who wept at 
once for joy and grief, he declared his intention of acknowledging 
James Francis Edward, son of James II., as king of Great Britain and 
Ireland. He visited the young prince in state, addressed him 
by the title of majesty, and caused him to be acknowlenged by 
the French court and nation. William immediately remonstrated 
against these proceedings, as infringing the treaty of Ryswick; 
dismissed the French ambassador and recalled his own ; while both 
sides began to make preparations for war. The French took 
possession of the towns on the Rhine ; the Dutch entered Juliers 
in force ; and William arranged with the States a campaign for the 
ensuing spring : but, notwithstanding the pressing solicitations of 
the emperor, he would not declare war till he had assured himself 
of the support of the English parliament ; and he left Holland in 
November for the purpose of opening that assembly. 

The new parliament, chiefly composed of whigs, met in Decem- 
ber, when Harley was again elected to the chair. The commons, 
in their address to the king on his speech, warmly conveyed their 
approbation of the course he had pursued with regard to France, 
and expressed a hope that no peace would be concluded till Louis 
had atoned for acknowledging the Pretender. A bill was brought 
in and passed for the attainder of that prince, and another for his 



544 



WILLIAM III. 



Chap, xxvu. 



abjuration "by all persons holding employments in church or state ; 
and the commons voted 40,000 men to act with the allies, and a 
like number of seamen for the fleet. In the midst of these prepara- 
tions William met with an accident which, in his rapidly declining 
state of health, proved fatal. On the 21st of February, 1702, while 
riding, in the park of Hampton Court, his horse fell with him, and 
he broke his collar-bone. It was at first anticipated that the acci- 
dent would not be attended with any dangerous consequences, and 
on the 28th he was declared convalescent. But on the 2nd of 
March symptoms appeared which precluded all hope of recovery ; 
and on Sunday, the 8th, he expired, at the early age of 51, after 
receiving the sacrament from the archbishop of Canterbury. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTEATIONS. 



AN ACT FOR DECLARING THE 
RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES OF THE 
SUBJECT, AND SETTLING THE 
SUCCESSION OF THE CROWN 
(1689"). 

Whereas the Lords Spiritual and Tem- 
poral, and Commons, assembled at West- 
minster, lawfully, fully, and freely repre- 
senting all the estates of the people of 
this realm, did, upon the 13th day of 
February, in the year of our Lord 168§, 
present unto their majesties, then called 
and known by the names and style of 
William and Mary, prince and princess of 
Orange, being present in their proper 
persons, a certain declaration in writing, 
made by the said Lords and Commons, in 
the words following ; viz. — 

Whereas the late king James II., by 
the assistance of divers evil counsellors, 
judges, and ministers emploved by him, 
did endeavour to subvert and extirpate 
the protestant religion, and the laws and 
liberties of this kingdom : — 

1. By assuming and exercising a power 
of dispensing with and suspending of 
laws, and the execution of laws, without 
consent of parliament. 

2. By committing and prosecuting 
divers worthy prelates, for humbly peti- 
tioning to be excused from concurring to 
the said assumed power. 

3. By issuing and causing to be executed 
a commission under the great seal for 
erecting a court called the court of Com- 
missioners for Ecclesiastical Causes. 

4. By levying money for and to the use 



of the crown, by pretence of prerogative, 
for other time, and in other manner, than 
the same was granted by parliament. 

5. By raising and keeping a standing 
army within this kingdom in time of 
peace, without consent of parliament, and 
quartering soldiers contrary to law. 

6. By causing several good subjects, 
being protestants, to be disarmed, at the 
same time when papists were both armed 
and employed, contrary to law. 

I. By violating the freedom of election 
of members to serve in parliament. 

8. By prosecutions in the court of 
King's Bench for matters and causes cog- 
nizable only in parliament ; and by divers 
other arbitrary and illegal courses. 

9. And whereas of late years partial, 
corrupt, and unqualified persons have 
been returned and served on juries in 
trials, and particularly divers jurors in 
trials for high treason, which were not 
freeholders. 

10. And excessive bail hath been re- 
quired of persons committed in criminal 
cases, to elude the benefit of the laws 
made for the liberty of the subjects. 

II. And excessive fines have been im- 
posed ; and illegal aud cruel punishments 
inflicted. 

12. And several grants and promises 
made of fines and forfeitures, before any 
conviction or judgment against the per- 
sons upon whom the same were to be 
levied. 

All which are utterly and directly con- 
trary to the known laws and statutes, and 
freedom of this realm. 



Chap, xxvii. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



54; 



And whereas the said late king James 
II. having abdicated the government, and 
the throne being thereby vacant, his high- 
ness the prince of Orange (whom it hath 
pleased Almighty God to make the 
glorious instrument of delivering this 
kingdom from popery and arbitrary 
power) did (by the advice of the Lords 
Spiritual and Temporal, and divers princi- 
pal persons of the Commons) cause letters 
to be written to the Lords Spiritual and 
Temporal, being protestants ; and other 
letters to the several counties, cities, 
universities, boroughs, and cinque ports, 
for the choosing of such persons to repre- 
sent them as were of right to be sent to 
parliament, to meet and sit at West- 
minster upon the 22nd of January, in 
this year 168|, in order to such an estab- 
lishment as that their religion, laws, and 
liberties might not again be in danger of 
being subverted ; upon which letters 
elections have been already made. 

And thereupon the said Lords Spiritual 
and Temporal, and Commons, pursuant 
to their respective letters and elections, 
being now assembled in a full and free 
representation of this nation, taking into 
their most serious consideration the best 
means for attaining the ends aforesaid, do 
in the first place (as their ancestors in 
like case have usually done), for the 
vindicating and asserting their ancient 
rights and liberties, declare : — 

1. That the pretended power of sus- 
pending of laws, or the execution of laws, 
by regal authority, without consent of 
parliament, is illegal. 

2. That the pretended power of dis- 
pensing with laws, or the execution of 
laws, by regal authority, as it hath been 
assumed and exercised of late, is illegal. 

3. That the commission for erecting 
the late court of Commissioners for Ec- 
clesiastical Causes, and all other commis- 
sions and courts of like nature, are illegal 
and pernicious. 

4. That levying money for or to the use 
of the crown, by pretence and prerogative, 
without grant of parliament, for longer 
time or in other manner than the same is 
or shall be granted, is illegal. 

5. That it is the right of the subjects to 
petition the king, and all commitments 
and prosecutions for such petitioning are 
illegal. 

6. That the raising or keeping a stand- 
ing army within the kingdom in time of 



peace, unless it be with consent of parlia- 
ment, is against law. 

I. That the subjects which are protes- 
tants may have arms for their defence 
suitable to their conditions, and as allowed 
by law. 

8. That election of members of parlia- 
ment ought to be free. 

9. That the freedom of speech, and 
debates or proceedings in parliament, 
ought not to be impeached or questioned 
in any court or place out of parliament. 

10. That excessive bail ought not to be 
required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel and unusual punishments in- 
flicted. 

II. That jurors ought to be duly im- 
panelled and returned, and jurors which 
pass upon men in trials for high treason 
ought to be freeholders. 

12. That all grants and promises of 
fines and forfeitures of particular persons 
before conviction are illegal and void. 

13. And that for redress of all griev- 
a nces, and for the amending, strengthen- 
ing, and preserving of the laws, parlia- 
ment ought to be held frequently. 

And they do claim, demand, and insist 
upon all and singular the premises, as 
their undoubted rights and liberties ; and 
that no declarations, judgments, doings, 
or proceedings, to the prejudice of the 
people in any of the said premises, ought 
in any wise to be drawn hereafter into 
consequence or example : 

To which demand of their rights they are 
particularly encouraged by the declaration 
of his highness the prince of Orange, as 
being the only means for obtaining a full 
redress and remedy therein : 

Having therefore an entire confidence 
that his said highness the prince of 
Orange will perfect the deliverance so far 
advanced by him, and will still preserve 
them from the violation of their rights, 
which they have here asserted, and from 
all other attempts upon their religion, 
rights, and liberties : 

11. The said Lords Spiritual and Tem- 
poral, and Commons, assembled at West- 
minster, do resolve, that William and 
Mary, prince and princess of Orange, be, 
and be declared, king and queen of Eng- 
land, France, and Ireland, and the do- 
minions thereunto belonging, to hold the 
crown and royal dignity of the said king- 
doms and dominions to them the said 
prince and princess during their lives, 



546 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Chai. xxvn/ 



and the liie oi the survivor ol them ; and 
that the sole and full exercise of the regal 
power be only in and executed by the 
said prince of Orange, in the names of the 
said prince and princess, during their 
joint lives; and after their deceases, the 
said crown and royal dignity of the said 
kingdoms and dominions to be left to the 
heirs of the body of the said princess ; and 
for default of such issue to the princess 
Anne of Denmark and the heirs of her 
body ; and for default of such issue to the 
heirs of the body of the said prince of 
Orange. And the Lords Spiritual and 
Temporal, and Commons, do pray the 
said prince and princess to accept the 
same accordingly. 

III. And that the oaths hereafter men- 
tioned be taken by all persons of whom 
the oaths of allegiance and supremacy 
might be required by law, instead of 
them ; and that the said oaths of alle- 
giance and supremacy be abrogated. 

I, A. B., do sincerely promise and 
swear that I will be faithful and bear true 
allegiance to their majesties king William 
and queen Mary : So help me God. 

I, A. B., do swear that I do from my 
heart abhor, detest, and abjure as impious 
and heretical, that damnable doctrine and 
position that princes excommunicated or 
deprived by the pope, or any authority of 
the see of Rome, may be deposed or mur- 
dered by their subjects, or any other 
■whatsoever. And I do declare that no 
foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or 
potentate hath, or ought to have, any 
jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre- 
eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or 
spiritual, within this realm : So help me 
God. 

IV. Upon which their said majesties 
did accept the crown and royal dignity of 
the kingdoms of England, France, and 
Ireland, and the dominions thereunto be- 
longing, according to the resolution and 
desire of the said Lords and Commons 
contained in the said declaration. 

V. And thereupon their majesties were 
pleased that the said Lords Spiritual and 
Temporal, and Commons, being the two 
houses of parliament, should continue to 
sit, and with their majesties' royal con- 
currence make effectual provision for the 
settlement of the religion, Taws, and 
liberties of this kingdom, so that the 
same for the future might not be in 
danger again of being subverted ; to 



which the said Lords Spiritual and Tem- 
poral, and Commons, did agree and pro- 
ceed to act accordingly. 

VI. Now, in pursuance of the premises, 
the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, 
and Commons, in parliament assembled, 
for the ratifying, confirming, and estab- 
lishing the said declaration, and the 
articles, clauses, matters, and things 
therein contained, by the force of a law 
made in due form by authority of parlia- 
ment, do pray that it may be declared 
and enacted, that all and singular the rights 
and liberties asserted and claimed in the 
said declaration are the true, ancient, and 
indubitable rights and liberties of the 
people of this kingdom, and so shall be 
esteemed, allowed, adjudged, deemed, and 
taken to be, and that all and every the 
particulars aforesaid shall be firmly and 
strictly holden and observed, as they are 
expressed in the said declaration ; and all 
officers and ministers whatsoever shall 
serve their majesties and their successors 
according to the same in all times to 
come. 

VII. And the said Lords Spiritual and 
Temporal, and Commons, seriously con- 
sidering how it hath pleased Almighty 
God, in His marvellous providence and 
merciful goodness to this nation, to pro- 
vide and preserve their said majesties' 
royal persons most happily to reign over 
us upon the throne of their ancestors, for 
which they render unto Him from the 
bottom of their hearts their humblest 
thanks and praises, do truly, firmly, as- 
suredly, and in the sincerity of their 
hearts, think, and do hereby recognize, 
acknowledge, and declare, that king 
James II. having abdicated the govern- 
ment, and their majesties having accepted 
the crown and royal dignity as aforesaid, 
their said majesties did become, were, are, 
and of right ought to be, by the laws of 
this realm, our sovereign liege lord and 
lady, king and queen of England, France, 
and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto 
belonging, in and to whose princely per- 
sons the royal state, crown, and dignity 
of the said realms, with all honours, 
styles, titles, regalities, prerogatives, 
powers, jurisdictions, and authorities to 
the same belonging and appertaining, 
are most fully, rightfully, and entirely 
invested and incorporated, united and 
annexed. 

VIII. And for preventing all questions 



Chap, xxvii. NOTES AND ILLUSTEATIONS. 



547 



and divisions in this realm, by reason of 
any pretended titles to the crown, and for 
preserving a certainty in the succession 
thereof, in and upon which the unity, 
peace, tranquillity, and safety of this 
nation doth, under God, wholly consist 
and depend, the said Lords Spiritual and 
Temporal, and Commons, do beseech their 
majesties that it may be enacted, estab- 
lished, and declared, that the crown and 
regal government of the said kingdoms 
and dominions, with all and singular the 
premises thereunto belonging and apper- 
taining, shall be and continue to their 
said majesties, and the survivor of them, 
during their lives, and the life of the 
survivor of them. And that the entire, 
perfect, and full exercise of the regal 
power and government be only in and 
executed by his majesty, in the names of 
both their majesties during their joint 
lives; and after their deceases the said 
crown and premises shall be and remain 
to the heirs of the body of her majesty ; 
and for default of such issue, to her royal 
highness the princess Anne of Denmark 
and the heirs of her body ; and for default 
of such Issue, to the heirs of the body of 
his said majesty : And thereunto the said 
Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Com- 
mons, do, in the name of all the people 
aforesaid, most humbly and faithfully 
submit themselves, their heirs and pos- 
terities for ever; and do faithfully pro- 
mise that they will stand to, maintain, 
and defend their said majesties, and also 
the limitation and succession of the 
crown herein specified and contained, to 
the utmost of their powers, with their 
lives and estates, against all persons 
whatsoever that shall attempt anything 
to the contrary. 

IX. And whereas it hath been found by 
experience that it is inconsistent with the 
safety and welfare of this protestant king- 
dom to be governed by a popish prince, 
or by any king or queen marrying a 
papist , the said Lords Spiritual and Tem- 
poral, and Commons, do further pray that 
it may be enacted, that all and every per- 
son and persons that is, are, or shall be 
reconciled to, or shall hold communion 
with, the see or church of Rome, or shall 
profess the popish religion, or shall marry 
a papist, shall be excluded, and be for 
ever inoapable to inherit, possess, or enjoy 
the crown and government of this realm, 
and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto 



belonging, or any part of the same, or to 
have, use, or exercise any regal power, 
authority, or jurisdiction within the same ; 
and in all and every such case or cases 
the people of these realms shall be and 
are hereby absolved of their allegiance ; 
and the said crown and government shall 
from time to time descend to, and be en- 
joyed by, such person or persons, being 
protestants, as should have inherited and 
enjoyed the same in case the said person 
or persons so reconciled, holding com- 
munion, or professing, or marrying as 
aforesaid, were naturally dead. 

X. And that every king and queen of 
this realm who at any time hereafter shall 
come to and succeed in the imperial 
crown of this kingdom shall, on the first 
day of the meeting of the first parliament 
next after his or her coming to the crown, 
sitting in his or her throne in the House 
of Peers, in the presence of the Lords and 
Commons therein assembled, or at his or 
her coronation, before such person or 
persons who shall administer the corona- 
tion oath to him or her, at the time of his 
or her taking the said oath (which shall 
first happen), make, subscribe, and audibly 
repeat the declaration mentioned in the 
statute made in the 13th year of the reign 
of king Charles II., intituled, "An Act for 
the more effectual preserving the King's 
Person and Government, by disabling 
Papists from sitting in either House of 
Parliament." But if it shall happen that 
such king or queen, upon his or her suc- 
cession to the crown of this realm, shall 
be under the age of twelve years, then 
every such king or queen shall make, 
subscribe, and audibly repeat the said 
declaration at his or her coronation, or 
the first day of meeting of the first par- 
liament as aforesaid, which shall first 
happen, after such king or queen shall 
have attained the said age of twelve 
years. 

XL All which their majesties are con- 
tented and pleased shall be declared, 
enacted, and established by authority of 
this present parliament, and shall stand, 
remain, and be the law of this realm for 
ever; and the same are by their said 
majesties, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Tem- 
poral, and Commons, in parliament as- 
sembled, and by the authority of the 
same, declared, enacted, or established 
accordingly. 



548 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Chap, xxvii. 



XII. And be it further declared and 
enacted by the authority aforesaid, that 
from and after this present session of 
parliament no dispensation by non ob- 
stante of or to any statute, or any part 
thereof, shall be allowed, but that the 
same shall be held void and of no effect, 
except a dispensation be allowed of in 
such statute, and except in such cases as 
shall be specially provided for by one or 



more bill or bills to be passed during this 
present session of parliament. 

XIII. Provided that no charter, or 
grant, or pardon granted before the 23rd 
day of October, in the year of our Lord 
1689, shall be any ways impeached or in- 
validated by this act, but that the same 
shall be and remain of the same force and 
effect in law, and no other than as if this 
act had never been made. 




Medal of queen Anne, in honour of the Union, struck at Leipzig. 

Obv. : ANNA D . G . MAG . ET UNIT.33 BRIT.E . FRA . ET HIB . REGINA. Bust, Crowned 

to left. Eev. : et exteris etiam grata. Two female figures, standing, joining 
wreaths ; behind them, view of a city. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

QUEEN ANNE, 1. A.D. 1665 ; r. 1702-1714. 

§ 1. Accession and coronation of Anne. Influence of lord and lady Marl- 
borough. Campaign of 1702. Success at Vigo. § 2. Marlborough 
made a duke. His intrigues. State of parties. § 3. Campaigns of 
1703 and 1704. Battle of Blenheim. Taking of Gibraltar. § 4. Cam- ■ 
paigns of 1705 and 1706. Battle of Ramillies. § 5. Union with 
Scotland. § 6. Campaigns of 1707, 1708, and 1709. Battles of 
Oudenarde and Malplaquet. § 7. Decline of Marlborough's influence. 
§ 8. Trial of Dr. Sacheverell. Change of ministry. Character of the 
times. § 9. New parliament. Harley stabbed. Becomes lord treasurer 
and earl of Oxford. Act against occasional conformity, and Schism Act. 
§ 10. Marlborough accused of peculation, and censured by the commons. 
Proceedings in Flanders. The duke of Ormond withdraws the English 
forces from the allies. § 11. Treaty of Utrecht. § 12. Manoeuvres of 
the Jacobites and Hanoverians. § 13. Rupture between Oxford and 
Bolingbroke Oxford dismissed. The duke of Shrewsbury appointed 
treasurer. Death and character of the queen. 

§ 1. On the demise of William, Anne, princess of Denmark, imme- 
diately ascended the throne by virtue of the act of 1689, and was 
proclaimed on the 8th of March, 1702. On the 12th of April the 
late king was privately interred, and on the 23rd the queen was 
crowned in Westminster Abbey. Somers, Halifax, and other whig 
leaders, were not admitted to the privy council ; the marquess 
of Norman by * was made privy seal (April 21) ; lord Godolphin, lord 



* John Sheffield, marquess of Nor- 
manby, was created duke of Buckingham 
in 1762. The title became extinct on the 
25* 



death of his son in 1192. The present 
marquess of Normanby belongs to a differ- 
ent family. 



550 ANNE. Chap, xxviii. 

high treasurer (May 12) 3 the earl of Nottingham and sir Charles 
Hedges, principal secretaries of state (May 2). Marlborough, who 
had been the faithful friend of Anne when she was of little account 
with the nation, received the most substantial marks of her favour. 
He was made a knight of the garter, and captain-general of all the 
queen's forces ; and, towards the end of March, he had proceeded to 
Holland in the character of extraordinary ambassador. Anne was 
entirely governed by lady Marlborough, who ruled her through the 
ascendency which a strong mind naturally exercises over a weak 
one. In their confidential intercourse all titles and ceremony were 
dropped : Anne became Mrs. Morley, and lady Marlborough Mrs. 
Freeman — a name that expressed the character of her influence. 
Prince George of Denmark, who was even weaker than his consort 
the queen, yielded without a struggle to all these arrangements; 
and Marlborough and his wife might almost be regarded as the 
sovereigns of England. 

Soon after her accession, Anne had notified to her allies abroad 
her determination to pursue the policy of the late king ; and when 
Marlborough returned from his embassy, war was at his instance 
declared against France and Spain (May 4). In July Marlborough 
assumed the command of the allied army in Flanders ; and, though 
he was disappointed in bringing the enemy to a general engagement, 
he finished the campaign with reputation by reducing Venloo, Eure- 
monde, and the citadel of Liege, by which he obtained the command 
of the Meuse. 

In Italy and Germany the campaign was not marked by any im- 
portant event. At sea the English and Dutch combined fleets 
under sir George Kooke, with 12,000 troops on board commanded 
by the duke of Ormond, after making an unsuccessful attempt upon 
Cadiz, proceeded to Vigo, where the Spanish galleons had just 
arrived under convoy of 80 French men-of-war. The allies suc- 
ceeded in capturing six vessels; 13 were sunk or burnt. AH the 
galleons were either taken or destroyed ; and though the greatest 
part of the treasure had been carried off, yet the English and Dutch 
obtained a large booty (October 12). In the same summer admiral 
Benbow, commander of the English fleet in the West Indies, dis- 
played the most distinguished valour, in sustaining five days, when 
deserted by several of his captains, a fight against a French fleet 
of much superior force (August 24). His own ship was reduced to 
a mere wreck ; he was wounded in the arm and face, and had his leg 
shot away ; but he contrived to get into Kingston, Jamaica, where 
he died soon after of his wounds (November 4). He had ordered 
four of his captains to be tried by a court-martial, two of whom were 
condemned and shot ; one was cashiered, and another died previously 
to his trial (October 8). 



a.d. 1702-1703. MARLBOROUGH CREATED A DUKE. 551 

§ 2. The new parliament met (October 20) ; and a committee of 
the commons presented Marlborough, who had now returned to 
England, with the thanks of the house. The queen created him a 
duke, and settled on him for life a pension of 5000Z. a year, payable 
out of the revenue of the post-office. She likewise desired the 
commons to settle the pension for ever on the heirs male of his 
body ; but they received the message in silence and astonishment, 
and after a warm debate the proposal was rejected. Marlborough 
was unpopular for his avarice, his meanness, and his political 
delinquencies. Notwithstanding his high post, he was suspected 
of listening to the intrigues of the court of St. Germains to obtain 
the repeal of the act of settlement ; and Anne herself was thought 
to be not averse to the succession of the Pretender. To stimulate 
Marlborough's exertions, a marriage was proposed between his 
third daughter and the prince of Wales ; while, on the other hand, 
the Hanoverians, hearing of this project, started a counter one of 
a marriage between the same lady and the electoral prince. At 
this period a strong Jacobite faction existed in the kingdom. The 
House of Lords were much more whiggish than the commons. To 
support the court interests, Finch, Grower, Granville, and Seymour, 
four tories, were raised to the peerage, and other lords were advanced 
to higher titles. A bill brought into the commons (November, 
1703) to prevent occasional conformity, was defeated by a majority 
of 12 in the lords, 11 of the bishops voting against it. They also 
presented an address to the queen in behalf of theprotestant succes- 
sion and the princess Sophia. 

§ 3. In 1703 the defection of the duke of Savoy, and of Peter II., 
king of Portugal, who joined the Grand Alliance, proved a great 
blow to the affairs of Louis, particularly as the latter event opened 
a way for the allies into the heart of Spain. On the whole, how- 
ever, the campaign of this year was in favour of the French. 
They gained several advantages in Germany, and their allies the 
Bavarians pressed hard upon the Austrians. Marlborough was 
more fortunate. Bonn surrendered to him on the 15th of May, 
after a siege of 12 days. He took the fortresses of Huy, Limburg, 
and Gueldres ; but as the numerous towns which the French had 
garrisoned in the Low Countries had reduced the strength of their 
army, they were cautious in taking the open field, and all Marl- 
borough's endeavours to draw them to an engagement proved 
unsuccessful. In spite of his ill success, the emperor, renouncing, 
in his own name and in that of his eldest son, all pretension to the 
throne of Spain, caused his second son to be crowned king of that 
country, with the title of Charles III. Towards the end of the year 
the new-made monarch arrived at Spithead ; and, after visiting the 



552 ANNE. Chap, xxviii. 

queen at Windsor, proceeded on his way to Portugal. His title 
was acknowledged by all the allies. Shortly before his arrival 
(November 26), England had been visited by the greatest storm 
ever known in this country. Whole forests were uprooted, and the 
damage in London alone was estimated at 1,000,000Z. At sea 12 
ships of the royal navy were cast away, besides a great number of 
merchantmen, and 1500 men were lost in the royal navy. 

The campaign of the last year having rendered the allies masters 
of the Meuse and of Spanish Guelderland, Marlborough conceived 
a bolder and more extensive plan of operations for 1704. As Leopold 
was hard pressed by the French and Bavarians, Marlborough con- 
certed arrangements for his relief with prince Eugene. Directing 
his march on Maestricht, and thence through Juliers to Coblentz, he 
crossed the Rhine at that place ; then passing the Main and Neckar, 
he was joined by prince Eugene at Mindelsheim. Hence the latter 
proceeded to Philipsburg, to take the command of the army of the 
Upper Rhine ; and Marlborough, pursuing his march towards the 
Danube, formed a junction with the imperialists under prince 
Louis of Baden at Winterstellen. The allied forces, consisting o£ 
96 battalions of foot and 202 squadrons of horse and dragoons, and 
having 48 pieces of cannon, encamped on the river Brenz (June 28), 
within two leagues of the elector of Bavaria's army. The enemy's 
force was inferior, consisting of 88 battalions and 160 squadrons 
only ; but they were much stronger in artillery, having 90 guns 
and 40 mortars and howitzers. On the 2nd July the allies attacked 
and took Donauwerth, thus separating the enemy's forces on the 
Upper and Lower Danube, and securing a bridge over that river. 
The loss was great on both sides ; and the elector retreated towards 
Augsburg, followed by the allies. Both armies, however, soon 
received an accession of force — the Bavarians being joined by the 
French under marshal Tallard, and Marlborough by prince Eugene, 
who had followed Tallard through the Black Forest. The forces on 
each side now amounted to between 50,000 and 60,000 men, but 
the enemy were rather superior. They were encamped on a height 
near Hochstadt, with the Danube on their right ; and the village 
of Blenheim, which lies on the Danube, was a little in front of their 
right wing. Their left was covered by a thick wood, and consider- 
ably in advance of their front was a rivulet and morass. Notwith- 
standing the strength of their position, Marlborough resolved to 
attack them. Marshal Tallard, who commanded the enemy's right, 
and who was opposed to Marlborough at the head of the allied left, 
conceiving that Blenheim would be the principal object of attack, 
had occupied that village with 28 battalions and eight squadrons of 
dragoons — a fatal error, by which he weakened the centre of his line. 



a.d. 1703-1704. BATTLE OF BLENHEIM. 553 

Marlborough passed the rivulet and morass without opposition ; 
and, directing some of his infantry to attack Blenheim, and another 
village which the enemy had occupied, led his cavalry and the 
remainder of his forces against Tallard. The struggle was long and 
desperate, but at length the enemy's right was completely routed, 
and numbers were put to the sword or driven into the Danube. 
All the enemy's troops that had been thrown into Blenheim, being 
cut off from the main body, were forced to surrender at discretion, 
Prince Eugene, who commanded the right of the allies, could make 
no impression against the elector of Bavaria and marshal Marsin 
till after the defeat of Tallard, when the Bavarians made a speedy 
and skilful retreat in three columns. The French and Bavarians 
lost more than half of their army in killed, wounded, and prisoners ; 
and marshal Tallard himself was captured, together with the camp, 
baggage, and artillery. The loss of the allies, however, was also 
very great, amounting to about 12,000 killed and wounded, August 2 
(13 N.S.), 1704. The elector and marshal Marsin retreated on Ulm, 
whence they joined marshal Villeroi on the Rhine. 

This victory decided the fate of Germany. The elector of 
Bavaria, whose troops had lately alarmed Vienna itself, not only 
lost his conquests, but even his own dominions fell into the hands 
of the emperor. The remains of the vanquished army were obliged 
to cross the Rhine ; and the victors also entered Alsace, and took 
the important fortresses of Landau and Traerbach. Marlborough 
repaired to Berlin, and concluded a treaty with the king of Prussia, 
who engaged to assist the duke of Savoy with 8000 men ; and 
thence proceeding to Hanover and the Hague, arrived in London 
(December 14), accompanied by marshal Tallard and 26 other 
prisoners of distinction. He received the thanks and congratulations 
of the queen, and of both houses of parliament ; the royal manor of 
Woodstock was granted to him, and a splendid mansion erected 
upon it, which received the name of Blenheim from the place of his 
victory. 

In Flanders the campaign was wholly defensive and unimpor- 
tant ; in Italy the balance of success inclined to the French. In 
the Spanish peninsula Philip V., the new king of Spain, obtained 
some advantages in an invasion of Portugal ; whilst Charles III., 
who had landed in that country in March, with 8000 English and 
Dutch troops, was repulsed by the duke of Berwick in an attempt 
which he made upon Castile, in conjunction with the king of 
Portugal. After landing Charles III. at Lisbon, and making an 
unsuccessful attempt upon Barcelona, Rooke attacked and took 
Gibraltar, ten days before the battle of Blenheim (July 23, 1704). 
Subsequently, in conjunction with the Dutch admiral Culemberg, 



554 ANNE. Chap, xxvin. 

he fell in, off Malaga, with a French fleet of 52 ships under the 
count of Toulouse, which had been despatched to assist the Spaniards 
in recovering Gibraltar. The combat ended in a drawn battle, and 
Gibraltar remained in the hands of the English. 

§ 4. In the following year (1705), the earl of Peterborough, 
having embarked with a land force on board the fleet of sir 
Cloudesley Shovel, and being joined by a Dutch squadron under 
admiral Allemonde, proceeded to the coast of Catalonia. Bar- 
celona capitulated after a siege ; the fortresses of Lerida and 
Tortosa were taken without a blow ; and almost the whole of 
Valencia and Catalonia acknowledged Charles III. 

In the Netherlands, Marlborough, at the request of the Dutch, 
confined his operations to the defence of their frontier. Leopold 
died this year (May 5), and was succeeded by his son Joseph I., 
who had more talents and enterprise than his father. Marlborough 
paid him a visit towards winter at Vienna, when the principality 
of Mindelsheim was conferred upon him, with the rank of a prince 
of the empire. On the whole, the campaigns in Germany and 
Italy were favourable to the French. 

Marlborough compensated for his inactivity in 1705 by the 
brilliant victory of Eamillies, near Tir lemon t, gained over marshal 
Villeroi, May 12 (23 N.S.) 1706. The forces were nearly equal on 
both sides ; but the French were totally defeated, with a loss of about 
14,000 men, killed, wounded, or prisoners, whilst the loss of the 
allies amounted to 3500. Towards night the rout of the French 
became complete. They lost about 120 colours, 100 pieces of 
artillery, and a vast quantity of baggage. The consequence of this 
victory was the conquest of Brabant, and almost all Spanish 
Flanders. In return for these achievements the English parliament 
perpetuated Marlborough's titles in the female as well as the male 
line, and continued the pension of 5000Z. granted by the queen to 
his family for ever. 

The victory over the French at Turin, by prince Eugene and the 
duke of Savoy, put an end to all the hopes of the Bourbons in 
Italy. In Spain the Anglo-Portuguese army, under the earl of 
Galway (Ruvigny) and the marquis de las Minas, penetrated to 
Madrid. Philip V. abandoned his capital and retired to Burgos ; 
but Galway and Las Minas, neglecting to pursue their advantages, 
were ultimately driven from the Spanish capital by the duke of 
Berwick, and obliged to retire into Valencia. In the same year the 
English fleet, under sir John Leake, took Majorca and Iviza, and 
reduced them under the authority of Charles III. 

§ 5. As the succession to the crown was soon to be diverted into 
a new line, the project of a Union with Scotland, which had 



a.d. 1705-1707. UNION WITH SCOTLAND. 555 

occasionally engaged the attention of statesmen from the time of 
James L, now became urgent. Anne, in her speech to her first 
parliament, had recommended it as indispensable to the peace and 
security of both kingdoms. William, anxious for the union, had 
neglected to provide for the succession to the Scottish crown ; and 
a large party in that country, headed by the duke of Hamilton, 
were in favour of the Stuarts. A bill for the Hanoverian succession 
was rejected by the Scotch parliament with every mark of anger 
and contempt ; many were for sending lord Marchmont, its pro- 
poser, to the castle of Edinburgh ; and it was carried by a large 
majority that all record of it should be expunged from their pro- 
ceedings (1703). Exasperated by the failure of the Darien scheme, 
the Scotch passed an " Act of Security," by which it was provided 
that the parliament should meet on the twentieth day after the 
queen's decease to elect a successor, who should not be the successor 
to the crown of England, unless under conditions which might secure 
the honour and independence of Scotland. The queen refused her 
assent to this bill ; but in the following year (August 5, 1704) she 
thought proper to allow another bill, to the same effect, to be 
touched with the sceptre, of which the main proviso was that the 
successor to the crown should be a protestant of the royal line of 
Scotland, and at the same time not the successor to the English 
crown. As the house of Hanover was thus excluded, the duke of 
Hamilton himself, the great promoter of the bill, seemed in a fair 
way to obtain the crown. 

Against this Act of Security the English parliament resolved to 
provide by an Act of Security of its own. It was resolved that 
no Scotchmen, not actually residing in England or Ireland, should 
enjoy the privileges of Englishmen till a union of the two king- 
doms should be effected, or the succession made identical in Scotland 
and England; that the bringing of Scotch cattle into England, 
and of English wool into Scotland, should be prohibited ; and that 
the fleet should have orders to seize all Scotch vessels trading with 
France. These resolutions, which were almost equivalent to a 
declaration of war, were reduced into a bill ; and another act was 
passed to appoint commissioners to treat of a union. The lords 
also addressed the queen to fortify Newcastle, Tynemouth, Carlisle, 
and Hull, to call out the militia of the four northern counties, 
and to station an adequate number of regular troops on the Scottish 
borders. The commons rejected the proposed bill on the ground 
that the fines levied by it rendered it a money bill ; but they 
passed another to the same effect (February 3, 1705), which went 
through the lords without any amendment. 

The question of union was again introduced into the Scotch 



556 ANNE. Chap, xxviii. 

parliament, with, so much success that commissioners were ap- 
pointed to repair to London and discuss the terms. These were 
accepted the next year, and the discussion was reopened in the 
Scotch parliament. The following were the more important among 
the articles agreed upon : — That the two kingdoms should be 
united under the name of Great Britain ; that the succession should 
be vested in the princess Sophia and her heirs, being protestants ; 
that there should be but one parliament of the united kingdom, 
to which 16 Scotch peers and 45 commoners should be elected; 
that there should be complete freedom of trade and navigation 
throughout the United Kingdom, and a reciprocation of all rights, 
privileges, and advantages. 

These articles were highly unpopular in Scotland ; but without 
the succour of France it seemed hopeless to resist them, and the 
reverses of Louis in the war put it out of his power to assist the 
Pretender. In the parliament, indeed, where the peers and com- 
mons sat in one house, a spirited opposition was led by the duke 
of Hamilton and Fletcher of Saltoun, and during the progress of 
the debates violent tumults occurred in Edinburgh. The lower 
classes of the Scotch, and especially the presbyterians of the west, 
were almost universally opposed to the union, and offers were made 
to Hamilton from various quarters to march to Edinburgh and 
disperse the parliament. But that nobleman, though loud in 
debate, was timid in action. He would not listen to such vigorous 
counsels ; and he even shrank from an agreement which he had 
made with his adherents, to protest against the measure, and quit 
the parliament in a body. All the articles were eventually adopted 
by a large majority (January 16, 1707). 

The nobles favourable to the arrangement endeavoured to soothe 
the angry passions of the people ; others were brought over by pro- 
mises and bribes, some of very insignificant amount. The clergy 
were won by the assurance that presbyterianism should be the only 
recognized religion in Scotland, whilst a general indemnity was 
promised for the losses the Scotch had incurred in the Darien scheme. 
The Union Bill received the royal assent (March 6, 1707). The 
union was appointed to commence on May 1, which was made 
a day of thanksgiving ; and the first parliament of Great Britain 
was to meet on the 23rd of the following October. 

§ 6. As the allies, flushed with their good fortune, rejected the 
French king's overtures for a peace, Louis made vigorous pre- 
parations. The year opened for him with a gleam of success, by 
the recapture of Majorca by the count de Villars (January 5, 
1707). In Spain also, Galway and Las Minas were defeated by 
the duke of Berwick at Almanza : Arragon was again reduced under 



a.d. 1707-1708. PROGRESS OF THE WAR, 557 

the authority of Philip V., and Charles III. maintained himself only 
in Catalonia. But in Germany the French were eventually obliged 
to recross the Ehine ; and by the capitulation of Milan, signed 
in March, they agreed to evacuate Italy. This event left prince 
Eugene and the duke of Savoy at liberty to invade France. Accord- 
ingly they passed the Var, and, advancing along the coast of 
Provence, appeared before Toulon on the 17th of July, while, at the 
same time, sir Cloudesley Shovel blockaded it by sea. The French, 
however, had thrown 8000 men into Toulon a few hours before the 
arrival of prince Eugene ; and by their vigorous defence, the advance 
of the duke of Burgundy with a considerable force, and the ill con- 
dition of the invading army, the allies were compelled to abandon 
the enterprise. 

A terrible fate overtook sir Cloudesley Shovel and his fleet on 
their return. That admiral sailed from Gibraltar on the 29th 
September with a fleet of 15 sail of the line and some frigates. On 
October 22 they arrived in the mouth of the Channel, when, by 
some mistake in the course, the admiral's ship, the Association, 
striking on some rocks to the west of the Scilly Islands, foundered, 
and all on board perished. The Eagle and the Romney met with the 
same fate. The St. George struck on the rocks, but was washed off 
again. Shovel had raised himself by his abilities and courage from 
the station of a common sailor. 

The campaign in Flanders produced no remarkable action. 
Louis XIV. was sinking into dotage, and had surrendered himself 
to the government of Madame de Maintenon. Yet the resources 
of France were still able to inspire alarm. Early in 1708 a 
squadron of frigates and small ships of war was collected at Dun- 
kirk ; troops were marched thither from the surrounding garrisons ; 
and on the 6th of March the Pretender put to sea with 5000 men 
under his command for the purpose of invading England. But his 
fleet was dispersed by admiral Byng, and returned one by one to 
Dunkirk The alarm created a run upon the Bank ; loyal addresses 
were presented to the queen by both houses, the commons suspended 
the Habeas Corpus Act, and the country bristled with military 
preparations. 

Ghent and Bruges, disgusted with the extortions of the allies, in 
which Marlborough and Cadogan are said to have been implicated, 
opened their gates to the French, who directed their march towards 
Antwerp, and laid siege to Oudenarde. Here they were signally 
defeated by Marlborough (July 11, 1708). In this battle the electoral 
prince of Hanover, afterwards George II., gave distinguished proofs 
of valour. The more important operations of this campaign were 
the capture of Lille, one of the strongest fortresses in Flanders, after 



558 ANNE. Chap, xxviii. 

a four months' siege, the compelling the elector of Bavaria to raise 
the siege of Brussels, and the recovery of Bruges and Ghent. The 
duke of Venddme, who commanded the French army, was received 
so coldly by Louis, that he retired to one of his estates ; being the 
fifth marshal of France who had been driven from the service by 
Marlborough's successes. 

In the same year general Stanhope became master of the island 
of Minorca, by the capture of Port Mahon (September 30). 

The misfortunes of Louis prompted him to sue for peace, and in 
1709 conferences were opened at the Hague. The marquis de Torcy, 
the French ambassador, was instructed to offer the most liberal 
terms, and he at last agreed that Philip should relinquish the whole 
of the Spanish succession, with the exception of Naples and Sicily. 
But as the allies refused even these, and their demands appeared 
worse than a continuance of hostilities, the pride of the French was 
roused, and they determined to resist to the utmost. 

In June, 1709, Marlborough assumed the command of the allied 
army in Flanders, amounting to about 110,000 men. After taking 
Tournay, one of the strongest places in the Netherlands, the allies 
appeared before Mons. To relieve it, marshal Villars intrenched 
himself at Malplaquet, a league from the town. From this post 
he was driven by the allies, after a most sanguinary conflict, in which 
the latter lost about 20,000 men, while the loss of the French did 
not exceed 12,000 (September 11). The surrender of Mons (October 
L!0) finished the campaign in Flanders. 

Negociations for a peace were again opened in March, 1710. 
Though France was willing to make further concessions, the allies 
rose in their demands, and, not satisfied that Louis should renounce 
Spain for his grandson, insisted that he should actually assist them 
in expelling him. The war continued. The allies took Douay, 
Bethune, St. Venant, and Aire, but with the loss of 26,000 men. 
In Spain Philip V, was defeated by count Staremberg at Almenara, 
and still more decisively at Saragossa. General Stanhope, with 
5000 British troops, had a great share in this victory. On Sep- 
tember 21 Stanhope entered Madrid, and was shortly afterwards 
followed by Charles III. But they were coldly received, and, as two 
French armies were entering Spain, it was deemed prudent to retire 
into Catalonia. Stanhope, who brought up the rear, was overtaken 
at the village of Brihuega by the duke of Vendome, and was obliged 
to surrender at discretion (December 10). 

§ 7. In 1704 Marlborough and Godolphin, who directed the , 
government, had moulded the ministry more to their liking, by 
appointing Harley secretary of state in place of the earl of Notting- 
ham, and making Henry St. John, a young man of great ability, 



a. D. 1709-1710. TRIAL OF DR. SACHEVERELL. 559 

secretary at war. The whigs formed a strong party, led by what 
was called the junto, consisting of the lords Somers, Halifax, Whar- 
ton, Orford, and Sunderland. Harley intrigued against them, and 
undermined the duchess of Marlborough's influence with the queen. 
The duchess had recommended a relative named Abigail Hill (after- 
wards Mrs. Masham), the daughter of a Turkey merchant, as bed- 
chamber woman to the queen. Anne had become weary of the 
duchess in consequence of her arrogance. The duke and his sup- 
porters had resolved on Harley's ruin, when an accident afforded 
them the desired opportunity. The correspondence of marshal Tal- 
lard, who was still a prisoner, passed through Harley's office ; and, as 
that minister did not understand French, it was read by Gregg, 
one of his clerks, a needy Scotchman. Gregg took the opportunity 
to enclose in a letter of the marshal's one of his own, in which he 
made an offer to the French minister to betray the secrets of his 
office for a consideration. The letter was intercepted ; and Gregg 
was tried, condemned, and hanged at Tyburn (January, 1708). 
Attempts were made before his execution to procure his evidence 
against Harley ; but he fully acquitted that minister, who was 
indeed entirely innocent. Marlborough and Godolphin informed the 
queen of their determination not to act with Harley, and absented 
themselves from the council. After a short struggle Anne was 
obliged to give way ; Harley retired from office, and was followed by 
St. John and sir Simon Harcourt, the attorney-general. Their 
places were supplied by Mr. Boyle, Mr. Eobert "Walpole, and sir 
James Montague. But this affair only served to inflame the queen 
against the whigs, whose fall was now rapidly approaching. 

§ 8. Dr. Sacheverell, rector of St. Saviour's, Southwark, being 
appointed to preach before the lord mayor and aldermen at St. Paul's, 
on the 5th November, 1709, took occasion to inveigh with great 
violence against toleration to dissenters. He insisted upon the 
doctrine of passive obedience and non-resistance, and reflected in 
severe terms upon the government, and especially upon Godolphin, 
to whom he gave the name of Volpone(the " old fox"), a character 
in one of Ben Jonson's comedies. The majority of the court of 
aldermen, being of the low church party, refused to thank Sache- 
verell for his sermon ; but the lord mayor, who was on the 
opposite side, encouraged the doctor to print it. The political 
passions of the nation were excited to the highest pitch, and 
40,000 copies of the sermon were sold in a few weeks. The more 
violent of the ministry, and especially Godolphin, who had been 
personally attacked, were exasperated against Sacheverell, and re- 
solved to impeach him for the doctrines he had promulgated in his 
sermon. Articles were exhibited against him, and he was brought 



560 ANNE. Chap, xxviii. 

to trial before the peers in Westminster Hall (February 27, 1710). 
He was charged with reflecting on the late revolution and at- 
tempting to render it odious and unjustifiable, with opposing toler- 
ation to dissenters, and suggesting that the church of England 
was in danger from the queen's ministers. The populace of London 
was greatly excited. It escorted Sacheverell every day from his 
lodgings in the Temple to Westminster with vociferous cheer- 
ing, pulled down several meeting-houses, and insulted those mem- 
bers of parliament who took the most prominent part against its 
favourite. The lords, however, decreed that Sacheverell should 
be suspended from preaching for a term of three years, and that his 
sermon should be burnt by the hands of the common hangman. 
They also sentenced to the same fate the decrees of the university 
of Oxford, published in 1683, on occasion of the Rye-house plot, 
inculcating the doctrine of passive obedience and non-resistance, and 
lately republished in a pamphlet, in answer to Hoadley's work on 
The Original of Government. 

The mildness of the sentence displeased the commons, especially 
as it was regarded as a triumph by SacheverelPs supporters. But 
the temper of the nation had been so plainly exhibited in this trial 
that the queen and the tory party no longer hesitated. Marl- 
borough, offended at an attempt to promote colonel Hill, brother of 
Mrs. Masham, without his approbation, retired into the country, 
threatening to resign the command of the arrny. By degrees 
changes were made in the ministry. In April, 1710, the duke 
of Shrewsbury, who had taken part against the ministers in 
Sacheverell's case, was made lord chamberlain. On the 14th of 
June the seals were taken from the earl of Sunderland, Marl- 
borough's son-in-law, and lord Dartmouth was made secretary of 
state in his place. On the 8th of August Godolphin himself was 
ordered to break his staff as treasurer, and the treasury was put in 
commission with lord Powlett at the head ; Harley, however, who 
now became chancellor of the exchequer, possessed in reality the 
greatest share in the queen's confidence. But a complete alteration 
of the ministry was not effected till September, when lord Rochester 
superseded lord Somers as president of the council, St. John became 
a secretary of state instead of Mr. Boyle, Harcourt was made lord 
chancellor instead of lord Cowper, and the duke of Ormond obtained 
the lieutenancy of Ireland in place of the witty and profligate earl 
of Wharton. Other minor changes were effected. The dukes of 
Somerset and Newcastle were the only whigs who retained office.* 

* One of the reasons for appointing St. i and might therefore be useful in the ex- 
John was, that he was the only person pected negociations for a peace. It is a 
about the court who understood French, I striking characteristic of this period that 



A.D. 1710-1711. HARLEY STABBED. 561 

§ 9. In the new parliament, which met in November, 1710, the 
tory party predominated. Sacheverell had made a sort of progress 
into Wales, and was received by the mayors and corporations of 
various towns in great state. The people came to meet him with 
white favours and sprigs of gilded laurel in their hats, and the 
hedges where he passed were decked with flowers. These were 
plain symptoms of the popular sentiments, and in the ensuing 
elections the whigs were defeated wherever the popular voice was 
allowed to prevail. Though the queen, in her opening speech, inti- 
mated a desire for peace, she signified her resolution of prosecuting 
the war with the utmost vigour. The parliament responded with 
enthusiasm, and voted during the session the large sum of more than 
14,000,000Z. They instituted an inquiry into the conduct of the 
war in Spain; passed a vote of censure upon the late ministry; 
and an attempted vote of thanks to Marlborough failed in the House 
of Lords. Marlborough retained the command of the army ; but 
resigned all the places held by his duchess ; absented himself from 
court ; and in February, 1711, proceeded to Holland to conduct the 
campaign. 

About this time an event that might have proved fatal to Harley 
served only to further his promotion. A French adventurer, who 
assumed the title of the marquis de Guiscard, had insinuated 
himself into the favour of the previous ministry by pretending that 
he could raise an insurrection in France. St. John, on becoming 
a minister, had procured Guiscard a pension of 500?. a year ; but 
Harley incurred his hatred by reducing it to 400?., and refusing to 
make it permanent. Shortly afterwards Guiscard was detected in 
a treasonable correspondence with France, and, on being brought 
before the council for examination (March 8), he stabbed Harley 
with a pocket-knife, the blade of which fortunately broke by 
striking the breastbone. Unaware of this circumstance, Guiscard 
redoubled his blows, till he was stabbed by St. John and others. 
He was carried to Newgate, where he soon after expired of his 
wounds (March 17, 1711). Harley's hurt was slight, but it pro- 
cured him much sympathy. The commons addressed the queen 
in terms the most flattering to that minister, and when he next 
appeared in his seat he was congratulated by the speaker in the 



Harley, who was in favour of the Hano- 
verian succession, corresponded with mar- 
shal Berwick for the restoration of the 
Stuarts, on condition of Anne retaining 
the crown for life, and security being 
given for the religion and liberties of 
England. Marlborough, on the other 
hand, though in favour of the Stuarts and 



corresponding with the court of St. Ger- 
mains, did not scruple to address the 
elector of Hanover with assurances of his 
devotion, and to denounce Harley and his 
associates as entertaining a design to place 
the Pretender on the throne. Both Harley 
and St. John had been brought up among 
the nonconformists. 



562 



ANNE. 



Chap, xxvin. 



name of the house on his fortunate escape. The. queen bestowed 
more substantial marks of favour by Greating him earl of Oxford 
and Mortimer. Shortly after, he was made lord high treasurer.* 

As the tories had a decided majority in the new parliament, lord 
Nottingham, a vehement churchman, easily persuaded it to pass a 
bill to prevent occasional conformity ; that is, conformity of the 
dissenters with the provisions of the Test Act by receiving the 
sacrament according to the rites of the church of England, in order to 
qualify themselves for office in corporations. This bill was followed 
by the Schism Act, which extended and confirmed one of the clauses 
in the Act of Uniformity, compelling all schoolmasters to make a 
declaration before the bishop, of conformity to the established church, 
as a condition for exercising their profession, f 

The new ministry were inclined to peace, as the most effectual 
means of breaking the power of Marlborough ; and the death of the 
emperor Joseph, which occurred this year, opened the prospect of its 
attainment (April 17, 1711). Charles VI., the titular king of Spain, 
was elected his successor in the empire. Thus the views of England 
with regard to the war were entirely changed ; since the reunion of 
Spain with the empire would have revived the days of Charles V., 
whilst it was the very object of the war to prevent the accumulation 
of too much power in the hands of a single family. The last 
campaign in Flanders, conducted by Marlborough, proved wholly 
unimportant. Communications had already been privately opened 
with the court of France ; and the States, though averse to peace, 
reluctantly named Utrecht as the place of conference. 

§ 10. A report laid before the House of Commons by the com- 
missioners of the public accounts, on the 21st of December, contained 
the deposition of sir Solomon Medina, a Dutch Jew, charging the 
duke of Marlborough with various peculations in the contracts for 
bread and the pay of foreign troops for the army in Flanders. The 
sums were enormous, amounting in all to little less than half a 
million of public money, of which he had rendered no account. 
Besides the duke, Cardonnel, his secretary, Kobert Walpole, 
secretary at war, and others, were implicated in similar corrupt 
proceedings. The duke opposed the ministry in their desire for 
peace, and was supported in his views by the elector of Hanover. 
Baron de Bothmar, the Hanoverian envoy, had come to London 
in November in company with Marlborough, and, in the name 



* His son, Edward Harley, the second 
earl of Oxford, was the collector of the 
celebrated Harleian MSS. now in the 
British Museum. The title became 
extinct in 1853. 



f The Act against occasional con- 
formity, and the Schism Act, were re- 
pealed in the reign of George I. (1719). 
Hallam, Constitutional History, iii. 333. 



a.d. 1711-1712. MARLBOROUGH CENSURED. 563 

of the elector, presented a memorial against the peace. The 
queen aud the House of Commons were indignant at this inter- 
ference. A proposal of the majority of the council for apprehending 
Bothmar was prevented by Oxford. The views of Marlborough 
were supported by a majority of the peers, and an amendment on 
the address was carried. To overcome this opposition, Oxford 
persuaded the queen to create twelve new peers (December 31, 
1711). They were received by the house with much derision ; 
and the profligate but witty earl of Wharton, in allusion to their 
number, inquired of them whether they voted individually or by 
their foreman. On the previous day the queen had dismissed 
Marlborough from all his employments. 

The commons proceeded to pass a vote of censure upon Marl- 
borough, for unwarrantable and illegal practice in contracts, and for 
taking 1\ per cent, on the pay of the foreign troops in the English 
service. The attorney-general was directed to prosecute him ; 
but this last step was never followed up. It has been urged in his 
defence that this percentage was a voluntary payment by the allied 
princes, and that the profit on the contracts had, long before Marl- 
borough's time, been the usual perquisite of the commander-in-chief 
in the Netherlands. In 1712, Marlborough retired to Antwerp in 
disgust. Godolphin, his former colleague, had died the September 
before. It was of him that Charles II. used to say, that he was 
never in the way nor out of the way. 

Cardonnel was expelled the house. Walpole was also expelled 
and committed to the Tower, for taking a bribe of 1000 guineas 
on contracts for forage made by him when secretary at war. 

Although the conferences were opened at Utrecht on the 18th of 
January, the allies as usual took the field in the spring. The 
British forces in Flanders were now commanded by the duke of 
Ormond, who had received instructions to avoid a battle unless at 
great advantage. Shortly afterwards he separated his troops from 
those of the allies, and received from Louis the surrender of Dunkirk, 
which had been stipulated as the condition of a cessation of arms. 
After the withdrawal of the British, part of Eugene's army was 
defeated by marshal Villars at Denain, and other reverses followed. 
The good fortune of the allies deserted them with the loss of the 
English. 

§ 11. Meanwhile negociations were proceeding at Utrecht. The 
plenipotentiaries for Great Britain were the earl of Strafford and 
the bishop of Bristol. They were assisted by Prior, the poet, who 
had negociated the preliminaries. A peace, known as the Peace of 
Utrecht, was at length signed (March 31, 1713). By the principal 
articles, as between France and England, Louis agreed to abandon 



564 ANNE. ChaPo xxviii. 

the Pretender ; to acknowledge the queen's title and the protestant 
succession; to raze the fortifications of Dunkirk; to cede Nova 
Scotia (Acadia), Newfoundland, Hudson's Bay, and the island of 
St. Christopher. The kingdom of Naples, the duchy of Milan, and 
the Spanish Netherlands, were assigned to the emperor ; Sicily fell 
to the duke of Savoy, with the title of king. Sardinia was given to 
the elector of Bavaria. To the States of Holland was conceded the 
military occupation of Namur, Charleroy, Luxembourg, Tpres, and 
Nieuport, in addition to their other possessions in Flanders ; but 
they engaged to restore Lille and its dependencies ; whilst the king 
of Prussia exchanged Orange, and the possessions belonging to that 
family in Franche Compte, for Upper Gueldres. Great Britain was 
left in possession of Gibraltar and Minorca. At the same time a 
treaty of commerce between France and England was also signed. 
Peace was not concluded between the emperor and France till the 
following year, by the treaty of Eastadt (March 7, 1714). 

As the treaty of Utrecht was only effected after a violent struggle 
between the whigs and tories, its merits have generally been viewed 
through the medium of party prejudice. It was asserted that, from 
the exhausted condition of France, more advantageous terms might 
have been exacted ; that they had in fact been previously offered ; 
and that the great object for which the war had been undertaken, 
the exclusion of the Bourbons from the throne of Spain, was not 
accomplished. Louis indeed undertook that Philip should renounce 
the throne of France, but at the same time he acknowledged that such 
an act was legally invalid ; whilst the recent death of the dauphin, 
of his son, and his eldest grandson, left only a sickly infant between 
Philip and the crown of France. On the other hand, it would have 
been as impolitic to continue the war in order to set Charles upon 
the throne of Spain, after he had become emperor, as to leave it in 
possession of Philip. The Spaniards were contented with Philip 
for their king, and England had no right to control their inclina- 
tions. The cost of the war, a burthen borne chiefly by England, 
though she had no direct interest in it, had reached nearly 69 
millions. On the whole, the conditions exacted from France were 
not disadvantageous. The peace was popular in England, and, 
when proclaimed on the 5th of May, 1713, was received with 
great demonstrations of joy by the populace. 

§ 12. The queen's health was now rapidly declining, and the 
prospect of her dissolution embittered the struggle between the 
Jacobites and the adherents of the house of Hanover. The whigs 
urged the elector to a step which gave great offence to the queen. 
Schutz, the Hanoverian envoy, demanded for the electoral prince a 
writ to take his seat in the House of Lords, as he had been lately 



a,d, 1713-1714. HER DEATH. 565 

created duke of Cambridge (April 12, 1714). Anne forbade Schutz 
to appear again at court, declaring that she would suffer the last 
extremities rather than permit any prince of the electoral family to 
reside in England during her life. She wrote also to the elector, to 
the princess Sophia, and to the electoral prince, expressing her 
surprise at the step they had taken, and insinuating that it might 
endanger their succession. Not long afterwards (May 28), the 
princess Sophia died suddenly in the garden at Herrenhausen, 
aged 83. 

§ 13. After the prorogation of parliament (July 9), Oxford and 
Bolingbroke, long irreconcilable enemies, fell into an open rupture. 
The latter endeavoured to persuade the queen that his rival had 
privately encouraged the demand of a writ for the electoral prince, 
and on the 27th of July Oxford was deprived of the treasurer's staff. 
Bolingbroke's triumph was short-lived. The agitation of this 
political crisis had a fatal effect on the queen's declining health. 
A discharge from her leg suddenly stopped, and she fell into a 
lethargy. While she lay in this state, the duke of Shrewsbury,* 
who was both lord chamberlain and lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 
concerted with the dukes of Argyle and Somerset a plan for defeat- 
ing the schemes of Bolingbroke. Without being summoned, they 
suddenly appeared at the council (July 30), to offer, they said, 
their advice at this juncture. Shrewsbury thanked them ; and, 
after ascertaining from the physicians the dangerous state of the 
queen, it was proposed that Shrewsbury should be recommended to 
her without delay as treasurer. The proposition was immediately 
submitted to the queen, who had recovered some degree of con- 
sciousness ; and she not only gave him the treasurer's staff, but 
also continued him in his other offices. 

Anne expired at Kensington (August l),in the 50th year of her age 
and the 13th of her reign. She was of middle stature, her hair and 
complexion dark, her features strongly marked, the expression of her 
countenance rather dignified than agreeable. She understood music 
and painting, and had some taste for literature. Begarded as a 
staunch friend to the church of England, the various measures 
passed in her reign for extending its influence, procured for her 
the name of good queen Anne. With her ended the reign of the 
Stuarts. Her consort, prince George of Denmark, had died in 1708. 



* He was the son of the 11th earl of 
Shrewsbury, and was created a duke by 
William III. in 1694. The dukedom be- 
came extinct upon his death in 1718, but 
26 



his cousin succeeded to the earldom. He 
was the last lord high treasurer. Since 
then the treasury has been held in com- 
mission. 




Medal of George I. 

Obv. : GEORG LVD . D . G . M . BRIT . FR . ET HIB . REX DVX B & L . S . R . I . ELEC. Bust, 
laureate to right. Rev. : aCCeDens DIgnVs DIVIsos orbe brItannos. The horse of 
Brunswick springing from Hanover to England. Below, vnus non svfpicit orbis. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 
HOUSE OF BEUNSWICK. 

george i., 6. a.d. 1660; r. 1714-1727. 

§ 1. Accession of George I. His character. New ministry. §2. Impeach- 
ment of Bolingbroke, Oxford, and Ormond. § 3. Mar's rebellion. 
§ 4. The Pretender lands in Scotland. Rebellion suppressed. Execu- 
tions. Repeal of Triennial Act. § 5. Unpopularity of the king. His 
favourites and mistresses. Treaty with France and Holland. § 6. 
Hanoverian politics. Sweden favours the Pretender. Change of 
ministry. § 7. Designs of Alberoni. Quadruple alliance. Defeat of 
the Spanish fleet at Cape Passaro. § 8. Projected Spanish invasion. 
Walpole and Townshend join the ministry § 9. The South-Sea bubble. 
§ 10. The South-Sea directors punished. Death of Marlborough. 
Atterbury's plot. § 11. Disturbances in Ireland on account of Wood's 
halfpence. Malt-tax in Scotland. Order of the Bath. § 12. Con- 
federacy between the emperor and Spain. Alliance with France and 
Prussia. Death of the king. 

§ 1. George I. succeeded queen Anne as quietly as if he had been 
the undisputed heir to the throne. No sooner had the queen 
expired than Kreyenberg, the Hanoverian resident, produced an 
instrument in the handwriting of the elector, nominating 18 peers, 
who, according to the Regency Bill passed in 1705, were, with the 
primate and six great officers of state, to act as lords justices till his 
arrival. The peers selected were mostly whigs, including the dukes 
of Shrewsbury, Somerset, and Argyle, lords Cowper, Halifax, and 
Townshend; but neither Marlborough nor Somers were among 



a.d. 1714. ACCESSION OF GEORGE I. 567 

the number. Marlborough had landed at Dover on the very day 
of the queen's death. He was indignant at finding himself excluded ; 
but was in some degree consoled by the reception he met with 
from the citizens of London, where he made a sort of public entry. 
Then, having taken the oaths in the House of Lords, he retired 
into the country. 

The new king was proclaimed, both in Dublin and Edinburgh, 
without opposition or tumult. On the 5th of August the lords 
justices delivered a speech to the parliament, recommending them 
to provide for the dignity and honour of the crown ; and loyal and 
dutiful addresses were unanimously voted by both houses. George 
was immediately acknowledged by Louis XIV. and the other 
European powers. A British squadron had been despatched to 
wait for him in Holland ; but he did not set out from Hanover till 
August 31, and landed at Greenwich on September 18, accom- 
panied by his eldest son, George Augustus, who was at once 
created prince of Wales. 

A The monarch who now ascended the throne of England was 54 
years of age, h-avy in look, awkward and undignified in manner 
and address, without the slightest tincture of literature or science. 
He possessed, however, that taste for music which characterizes his 
country ; he disliked pomp, and was even averse to popular applause. 
His ignorance of the English manners and language added to his 
other disadvantages in the new scene of life in which he was to 
appear. Yet his Hanoverian subjects parted from him with regret. 
He was honourable, benevolent, and sincere ; economical even to 
niggardliness ; regular in the distribution of his time ; and, though 
he was not deficient in personal courage and military knowledge, 
he was a lover of peace. 

George at once placed the government in the hands of the whigs. 
Before he landed, he sent directions to remove Bolingbroke from 
the office of secretary of state (August 28), and to appoint in his 
place Charles, lord Townshend, who must now be considered as 
prime minister (September 17). The duke of Shrewsbury resigned 
the offices of treasurer, and of lord-lieutenant of Ireland, where he 
was succeeded by Sunderland. The treasury was put in commis- 
sion, with lord Halifax at the head. General James Stanhope was 
made second secretary of state ; William, lord Cowper, chancellor ; 
the earl of Wharton, privy seal ; the earl of Nottingham, president 
of the council ; Mr. Pulteney, secretary at war ; the duke of Argyle, 
commander-in-chief for Scotland. Marlborough and the leading 
whigs were graciously received by the king, but it was with difficulty 
that Oxford was permitted to kiss his hand. Marlborough was 
reinstated in his old offices of captain-general and master of the 



568 GEOKGE I. Chap. xxix. 

ordnance ; and his three sons-in-law received appointments. His 
merits were too great to be overlooked, but the court was aware 
of his predilection for the Stuarts, and he soon found that he was 
not trusted. Even now, when holding a high post under the house 
of Brunswick, he sent a loan to the Pretender, which probably- 
assisted the rebellion of 1715. The chevalier St. George, as the 
Pretender was usually called, was still residing in Lorraine i and, 
having repaired to the baths of Plombieres, he published a mani- 
festo asserting his right to the English crown (August 29). 

§ 2. The parliament met March 17, 1715, and was opened by 
the king in person ; but, as he was ignorant of the English tongue, 
his speech was read by the chancellor. A civil list was settled on 
the new sovereign of 700,000Z., as it had been settled on queen 
Anne. It soon appeared that the new ministers were determined to 
impeach their predecessors. Bolingbroke took the alarm and fled 
to the continent, where he entered the service of the Pretender as 
secretary of state; Oxford, of a more phlegmatic temperament, 
calmly waited ; the duke of Ormond braved the storm, and con- 
tinued in the same style of living as before. A secret committee 
was appointed by the commons to inquire into the late nego- 
tiations (April 1) ; and when the report, drawn up by Walpole had 
been read, the three noblemen just mentioned were impeached of 
high treason. Various articles were alleged against them ; but the 
charge most insisted on was that of procuring Tournay for the king 
of France, an act which the committee endeavoured to bring under 
the statute of Edward III. as an adhering to the queen's enemies 
(August 20). Lord Strafford, one of the plenipotentiaries at Utrecht, 
was also accused of high crimes and misdemeanours, but no notice 
was taken of his two colleagues (September 1). Ormond fled to 
France ; but before he went he visited Oxford in the Tower, and 
counselled him to attempt his escape. The ex-treasurer refused, 
and Ormond took leave of him with the words, " Farewell, Oxford 
without a head ! " To which the latter replied, " Farewell, duke 
without a duchy ! " Ormond never returned, and died abroad in 
1745 at the age of 80. Bills of attainder against him and Boling- 
broke were passed without opposition. These impeachments were 
merely the results of party animosity, and could not be justly 
maintained, for the peace had been approved by two parliaments. 
Yet Oxford was detained two years in the Tower, till Townshend 
and Walpole, his greatest enemies, had both quitted office.* 

§ 3. The death of Louis XIV. (September 1, New Style) was a 
cevere blow to the Pretender, who was meditating an invasion. 

•■•'■ The manifestation of popular discontent at these prosecutions led to the Riot 
Act C July, 1715), which is still in force. 



A.D. 1716. mar's rebellion. 569 

The duke of Orleans, who now became regent in the minority of 
Louis XV., held different views from Louis XIV. He could not 
indeed altogether reject the claims of a kinsman ; but he was 
unwilling to compromise the peace with England, and would only 
promise secret assistance. Meanwhile the earl of Mar began 
prematurely and unadvisedly an insurrection in Scotland. He 
despatched letters to the principal gentry, inviting them to meet 
him at a great hunt at Braemar, in Aberdeenshire (August 26). 
Seizing the opportunity of inveighing against the Union, he urged 
other topics calculated to inflame his audience ; and on the 3rd of 
September, though he had no more than 60 followers, he raised the 
standard of the Pretender. His force had swelled to about 5000 
men when he entered Perth (September 16). 

This insurrection created great alarm. The Habeas Corpus Act 
was suspended, and several noted Jacobites were arrested in London, 
Edinburgh, and other places. As the number of regular troops in 
England was but small, the Dutch contingent of 6000 men was 
sent for, as stipulated by an article in the guarantee of succession. 
Argyle, who had been despatched to support the king's cause in 
Scotland, had at his disposal only about 1000 foot and 800 horse ; 
yet Mar remained inactive. In the northern counties, Mr. Forster 
and the earl of Derwentwater, hearing that orders had been issued to 
arrest them, rose in arms and proclaimed the Pretender at Wark- 
worth (October 7). Lord Kenmure did the same at Moffat ; and 
being soon after joined by the earls of Nithisdale, Wintoun, and Carn- 
wath, he crossed the border and joined Forster. Their united force, 
amounting to 500 or 600 horsemen, proceeded by Mar's directions 
to Kelso, where they were joined by brigadier M'Intosh with 
1400 foot (October 22). Edinburgh, which lay between the forces 
of M'Intosh and Mar, might easily have been taken ; but no regular 
plan of a campaign had been formed ; and, after a senseless march 
along the Cheviots, Forster determined to proceed into Lancashire. 
Though many of his men had deserted, he entered Lancaster without 
resistance, and proceeded to Preston, from which place Stanhope's 
regiment of dragoons and a militia regiment retired on his approach. 
Here he received an accession of 1200 men, but badly armed and 
disciplined ; and when general Carpenter arrived (November 13) 
with 900 cavalry and two regiments of foot, Forster surrendered 
almost without a blow. Among the prisoners on this occasion 
were lords Derwentwater, Nithisdale, Wintoun, Kenmure, and many 
other members of old northern families. 

On the same day a battle had been fought between Mar and 
Argyle at Sherriff-Muir, near Stirling. The latter was now at the 
head of between 3000 and 4000 regular troops, while Mar's force had 



570 



GEORGE I. 



Chap. xxix. 




Medal of the elder Pretender and his wife. 
Obv. : iacobvs . in . d . G . m . b . f . et . h . rex. Bust armed, to right. 



increased to 10,000, still badly armed and disciplined. In the battle, 
the right wing of each army defeated its opponents ; but Argyle 
remained in possession of the field, whilst Mar retired to Perth, 
and the weather prevented further operations. 

§ 4. Though tbe rebellion had been unadvisedly begun, the Pre- 
tender and the duke of Ormond felt themselves called upon to act, 
whatever might be the event. Ormond landed in Devonshire with 
about 40 officers and men ; but, finding nobody willing to join him, 
he returned to St. Malo. The Pretender, sailing from Dunkirk about 
the middle of December, in a small vessel of eight guns, landed at 
Peterhead on the 2nd, accompanied by six gentlemen disguised as 
French naval officers. Mar immediately proceeded to pay his 
respects to him, and was created a duke. On January 6, 1716, the 
Pretender made his public entry into Dundee on horseback, followed 
by a troop of nearly 300 gentlemen. Thence he proceeded to 
Scone, performed several acts of state, and appointed the 23rd of 
January for his coronation. But James was not the man for such 
a conjuncture. Meagre in person and sparing of speech, instead of 
encouraging his followers, he talked to them of his misfortunes. 
One of them says, " We saw nothing in him that looked like spirit. 
He never appeared with cheerfulness and vigour to animate us. Our 
men began to despise him ; some even asked if he could speak." 

On the advance of Argyle, Perth was pronounced untenable by 
a council of the insurgent generals ; and on the 30th of January, 
a day of evil omen for the Stuarts, orders were issued to retreat, 
northwards. Argyle entered Perth about twelve hours after the rebels 



A.». 1715-1716. 



THE SEPTENNIAL ACT. 



571 




EeV. : CLEMENTINA . MAGNAIi . BRITANNIAE . ET . G . REG. Bust to left. 

had quitted it. The latter proceeded to Dundee, and thence to 
Montrose, where James was urged by his council to escape 
(February 4). Accompanied by Mar, he embarked on board a small 
French vessel lying in the roads, while the rebel army gradually 
dispersed. James landed at Gravelines after a passage of seven days, 
and proceeded to St. Germains, where he dismissed Bolingbroke 
in displeasure. On the 24th of February, lords Derwentwater and 
Kenmure were executed on Tower hill. Lord Nithisdale, who had 
also been sentenced to death, escaped the night before through the 
heroic devotion of his wife, who changed clothes with him. About 
forty of the inferior criminals were executed. 

The repeal of the Triennial Act of 1694, and the enactment of 
the Septennial Act, was one of the immediate effects of this 
rebellion. In the present state of the nation it was considered 
hazardous by the ministry to dissolve the parliament. The bill of 
repeal was originated in the lords by the duke of Devonshire, and 
appears to have excited little discontent (May 7, 1716). But as 
additional powers had been already conferred on the magistrates 
for suppressing any symptoms of popular dislike (1715), no opportu- 
nity was offered for the expression of public opinion. 

§ 5. To enable the king to proceed to Hanover, the restraining 
clause in the Act of Settlement was repealed (June 26). Jealous 
of his son, George refused him the full authority of regent, and 
would only name him guardian of the realm and lieutenant, an 
office unknown since the time of the Black Prince ; and several 
restrictions were placed upon his authority. The foreign favourites, 



572 GEORGE I. Chap. xxix. 

Bothmar, Bernsdorf, Robethon, were suspected of taking bribes 
for their good offices with the king ; and his foreign mistresses also 
incurred great odium. The baroness Schulenburg, the chief of 
them, was made duchess of Munster in Ireland, and duchess of 
Kendal in England. The baroness Kilmansegge, another favourite, 
was created countess of Darlington. The rapacity of both was 
unbounded, but neither had the smallest share of ability. During 
his absence in Hanover, the king dismissed lord Townshend from 
his post of secretary of state, and general Stanhope was appointed 
in his room (December 12). Townshend's dismissal was unpopular. 
His offence consisted in having encouraged the prince of Wales in 
opposition to his father's authority. He was, however, induced to 
accept the lord-lieutenancy of Ireland (January 14, 1717). 

The late rebellion made it very desirable to deprive the Pretender 
of all support from France. The regent, the duke of Orleans, was not 
averse to an English alliance. In the event of the death of Louis XV., 
he was heir to the throne of France, as Philip V. of Spain had 
renounced his pretensions. But as it was known that Philipdid not 
mean to abide by that renunciation, the alliance of England might 
be useful to the duke. Stanhope, who had accompanied the king 
in his journey, entered into negociations with the abbe (afterwards 
cardinal) Dubois, first at the Hague and then at Hanover. He 
was succeeded in this mission by lord Cadogan ; and on the 28th 
of November a treaty was signed between the two countries. Earlier 
in the year defensive alliances had been concluded with the emperor 
and the Dutch. As the latter subsequently acceded to the terms 
of the English and French alliance (January 4, 1717), the previous 
convention between France and England was abandoned, in order 
that the new arrangement might appear as a Triple Alliance. In 
consequence of this treaty the Pretender was compelled to quit 
Fiance, and he resided sometimes at Eome, sometimes at Urbino. 
Soon after, he contracted a marriage with the princess Clementina, 
granddaughter of John Sobieski, the late king of Poland; but she 
was arrested at Innsbruck, on her way to Italy, by the emperor's 
orders, at the instance of the British cabinet, and detained till 1719, 
when she managed to escape and the marriage was consummated. 

§ 6. By the Hanoverian succession England became embroiled 
in continental politics, and the interests of this country were 
often made subservient to the king's views in favour of his elec- 
torate. The bishoprics of Bremen and Verden, formerly belonging 
to Hanover, had been secularized at the peace of Westphalia, and 
ceded to Sweden ; but they had been conquered by Frederick IV. 
of Denmark after the defeat of Charles XII. at Pultawa. On the 
return of that monarch, the king of Denmark, trembling for his 



a.d. 1716-1718. THE QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE. 573 

conquests, ceded them to George I., as elector of Hanover (1715), 
on condition of his joining the coalition against Sweden, and 
paying 150,000Z. In order to carry out these arrangements, a 
British squadron, under sir John Norris, was despatched to the 
Baltic in the autumn of 1716. But this was not the whole of the 
evil. In retaliation, haron Gortz, minister of Charles XII., set 
on foot a Jacohite conspiracy for the invasion of Scotland with 
12,000 Swedish soldiers. As Charles XII. would neither avow nor 
disavow these practices, count Gyllenborg, the Swedish ambassador, 
in spite of his official privileges, was arrested in London, on full 
proofs of his complicity in the plot (January 29, 1717). Walpole 
fell under suspicion for his lukewarmness in supporting the king's 
wishes ; and as the followers of Townshend voted against the sup- 
plies required for this Swedish affair, he was dismissed from the lord- 
lieutenancy of Ireland (April 10, 1717). Next morning Walpole 
resigned, and his example was followed by other ministers. General 
Stanhope now became first lord of the treasury and chancellor of 
the exchequer, and was shortly afterwards raised to the peerage 
with the title of viscount Stanhope.* Sunderland and Addison, 
the celebrated author, were made secretaries of state, and Craggs 
secretary at war (April 16). 

§ 7. At this time Spain was governed by cardinal Alberoni, the 
son of a working gardener, who by his great abilities had raised 
himself to that height of power and grandeur. Both he and 
Philip V. found much cause of discontent in the state of Europe- 
Philip's title had never been acknowledged by the emperor ; whilst 
the alliance of the latter with England, and the triple alliance 
between France, England, and Holland, concluded in 1717, seemed 
to isolate Spain from the rest of Europe. The seizure of one of his 
ministers by the Austrians increased the exasperation of Philip. 
He resolved upon war, seized Sardinia, and threatened Sicily. At 
this time Alberoni was intriguing with Charles XII. of Sweden, 
and with the Czar, in favour of the Stuarts ; he was also in corre- 
spondence with the Pretender at Rome, and was employing agents 
to foment dissensions in England. This state of things required 
vigorous counsels. In the summer Stanhope proceeded to Paris, 
and succeeded in concluding a new treaty with France and the 
emperor, which, after the accession of the Dutch, was styled the 
Quadruple Alliance (July 22, 1718). Its avowed object was the 
preservation of the peace of Europe. Stanhope then proceeded 
to Madrid, but did not succeed in overcoming the stubborn hostility 
of Alberoni. Meanwhile the Spanish troops, after taking Sardinia, 

* He was created earl Stanhope in the following year (1718), and was the ancestor 
of the present earl. 

26* 



574 GEORGE I. Chap, xxix 

had landed in Sicily (July 1), and taken Palermo and Messina, 
though the citadel of the latter place held out. To prevent the 
loss of the island, Admiral Byng * was despatched to the Mediter- 
ranean with 20 ships of the line. On July 31, 1718, an action, 
said to have been begun by the Spaniards, took place off Cape 
Passaro, ending in their total defeat, and the destruction of a great 
number of their ships. Alberoni recalled his minister from London, 
and seized all British goods and vessels in Spanish ports ; but no 
declaration of war was made till towards the end of the year, and 
then by the French and British cabinets. In retribution for the 
injuries inflicted on the Spaniards by the English, Alberoni fitted 
out an armament of five ships to support the pretensions of James ; 
but it was dispersed in a storm, and only two of the frigates reached 
Scotland. 

§ 8. In March, 1719, at the invitation of Alberoni, the Pretender 
repaired to Spain, and was received at Madrid with royal honours. 
Towards the end of the year the cardinal was dismissed, and 
Philip announced his accession to the Quadruple Alliance (January, 
1720), renewing his renunciation of the French crown, and en- 
gaging to evacuate Sicily and Sardinia within six months. After 
the death of Charles XII. (December 11, 1718), the new queen of 
Sweden, Ulrica, yielded Bremen and Verden to George I. 

The Stanhope administration had been eminently successful. 
The Schism Act was repealed,! peace secured abroad, and the danger 
of domestic conspiracy and rebellion lessened by the banishment 
of the Pretender from France. Early in 1720, the ministry was 
strengthened by the accession of Townshend and Walpole, who 
were induced to accept subordinate places — the former as president 
of the council, the latter as paymaster of the forces. Walpole had 
lately displayed distinguished ability in opposing and procuring the 
rejection of the peerage bill, intended to limit the royal prerogative 
in the creation of peers, by providing that their present number 
should not be increased beyond six, except in favour of the blood- 
royal. He also induced the prince of Wales to write a submissive 
letter to his father, and thus succeeded in healing the breach between 
them. The quarrel had proceeded to such an extent that, during 
the king's visit to Hanover in the previous year, the prince had 
not even been mentioned in the regency, and the government was 
vested in lords justices. 

§ 9. In 1711 Harley had established the South Sea Company as 
a means of relieving the public burthens. A portion of the national 

* He was created viscount Torrington in 1721, and was the ancestor of the present 
viscount, 
f See p. 562. 



a.d. 1720-1721. THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE. 575 

debt was thrown into a stock to pay six per cent, interest at the end 
of five years, and the proprietors were to enjoy the monopoly of trade 
to the coast of Peru. Little, however, was obtained from Spain, 
except the Asiento treaty, or contract for supplying negroes, the 
privilege of annually sending one ship of less than 500 tons to the 
South Sea, and of establishing certain factories; and even these 
trifling privileges were interrupted by the Spanish war. Neverthe- 
less the company flourished, and was regarded as a sort of rival to 
the Bank of England. As the government was desirous, towards 
the end of 1719, of getting rid of the unredeemable annuities granted 
during the last two reigns, and amounting to 800,000Z. per annum, 
these two corporations competed for the purchase, and at last the 
South Sea Company offered the enormous sum of 7^ millions. 
They had the right of paying off the annuitants, who accepted 
South Sea stock in lieu of their government stock ; and two-thirds 
of them consented to the offer of 8j years' purchase. The example 
of Law's Mississippi scheme in Paris had created a rage for specula- 
tion. Large subscriptions, opened by the South Sea Company, 
were rapidly filled ; its trade was regarded as a certain road to 
fortune, and in August the £100 stock rose to £1000 ! A third and 
a fourth subscription, larger than the former, were now opened, the 
directors engaging that after Christmas their dividend should not 
be less than 50 per cent. A variety of other bubbles were started 
at the same time, and the nation was seized with a sort of madness. 
Not only men of all ranks, ages, and professions, but women also, 
flocked to 'Change Alley. The very streets were lined with desks 
and clerks, and converted into counting-houses. Among these 
projects was a fishery for wrecks on the Irish coast, a scheme to 
make salt water fresh, to extract oil from sunflowers, silver from 
lead, iron from pit-coal, and many others of a like description. One 
ingenious projector published " an undertaking to be revealed in 
due time," in shares of 100?., with a deposit of two guineas, and in 
the evening decamped with 1000 subscriptions ! By proceeding 
against some of these companies the South Sea Company itself 
caused the first alarm. The general delusion was exposed ; but the 
public mind, once roused, turned its attention to the company's own 
affairs. Holders of stock were anxious to realize, and by the end 
of September it had fallen from 1000 to 150. The news of the 
crash produced in Paris by the failure of Law's scheme completed 
the panic. Thousands of families were at once reduced to beggary. 
On every side might be heard execrations, not only against the 
company, but against the ministry, and even the king and his 
mistresses. The matter was taken up in both houses, and is said 
to have produced the death of Stanhope. Attacked by the young 



576 



GEORGE L 



Chap, xxix, 



duke of Wharton * with great virulence, the premier replied with 
such heat as to occasion an apoplexy, of which he expired the 
following day (February 5, 1721). 

§ 10. Townshend now became secretary of state, and Aislabie 
resigned the chancellorship of the exchequer to Walpole (February 
8). A committee of the commons, appointed to inquire into the 
affairs of the South Sea Company, brought to light details of gross 
corruption. In order to procure the passing of their bill, the 
directors had distributed large bribes to the duchess of Kendal, 
Madame de Platen (sister of the countess of Darlington), and to 
several of the ministers, as the earl of Sunderland, secretary Craggs, 
Mr. Aislabie, and others. The estates of the directors were con- 
fiscated, and applied to the benefit of the sufferers. 

The death of Stanhope, Craggs, and Sunderland, at this period, 
and the expulsion of Aislabie, placed the chief power of the admi- 
nistration in the hands of Walpole, who continued to wield it for a 
period of twenty years. Parliament, dissolved March 10, 1722, was 
succeeded by another equally whiggish. The duke of Marlborough, 
who had long laboured under a paralytic attack, expired (June 16, 
1722). He was one of the greatest generals England ever pro- 
duced ; but, though he possessed a solid understanding, a certain 
degree of natural eloquence, and a pleasing address, yet, like many 
of his contemporaries, he could neither write nor spell his native 
language correctly. Avarice was the great blemish of his character, 
which frequently betrayed him into acts of meanness. His duchess 
survived until 1744. 

On September 22 the Pretender published at Lucca a strange 
manifesto, to the effect that, if George would restore him to the 
throne, he would in return make George king of Hanover ! It was 
circulated in England, and ordered by both houses to be burnt 
by the hangman. This year a Jacobite plot was discovered, in 
which Atterbury, bishop of Eochester, and three or four peers, were 
concerned. It was to be assisted by an invasion from Spain. A 
bill of pains and penalties was brought into the lords against 
Atterbury, who was found guilty . and sentenced to banishment 
(May, 1723). At Calais he met Lord Bolingbroke, who had 
obtained a pardon and was returning to England. The bishop died 
in exile at Paris (February 22, 1732), and was privately buried in 
Westminster Abbey the May following. 

§ 11. In 1724 a serious tumult was excited in Ireland by the 
coinage of " Wood's halfpence." Copper coin had long been scarce 



* His father, the earl of Wharton, a dis- 
tinguished whig, mentioned in the reign 
of queen Anne, was created a marquess 



in 1715, and died in the same year. His 
son was created a duke in 1718 and died 
in 1731, when the title became extinct, 



a.d. 1724-1725. DISTURBANCE IN SCOTLAND. 577 

in that country. To remedy this defect, a patent was granted to 
William Wood, a considerahle ironmaster, for coining halfpence 
and farthings to the value of 100,0002. Wood was arrogant and 
indiscreet, but, according to sir Isaac Newton, then master of the 
mint, he appears to have executed his contract honestly. The Irish 
privy council and parliament set their faces against the new coinage. 
A popular clamour was raised. Swift, who had been living quietly 
the last ten years, seized the opportunity for exerting his unrivalled 
powers of sarcasm, and wrote his " Drapier's Letters," displaying 
astonishing art and vigour. In the midst of the storm lord Carteret, 
afterwards lord Granville, the new lord-lieutenant, landed in Ireland. 
He issued a proclamation against the " Drapier's Letters ; " offered 
a reward of 300Z. for the discovery of the author; and caused 
Harding, the printer, to be apprehended. But the grand jury 
threw out the bill; and a second jury, so far from entertaining 
the charge, made a presentment, drawn up by Swift himself, 
against all persons who should, by fraud or otherwise, impose 
Wood's halfpence upon the public. The ministry withdrew Wood's 
patent, and granted him a pension of 3000Z. for eight years, by 
way of compensation. 

In 1725, the imposition of threepence on every barrel of ale 
brewed in Scotland occasioned serious riots in Edinburgh and 
Glasgow. The impost was occasioned by the unwillingness of the 
Scotch to pay their proportion of the malt tax ; but it was popularly 
ascribed to the corruption of the Scotch members, to whom Walpole 
allowed 10 guineas a week during their stay in London, telling them 
that they must make good the cost out of the Scotch revenue, or else 
" tie up their stockings with their own garters." It was an age of 
corruption. Lord chancellor Macclesfield was this session found 
guilty of peculation in his high office, and was fined 30,0002. 
' In June, 1725, the king revived the order of the Bath, which had 
lain in abeyance ever since the coronation of Charles II. Walpole 
and his son were made knights. In the following year sir Eobert 
was invested with the Garter. 

§ 12. The emperor and the king of Spain had now laid aside 
their quarrels, and by the treaty of Vienna had formed a close 
confederacy against France and England (April 30, 1725). To 
obviate this danger, the English court concluded at Hanover a 
defensive alliance with France and Bussia (September 3, 1725). 
No actual hostilities, however, occurred till 1727, when the 
Spaniards made an unsuccessful attack upon Gibraltar. A general 
war seemed now inevitable : but the Dutch and the Swedes had 
acceded to the treaty of Hanover; Bussia had receded from her 
engagements with the emperor; and the latter, conscious of his 



oVi 



GEORGE I. 



Chap. xxrx. 



weakness, determined to abandon Spain. On May 31, the pre- 
liminaries of a peace were signed at Paris. Spain and England 
remained in a state of semi-hostility. 

George I. had started for Hanover this summer as usual, accom- 
panied by lord Townshend and the duchess of Kendal. He was 
seized on the road with an apoplexy ; and being carried towards the 
residence of his brother, the prince bishop, at Osnabriick, expired in 
his coach before he arrived (June 11, 1727). His consort, Sophia 
Dorothea of Zell, had died a few months before, after a confinement 
of 32 years in the castle of Ahlen, for a suspected intrigue with 
count Konigsmark, a Swede. It is said that in her last illness she 
intrusted to a faithful attendant a letter addressed to the king, in 
which, after protesting her innocence, and complaining of his ill 
usage, she summoned him to meet her within a year and a day before 
the tribunal of God, to answer for his conduct. The story goes, that 
this letter was put into the king's coach as he entered Germany, 
and he was so alarmed that he fell into a convulsion and died. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.' 



THE CONVOCATION OF THE 
ENGLISH CHURCH. 

The Convocation virtually ceased to 
exist under George I. till its recent 
revival ; and the following account of 
its history, abridged from Hallam, will 
be useful to students. The convocation 
of the province of Canterbury (for that 
of York seems never to have been im- 
portant) is summoned by the arch- 
bishop's writ, under the king's direction, 
along with every parliament, to which 
it bears analogy both in its constituent 
parts and in its primary functions. 
It consists (since the Reformation) of 
the suffragan bishops, forming the 
upper house ; of the deans, archdeacons, 
a proctor or proxy for each chapter, 
and two from each diocese elected 
by the parochial clergy, who together 
constitute the lower house. In this 
assembly subsidies were granted, and 
ecclesiastical canons enacted. In a few 
instances, as under Henry VIII. and Eliza- 
beth, convocation was consulted on mo- 
mentous questions affecting the national 
religion. The king's supremacy was 
approved in 1533, the articles of faith were 
confirmed in 1562, by the convocation. But 



their power to enact fresh canons without 
the king's licence was expressly taken 
away by a statute of Henry VIII. ; and, 
even subject to this condition, their power 
is limited by several later acts of parlia- 
ment: — such as the acts of uniformity 
under Elizabeth and Charles II. ; that 
confirming, and therefore rendering un- 
alterable, the thirty-nine articles; those 
relating to non-residence and other 
church matters :— and still more, per- 
haps, by the doctrine gradually estab- 
lished in Westminster Hall, that new 
ecclesiastical canons are not binding on 
the laity. The convocation accordingly, 
with the exception of 1603, when it 
established some regulations, and of 
1640 (an unfortunate precedent)^ when 
it attempted more, had little business 
but to grant subsidies, which, however, 
were from the time of Henry VIII. always 
confirmed by an act of parliament; an 
intimation, no doubt, that the legislature 
did not wholly acquiesce in their power 
even of binding the clergy in a matter of 
property. This practice of ecclesiastical 
taxation was silently discontinued in 1664 ; 
and from that time the clergy have been 
taxed at the same rate and in the same 
manner with the laity. (See p. 458.) It 



Chap. xxix. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



579 



was the natural consequence of this cessa- 
tion of all business, that the convocation, 
after a few formalities, either adjourned 
itself or was prorogued by a royal writ ; 
nor had it ever, with the few exceptions 
above noticed, sat for more than a few 
days, till its supply could be voted. But 
about the time of the Revolution of 1688 
the party most adverse to the new order 
sedulously propagated a doctrine that the 
convocation ought to be advised with 
upon all questions affecting the church, 
and ought even to watch over its interests 
as the parliament did over those of the 
kingdom. The commons had so far en- 
couraged this, as to refer to the convoca- 
tion the great question of a reform in the 
liturgy for the sake of comprehension ; 
but it was not suffered to sit much during 
the rest of William's reign. The succeed- 
ing reign, however, began under tory 
auspices, and the convocation was in more 
activity for some years than at any former 
period. The lower house of that assembly 
distinguished itself by its opposition to the 
bishops, especially to those who, having 
been appointed by whigs, were supposed to 
advocate doctrines adverse to the clergy 
and favourable to dissenters. Whilst, 
therefore, the divine right of episcopacy 
was generally held by the lower house of 
convocation, individual bishops were not 



exempt from some severe reflections on 
their conduct and their tenets. 

The government of George I. at first 
permitted the convocation to hold its 
sittings ; but in consequence of the attack 
made on Hoadly, bishop of Bangor, 
which gave rise to the celebrated Ban- 
gorian controversy, the convocation was 
prorogued by government in 1717, and 
never sat again for business till the reign 
of queen Victoria. — Constitutional His- 
tory, iii. 324 seq. 

Hoadly was attacked by the lower house 
(1) for propagating opinions subversive of 
all government and discipline in the 
church of Christ ; (2) for impugning the 
royal supremacy in causes ecclesiastical, 
and denying the right of the legislature 
to enforce obedience in religious matters. 

In October, 1852, a royal licence was 
issued, permitting convocation to resume 
its synodical functions, and, simulta- 
neously with the opening of the new par- 
liament in November, the convocation 
met for the despatch of business. On this 
occasion it was adjourned after a week's 
session, but since then the duration of its 
sittings and the scope of its discussions 
have been considerably enlarged; the chief 
practical fruit of its labours, as yet, being 
the revised lectionary. 




Medal of George II. 
Obv. : georgivs . ii . d : g : mag. bei : fka : et . h : rex . r. d. Bust to right. 

Below, L. NATTER. F. 



OHAPTEE XXX. 

geoege ii., b. 1683 ; r. a.d. 1727-1760. 

§ 1. Accession of George II. His character. Ministry. § 2. Treaty of 
Seville. The royal family. Rupture with Spain. §3. Rise of Pitt. 
Decline of Walpole's power. § 4. Attack on Porto Bello and St. Jago. 
Anson's voyage. § 5. Resignation of Walpole. New ministry. Inquiry 
into Walpole's administration. § 6. War of the Austrian succession. 
Campaigns of 1742 and 1743. Battle of Dettingen. § 7. Pelham's 
ministry. Threatened invasion of the Pretender. The French fleet dis- 
persed. § 8. Ministerial arrangements. War with France. Battle 
of Fontenoy. § 9. The Pretender Charles Edward in Scotland. His 
character. The raising of the standard and march to Edinburgh. 
§ 10. Battle of Preston Pans. March to Derby. § 11. Retreat of the 
Pretender. Battles of Falkirk Muir and Culloden. Flight of prince 
Charles and others. Executions. § 12. Change of ministry. Treaty 
of Aix-la-Chapelle. § 13. Later life of the Pretender. Halifax settled. 
Death of Frederick, prince of Wales. § 14. Newcastle's ministry. 
Hostilities between France and England. The French take Minorca. 
§ 15. Trial and execution of admiral Byng. Pitt prime minister. 
§ 16. Expedition to Rochefort. Seven Years' War. Convention of 
Kloster Seven. § 17. Campaign of 1758. Conquest of Cape Breton. 
Cherbourg destroyed. § 18. Campaign of 1759. Naval victories. 
Battle of Minden. Conquest of Canada. Death of general Wolfe. 
Death of George II. 

§ 1. George II. was 44 years of age at the time of his accession. 
In temper he was not so shy and reserved as his father, and he was 
subject to violent gusts of anger ; but his ruling passion was 



a.d. 1727. 



ACCESSION OF GEORGE II. 



581 




Rev. : optimo princifi. Tetrastyle temple. Below, cioioccxxxxt. 

avarice. He was fond of music, but had no taste for literature. 
His mind had been little cultivated, but he loved justice, and he was 
personally courageous. His habits of life were temperate and 
regular. His fluency in speaking English gave him an advantage 
over his father, who had been obliged to converse with Walpole 
in Latin, which the latter had almost forgotten, and the king had 
never perfectly learnt. In 1705 George II. had married the princess 
Caroline of Anspach, who at that time possessed considerable beauty. 
Her manners were graceful and dignified, and her conduct was marked 
with propriety and good sense. Her influence over her husband 
was unbounded, and during ten years she may be said to have 
ruled England. The issue of this marriage were two sons, Frederick, 
prince of Wales, born in 1707, William, duke of Cumberland, born 
in 1721, and five daughters. 

When the news of his father's death reached the palace at Eich- 
mond, George II. had retired to bed for his customary afternoon's 
doze. Sir Robert Walpole knelt down, kissed his hand, presented 
Townshend's letter announcing his father's death, and, in the full 
expectation that he should be retained in his office, inquired who 
should draw the necessary declaration to the privy council. To his 
surprise and mortification, the king selected sir Spencer Compton, 
one of his favourites when prince of Wales ; but Compton was so 
ignorant that he could do nothing without Walpole's advice and 
assistance. Queen Caroline was in favour of Walpole, who in a few 
days triumphed over the king's prejudices, and the old ministers 
were reappointed. 

§ 2. The first ten or twelve years of the new king's reign were 



582 GEORGE II. Chap. xxx. 

marked by few events of importance. Walpole maintained his 
power by his parliamentary tactics and unscrupulous bribery. The 
nation was peaceable and prosperous. In the spring of 1728 the 
king of Spain notified his desire for peace ; but the negociations were 
long protracted. By the treaty of Seville, not finally concluded till 
November 9, 1729, a defensive alliance was established between 
England, Spain, and France, to which Holland subsequently acceded. 
The English trade to America was placed on its former footing ; all 
captures were restored, and the Asiento was confirmed to the South 
Sea Company.* Gibraltar was tacitly relinquished by Spain, and 
the strong lines of San Roque across the isthmus were now con- 
structed. A few months after this treaty lord Townshend resigned, 
after an open rupture with Walpole (May, 1730). The two secre- 
taries of state were now lord Harrington and the duke of Newcastle. 

Frederick, prince of Wales, lived on bad terms with his father, 
George II., as George II. had done with George I. Weak and 
vain, he was easily led by flatterers. He affected to patronize 
literature, probably because his father despised and neglected it ; and 
his residence was frequented by men of wit and genius, especially 
by Bolingbroke, whose " Patriot King " was composed in anticipa- 
tion of his future reign, and as a sort of satire on that of his father. 
In 1737 the difference between the prince and the king came to an 
open rupture. Frederick, who had married, in 1736, Augusta of Saxe 
Gotha, was ordered to leave St. James's, with all his family, and 
took up his residence at Norfolk House in St. James's square 
(September 14). All persons who visited him were forbidden to 
appear at court. The separation of the royal family was followed 
in a few weeks by the death of queen Caroline (November 20, 1737). 
Next year the king, in defiance of all decency, brought over, as his 
mistress, Sophia de Walmoden, a married lady, who was created 
countess of Yarmouth (February, 1740). This is the last instance 
in England of a king's mistress being raised to the peerage. 

Events were now rapidly tending to a war with Spain. The 
Spaniards complained of the illicit proceedings of English traders ; 
the English of the right of search exercised in an insolent manner 
by the Spaniards. There was likewise a question between the 
two countries respecting the boundaries of Georgia, a new settlement 
in America named in honour of the king. The nation was at that 
time greatly incensed by a tale which Burke afterwards characterized 
as " The Fable of Jenkins's Ears." Jenkins was the master of a small 
trading sloop in Jamaica, which seven years before had been over- 
hauled by a Spanish guarda-costa, the commander of which, finding 
nothing contraband, tore off one of Jenkins's ears, bidding him carry 
* See p. 575. 



a.d. 1728-1739. RISE OF THE ELDER PITT. 583 

it to king George, and tell him that if he had caught the king he 
would have served him in the same manner. This ear (which, how- 
ever, some affirmed he had lost in the pillory) Jenkins carried about 
with him wrapped up in cotton. He was now produced at the bar 
of the House of Commons, in order to excite the public indignation ; 
and on being asked by a member, what were his feelings at the 
moment of the outrage, Jenkins answered, " I recommended my soul 
to God, and my cause to my country." These words ran through 
the nation like wildfire, and the cry of " No search " was taken 
up by all as a watchword. Averse to war as he was, Walpole felt 
that something must be done to appease the public feeling. A 
fleet of 10 sail of the line was despatched to the Mediterranean ; 
letters of marque and reprisal were issued ; troops and stores were 
sent to Georgia ; and the British merchants in Spain were recom- 
mended to register their goods before notaries, in case of a rupture. 
These vigorous measures extorted from the Spaniards (January 14, 
1739) a convention, the terms of which were announced by the 
king, in his opening speech to the parliament, " with great satisfac- 
tion " and appear, in fact to have been tolerably favourable. But the 
nation was not satisfied. The compensation offered by Spain was 
deemed inadequate ; above all, the obnoxious right of search was 
still retained ; and Walpole carried the address on the king's speech 
only by a small majority. 

§ 3. Among the ranks of the opposition, William Pitt, afterwards 
earl of Chatham, now rose to eminence. He was the grandson of 
Thomas Pitt, governor of Madras, and was born in 1708. Educated 
at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, he was compelled by 
ill health to leave the university without taking a degree, and 
he completed his education by a tour on the continent. Having 
obtained a cornetcy in the Blues, he entered parliament, as member 
for Old Sarum, in 1735, and joined the opposition against Walpole. 
His figure was tall and striking, his nose aquiline, his eye fiery and 
expressive, his voice at once harmonious and powerful. His grand 
and imposing oratory had an overpowering effect upon his hearers. 
Superior to his contemporaries in his freedom from venality and 
intrigue, he was too often inclined to be overbearing, in the con- 
sciousness of his power and the integrity of his motives ; and his 
temper, owing partly to his bad health, was not unfrequently bitter, 
wayward, and impracticable. His patrimony was only 1001. a year ; 
his cornetcy he lost through some impassioned speeches against the 
minister. Taken into the service of the prince of Wales, he did not 
cease to launch invectives against Walpole. 

Nearly all the men of the greatest ability were now on the side 
of the opposition. Walpole's staunchest supporters were in the 



584 GEORGE II. Chap. xxx. 

House of Peers ; but the duke of Newcastle, a ready debater, and 
lord chancellor Hardwicke did not cordially agree with him on the 
Spanish question. The king himself advocated vigorous measures 
against Spain ; and Walpole found it necessary to choose between 
a war of which he disapproved, and retirement from office. He 
determined on the former ; and, as the Spaniards had evaded the 
peremptory demands made upon them, war was declared amidst 
great public rejoicings (October 23, 1739). 

§ 4. A squadron had already been despatched to the West Indies 
under admiral Vernon, and on the 20th of November he appeared 
off Porto Bello on the isthmus of Darien. The Spaniards were 
unprepared, and the place was captured without much resistance ; 
but little treasure was found. In the following year, Vernon was 
reinforced by a large armament commanded by sir Chaloner Ogle, 
with a military force under lord Cathcart. When the fleet assembled 
at Jamaica, it was found to consist of 115 ships, 30 of which were 
of the line, carrying 15,000 sailors and 12,000 troops. Vernon 
resolved to attack Carthagena, the strongest Spanish settlement in 
America, having a garrison of 4000 men with 300 guns. It was not 
till March 4, 1741, that the British fleet appeared before the place. 
The harbour was entered after considerable resistance, and Vernon 
despatched a ship to England to announce his approaching victory. 
The troops were landed and a night assault planned ; but, though 
it was conducted with determined bravery, it was repulsed with 
great loss. Vernon and Wentworth, who had succeeded Cathcart, 
did not co-operate cordially. Sickness broke out among the soldiers, 
and in a few days their effective force was reduced to one-half. 
Under these circumstances it was resolved to return to Jamaica, all 
the damage done to the Spaniards consisting in the destruction of 
their forts. Vernon afterwards proceeded to St. Jago, in Cuba, 
but on reconnoitring he thought it prudent to withdraw. 

Another squadron, under commodore Anson, had been despatched 
in September, 1740, to sail round Cape Horn and attack Peru. The 
sufferings and adventures of Anson on this expedition, during which 
he circumnavigated the globe, and returned by the Cape of Good 
Hope to Spithead in the Centurion, his only remaining ship, in 
June, 1744, have been detailed in a well-known narrative. So far 
as the war was concerned, the expedition resulted only in the 
capture, plunder, and destruction of the town of Paita, and in 
the taking of several prizes, the most important of which was one 
of the great Manilla galleons, having on board silver coin and ingots 
worth a million and a half. 

§ 5. The third parliament of George II. met on December 4, 1741, 
and proved unfavourable to Walpole. He was defeated in the 



a.d. 1741-1742. WAR OF THE AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION. 585 

election of a chairman of committees, and again on the question of 
the Westminster election, where it was alleged that the govern- 
ment candidates had heen brought in through the interference of 
the military. Another defeat on the Chippenham election petition 
determined him reluctantly to resign (February 17, 1742). The 
king parted with him with all the marks of profound regret, and 
created him earl of Orford. The country had prospered and grown 
rich under his long and peaceful administration. He never after- 
wards took much part in politics, and died in 1745.* 

The king now sent for William Pulteney, one of the most dis- 
tinguished statesmen of the time. He would accept no place 
himself, but only a seat in the cabinet, and a peerage with the 
title of earl of Bath. He consented that the king's old favourite, 
sir Spencer Compton, now lord Wilmington, should be at the head 
of the treasury; and he named Mr. Sandys chancellor of the 
exchequer, lord Carteret secretary of state, and the marquess of 
Tweeddale as secretary for Scotland. Lord Hardwicke, the chan- 
cellor, and several others, retained their posts. Carteret was in 
reality the prime minister, and favoured the king's proposals for 
war. Walpole had endeavoured to procure a promise from Pulteney 
that no proceedings should be instituted against him ; but Pulteney 
refused, and, before he proceeded to the House of Peers, supported 
a motion of lord Limerick's, in March, 1742, for an inquiry into 
the last ten years of Walpole's administration. The motion was 
carried by a small majority, and a secret committee of 21 persons 
was named. But its discoveries led to nothing of importance, and 
the design was abandoned. 

§ 6. Meanwhile England had taken part in the war of the Austrian 
succession. The emperor Charles VI. had died, October 20, 1740. 
The succession of his daughter Maria Theresa to his Austrian domi- 
nions was guaranteed by the Pragmatic Sanction, to which England 
was a party, but it was also claimed by the elector of Bavaria, whose 
pretensions were supported by France and by the Bourbon king of 
Spain. Frederick II. of Prussia, better known as Frederick the 
Great, resolved to profit by the conjuncture, and, entering Silesia at 
the head of 30,000 men, defeated the Austrians at Molwitz (1741). 
A French army was poured into Bavaria. The elector, inaugurated 
as duke of Austria, marched against Vienna, whilst Maria Theresa, 
with her infant son Joseph, took refuge among the Hungarians, 

* After his son Robert and his grand- 
son George had held the earldom, it de- 
volved (1791) on Horatio, the third son of 
sir Robert (born October 5, 1717), who is 
better known as Horace Walpole, and 
whose letters are an important source for 



the history of these times. The earldom 
of Orford became extinct on his death 
(1797), but was revived (1806) in favour 
of his cousin Horatio, by whose descendant 
it is still held. 



586 GEORGE II. Chap. xxx. 

who received her with the cry : " Moriamur pro Eege nostro, Maria 
Theresa — Let us die for our king, Maria Theresa." The English 
parliament, zealous in her cause, voted her a yearly subsidy of 
300,000?., and a sum of five millions for carrying on the war 
(1742). A body of 16,000 men, under the veteran earl of Stair, 
was despatched to co-operate with the Dutch, and was reinforced 
by 6000 Hessians, and subsequently by 16,000 Hanoverians, in 
British pay. Great indignation was expressed that Hanover, though 
more interested in the war than England, had contributed nothing 
to its expenses ; and Pitt declared that this great kingdom 
had become a mere province of that despicable electorate. The 
king, however, afterwards furnished 6000 Hanoverians, paid by 
his electoral dominions. Maria Theresa, at the instigation of 
George II., propitiated the king of Prussia by ceding Silesia (July, 
1742). By this arrangement Frederick was induced to remain 
neutral ; and, in November following, a treaty was concluded 
between Great Britain, Holland, and Prussia, to oppose the French 
and the elector of Bavaria, now emperor by the style of Charles VII. 
In the following year (1743) the British army under lord Stair, 
amounting, with Hanoverians and Hessians, to nearly 40,000 men, 
advanced into Germany, and took up a position at Hochst, between 
Mentz and Frankfort. Stair, who had never been a great general, 
had ascended the right bank of the Main, with the view of commu- 
nicating with the Austrians, when he was cut off from his antici- 
pated supplies in Franconia, and from his own magazines at Hanau, 
by marshal Noailles. George II., who had as usual gone over to 
Hanover in the spring, attended by his son the duke of Cumber- 
land and by lord Carteret, joined Stair on the 19th of June, and 
found his army in the most critical position, cooped up in a 
narrow valley between Mount Spessart and the Main, extending 
from Aschaffenburg, on that river, to the village of Dettingen. As 
forage was beginning to fail, it was resolved to march back the army 
to their magazines and reinforcements — a hazardous operation in the 
face of a superior enemy. On June 27, the English withdrew from 
Aschaffenburg in two columns, the king bringing up the rear, a 
post of no little danger. Meanwhile, unknown to the English, the 
French had occupitd in force a strong position at Dettingen, covered 
by a morass and ravine. As soon as Aschaffenburg was evacuated, 
it was occupied by 12,000 French ; and, as their batteries on 
the other side of the Main began to play on the flank of the 
British, it became necessary to force a way through Dettingen at 
all risks. Fortunately Noailles had intrusted the force at this 
place to his nephew, the duke de Grammont, who, burning to dis- 
tinguish himself, and thinking that he had before him only part of 



a.d. 1743-1744. THE YOUNG PRETENDER. 587 

the allied army, abandoned his vantage ground, and advanced 
through the defiles to give battle on the open plain. By this move- 
ment the French batteries were compelled to suspend their fire, 
for fear of damaging their friends. Placing himself at the head of 
a dense mass of British and Hanoverian infantry, the king charged 
the enemy, and put them completely to the rout. The French lost 
about 6000 men ; the British lost only half that number, and, resum- 
ing their march, they arrived safely at Hanau. This was the last 
battle in which a king of England was personally engaged. In 
consequence of this victory, and of the advance of prince Charles of 
Lorraine, the French were compelled to evacuate Germany. 

§ 7. On the death of Compton, lord Wilmington (July 2, 1743), 
the king named Henry Pelham, brother of the duke of Newcastle, 
first lord of the treasury. From the time of Walpole, who held that 
office so long with absolute power, the head of the treasury began 
to be regarded as prime minister. Formerly the chief authority 
had been enjoyed by one of the secretaries of state. Pelham's 
abilities were moderate, but he was superior to his brother, the duke 
of Newcastle. 

The king lost the popularity his victory was calculated to pro- 
cure, by the partiality which he displayed for Hanoverians. Lord 
Stair resigned, and the duke of Marlborough and many other 
English officers threw up their commissions. Even in loyal com- 
panies the toast of " No Hanoverian king " was not unfrequent, and 
the name of Hanover became a reproach. Yet it was necessary to 
keep a large force on foot. The French were determined to act no 
longer as mere auxiliaries, but to declare war both against England 
and Austria, and to take the field with a large army. Cardinal 
Tencin, who had succeeded the pacific Fleury, was a warm friend 
of the house of Stuart, to whom he owed many obligations ; and the 
discontents in England inspired the hope of effecting a successful 
Jacobite invasion. Prince Charles Edward, born in 1720, grandson of 
James II., was to be the hero of this enterprise, for age had deprived 
his father James even of the little spirit he once possessed. He signed 
at Eome a commission declaring his son, Charles, regent in his 
absence, and a proclamation to be published on landing. 

Prince Charles, commonly called the Young Pretender, set out from 
Rome (January 9, 1744), and proceeded to Gravelines under the 
assumed name of the Chevalier Douglas. At Dunkirk 15,000 
French veterans had been collected under the command of marshal 
Saxe, as Charles's lieutenant ; transports had been prepared for 
them, and 18 sail of the line were appointed for their convoy. They 
put to sea in February, and neared the English fleet under admiral 
Norris, off Dungeness. But, as it was growing dark, Norris put 



588 GEOKGE II. Chap. xxx. 

off an engagement till the following day. A dreadful storm arose, 
committing frightful havoc on the French fleet. Some of the largest 
transports foundered with all on board ; others were wrecked on the 
coast of Flanders ; the remainder of the armament reached Dunkirk 
in a crippled state. In consequence of this misfortune the French 
ministry relinquished the expedition, and prince Charles returned 
to Paris. (Supplement, Note XII.) 

§ 8. The British resident in that capital loudly complained of 
the encouragement thus given to the Pretender. But the French 
replied by a declaration of war, couched in the most offensive terms 
(March 20), and in May Louis XV. entered Flanders in person, 
with 80,000 men commanded by marshal Saxe. In open violation 
of his treaties with Maria Theresa, Frederick of Prussia broke into 
Bohemia and Moravia ; but before the winter, Maria Theresa, with 
the help of the Hungarians, drove the Prussians out of Bohemia. 

In November of this year Carteret, now become earl Granville* 
by the death of his mother, resigned his post of secretary of state, 
and was succeeded by the earl of Harrington. Lord Winchelsea 
and other persons of inferior note also retired. Pelham opened 
negociations with Pitt ; but he would accept no office except that 
of secretary at war, and the ministry were not yet prepared to part 
with sir William Yonge. The king had a strong aversion to both 
Pitt and Chesterfield, who became lord-lieutenant of Ireland, as the 
king would not allow him to be made a secretary of state. Pitt 
promised Pelham his support, and the administration now became 
strong. It fell, however, into the same courtly or Hanoverian 
policy for which Grranville had been denounced. In January, 1745, 
a quadruple alliance was formed by England, Holland, Austria, and 
Saxony ; and the subsidy to the queen of Hungary was increased 
to half a million. In this Pitt and Chesterfield acquiesced. About 
the same time the emperor Charles VII. died at Munich, and thus one 
obstacle to a peace was removed. In the following September 
the husband of Maria Theresa was elected emperor with the title of 
Francis I., and became the founder of the line of Hapsburg-Lorraine. 

The most memorable event in the campaign of this year was the 
battle of Fontenoy (April 30, 1745). The French army of 76,000 
men, under marshal Saxe, occupied a strong position near that place ; 
the allied army numbered only about 50,000, of whom 28,000 were 
English and Hanoverians. Nevertheless the French lines would 
have been carried by the British and Hanoverians, under the duke 
of Cumberland and lord Ligonier, his military tutor, but for the 

* This title became extinct in 1116. I son of the first marquess of Stafford, who 
The present earl Granville, Granville was created viscount Granville in 1815, 
Leveson-Gower, is the son of the youngest | and earl Granville in 1833. 



a.d. 1745. THE YOUNG PRETENDER IN SCOTLAND. 589 

shameful flight of the Dutch. The British retreated in good order 
to Ath, and the French then took Tournay, Ghent, Bruges, Oude- 
narde, Dendermond, and Ostend. The British arms were more 
successful in America, where Louisbourg, the capital of Cape 
Breton, was taken from the French after a 49 days' siege (June 15). 

§ 9. The defeat of the British at Fontenoy appeared to prince 
Charles to afford a favourable opportunity for renewing his attempt 
at invasion. He had been informed by his friends in Scotland that 
nothing could be done unless he brought at least 6000 men and 
10,000 stand of arms ; and these it was impossible to obtain, for the 
French had abandoned their efforts in his cause. Yet Charles 
determined to persevere, without the knowledge and sanction either 
of his father or of the French court. By pawning his jewels and 
borrowing from his friends, he raised between 7000Z. and 8000?. 
With this money he purchased arms and ammunition ; and he even 
contrived, by means of some English merchants settled at Nantes, to 
procure the service of two French men-of-war. On board of one of 
these, the Elizabeth, of 67 guns, he shipped his arms, and he himself, 
disguised as a student of the Scotch college at Paris, embarked in the 
other, the Doutelle, a fast-sailing brig of 18 guns (July 2, 1745). 
Four days after leaving Belleisle they fell in with the Lion, a 
British man-of-war of 58 guns, when an engagement ensued, in 
which the Elizabeth was so crippled that she was obliged to put 
back. The Doutelle, which had taken no part in the action, pur- 
sued her voyage ; and, though chased by another man-of-war, 
Charles arrived safely in the Western Isles of Scotland, and landed 
at Moidart, in Inverness-shire (July 25). Several of the Highland 
chieftains remonstrated against his enterprise as unwise and im- 
practicable : for his arms had been lost, and the only adherents who 
landed with him were, his tutor, sir Thomas Sheridan ; the marquess 
of Tullibardine ; sir John Macdonald, an officer in the Spanish 
service ; Kelly, a nonjuring clergyman ; Francis Strickland, an 
English gentleman; iEneas Macdonald, a banker in Paris; and 
Buchanan, who had been sent as messenger to Rome by cardinal 
Tencin. These were afterwards called " the seven men of Moidart." 

Charles, son of James, the chevalier of St. George, and called the 
Young Chevalier, relied for success on his captivating manners. In 
person he was tall, well formed, and active; his face eminently 
handsome ; his complexion fair ; his eyes blue ; his hair fell in 
natural ringlets on his neck. His address, at once dignified and 
affable, was calculated to win attachment ; yet his misfortunes had 
rendered him somewhat jealous of his dignity. He possessed 
courage and a romantic sense of honour ; he was decisive and 
resolute, but without much ability as a leader. His letters breathe 
27 



590 GEORGE II. Chap. xxx. 

both energy and affection, but they are ill-spelt and written in the 
scrawling hand of a schoolboy ; for his education had been shame- 
fully neglected. In politics and religion he retained the prejudices 
of his house. He had many of the qualities suited to a hero of 
romance ; attractions which, combined with a feeling of ancient 
loyalty, proved irresistible to many ; especially as he had adopted 
the Highland dress and learnt a few words of Gaelic. Cameron of 
Lochiel was gained over to his cause, though he plainly saw the 
difficulties of the attempt. Other chieftains followed his example. 

Charles now began his march towards the desolate and seques- 
tered vale of Glenfinnan, about 20 miles from Fort William, which 
had been selected for the meeting of the clans and the raising of 
the royal standard. He arrived early in the morning, accompanied 
by some of the Macdonalds, but found the glen in its native 
solitude. At length Lochiel and the Camerons appeared, about 
600 in number. They were badly armed, but they brought with 
them a company or two of English soldiers, whom they had 
captured on their road. This omen of success gave animation to 
the elevation of the standard, which was erected on a little knoll 
in the midst of the vale, the Highlanders shouting and tossing 
up their bonnets. Other parties subsequently arrived, and when 
Charles began his march next day (August 20), his little army 
amounted to about 1600 men. 

On the same day Sir John Cope, the commander-in-chief in 
Scotland, marched from Stirling with 1500 foot, rather more than 
half of his whole disposable force : for the government was ill- 
prepared, and wholly uninformed of the Pretender's movements. 
Cope directed his march northwards, intending to join the well- 
affected clans. But on reaching Dalnacar loch, being disappointed 
in his hopes, he turned aside to Inverness. Charles descended 
into the lowlands, and at Blair Athol, where he remained two days, 
was joined by several gentlemen of note. Lord Lovat, to whom 
he had despatched his patent as duke of Fraser, with pressing 
solicitations to join him, sent only bis prayers. On September 4, 
Charles made his public entry into Perth amid loud acclamations. 
Here he was joined by Drummond, titular duke of Perth, and lord 
George Murray. The town presented him with 500/., a welcome gift, 
as his last louis-d'or was spent. His march was now directed towards 
Edinburgh. At the dawn of day one of the gates was surprised 
by the Camerons; and on September 17 Charles took possession 
of Holyrood House, where a splendid ball was given in the evening. 
The heralds were compelled to proclaim' king James YIIL, and to 
read the royal declaration and commission of regency. But the 
castle was still held by the troops of the government. 



a.d. 1745. BATTLE OF PRESTON PANS. 591 

10. Charles remained three days at Edinburgh, and having 
obtained an accession of force, as well as a supply of 1000 muskets 
and other stores, he marched out to give battle to Cope, who had 
landed his forces at Dunbar, and was advancing towards the 
capital. Charles had now about 2500 men, but only 50 horse, and 
a single iron gun, of no use except for signals. Cope had about 
2200 men, and six pieces of artillery. The two armies met near 
Preston Pans. The first day both remained inactive, being sepa- 
rated by a morass; but a path having been discovered, Charles 
approached the enemy during the night, and early in the morning 
(September 21) the Highlanders, in separate clans, attacked them, 
with terrific yells. In the space of a few minutes Cope's artillery 
was captured, his dragoons routed, and the line of his infantry 
broken. Of the foot only about 170 escaped, the rest being either 
slain or made prisoners. The loss on the side of the insurgents 
was about 100 killed and wounded. Cope and the horse fled in 
the greatest disorder to Berwick, where he was met by lord Mark 
Kerr with the sarcastic remark, that he was the first general who 
had ever brought the news of his own defeat ! 

After this victory Charles was desirous of pushing on to London, 
where it is possible he might have succeeded in the state of feeling 
then prevailing in England. The nation was lukewarm in the 
Hanoverian cause. They did not indeed take part in the rebellion, 
but they did not seem much disposed to repress it ; and Henry 
Fox, one of the ministers, observes in a> letter of this period, that 
if 5000 French had landed in any part of the island, the conquest 
would not have cost them a battle. But the court of France lost 
the only favourable opportunity that ever occurred of restoring 
the Stuarts. They were not hearty in the cause ; and on the news 
of Charles's success they contented themselves with sending him 
small supplies of arms and money. George II., who had returned 
in alarm from Hanover, sent a requisition to the Dutch for 6000 
auxiliaries. 

After the victory at Preston Pans, many of the Highlanders had 
returned home with their booty ; and, as Charles could now muster 
only about 1500 men, he was advised to wait and recruit his army. 
He therefore returned to Holyrood House. He might now be con- 
sidered master of all Scotland, except some of the country beyond 
Inverness, the Highland fort's, and the castles of Edinburgh and 
Stirling. His father was proclaimed as James VIII. in most of the 
towns ; and in Glasgow, the least disposed to the Jacobite cause, an 
extraordinary levy of 5000£. was made. In a few weeks Charles's 
army was raised to nearly 6000 men ; and some French ships brought 
him, besides money, 5000 stand of arms, six field-pieces, and several 



592 GEORGE II. Chap. xxx. 

French and Irish officers. Lord Lovat still hesitated, and at last 
adopted the dastardly expedient of sending his son, with 700 or 
800 of the clan, protesting, at the same time, that it was contrary 
to his will and orders. 

Charles now determined to march into England, much against 
the will of most of his followers, who were of opinion that he 
should content himself with the conquest of Scotland ; but Charles 
wisely thought that he should not be able to hold the one without 
the other. The English government, however, was now better 
prepared. The commons had voted loyal addresses and liberal 
supplies ; the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended ; the militia was 
raised; marshal Wade had an army of nearly 10,000 men at 
Newcastle, and another under the duke of Cumberland was as- 
sembling in the midland counties. 

Charles began his march on October 31. It was resolved to 
proceed through Cumberland, where the mountainous country is 
better suited to the Highland mode of fighting. Carlisle was 
entered on the 17th, after a slight show of resistance, the garrison 
being allowed to withdraw on delivering up their arms and horses. 
On the 20th the insurgents proceeded in two separate columns, 
which united at Preston ; and the next day they crossed the Eibble. 
In these difficult marches in bad weather the chevalier resigned his 
carriage to the aged and infirm lord Pitsligo, and marched on foot, 
in Highland dress, at the head of the clans. At Manchester he 
was received with enthusiasm ; and 200 English volunteers who 
had joined him here were called the Manchester regiment. But his 
prospects were not encouraging. Wade was advancing against him 
through Yorkshire ; the duke of Cumberland lay at Lichfield with 
8000 men : a third army was forming at Finchley ; admiral Vernon 
was cruising in the Channel to prevent any assistance from France ; 
and admiral Byng was blockading the east coast of Scotland. Many 
of Charles's officers advised a retreat, but lord George Murray per- 
suaded them to advance as far as Derby, promising that, if they 
were not then joined by a considerable force, he would consent to 
their wishes. They reached Derby in safety (December 5). The 
Chevalier was in high spirits. He had slipped away from both 
the English armies, and nothing obstructed his march on the 
capital. London was in a panic ; all business was suspended, and 
the shops were shut. The day was long remembered as Black 
Friday. Even the king had ordered his yacht to the Tower 
stairs, and embarked his most precious effects. But the alarm soon 
came to an end. The day after their arrival, Murray and the other 
generals insisted on a retreai, on the ground that there had been 
neither an English rising nor a French invasion ; and Charles, 



a.d. 1745-1746. BATTLE OF CULLODEN. 593 

after exhausting arguments, threats, and entreaties, was forced to 
comply. 

§ 11. Horsing 1000 of his infantry, the duke of Cumberland 
overtook the retreating Scots at Penrith, and a skirmish took place 
at night on Clifton Moor (December 10). The English were re- 
pulsed with considerable loss, and the retreat was not again molested. 
On December 20, the prince's birthday, the Scots passed the Esk, 
and entered Glasgow on the 24th, having marched 600 miles in 56 
days. 

The Chevalier arrived at Stirling (January 3, 1746), and having 
received large reinforcements, as well as some artillery from France, 
he resolved to besiege the castle. General Hawley, to whom the 
duke of Cumberland had delegated the command, attempted to 
raise the siege, but was defeated with great loss at Falkirk Muir, 
and made a precipitate and disgraceful flight to Edinburgh (January 
17). But the siege was badly conducted by a French engineer 
named Mirabelle ; his batteries were silenced ; and the Chevalier's 
chief officers insisted on going home for the remainder of the 
winter, promising to return in the spring with 10,000 men. The 
heavy guns were spiked, and the retreat began towards Inver- 
ness (February 1). The duke of Cumberland, who had resumed 
the command, and who had been reinforced with 5000 Hessians, 
pursued the Scots, but could not overtake them. 

On April 8 the duke, with 8000 foot and 900 horse, marched 
from Aberdeen to attack Inverness. Charles, though his troops 
had dwindled to 5000 men, resolved to surprise the duke at Nairn 
by a night march of 12 miles. Lord George Murray led the 
first column, Charles himself the second ; but the marshy nature 
of the ground delayed their progress so much that all hopes of a 
surprise were abandoned, and they took up a position on Culloden 
Moor. The duke of Cumberland drew up his army with great 
skill in three lines, with cavalry on each flank, and two pieces of 
cannon between every two regiments of the first line. His artillery 
did great execution, whilst that of the Scots was ill- directed. 
Murray therefore requested permission to attack, and made a furious 
charge with the right wing and centre. He broke the first line of 
the English ; but the second, three deep, the first rank kneeling, and 
the next stooping, received the Scots with a murderous fire, which 
threw them into disorder. The English then charged, and drove 
the clans before them in one confused mass. The left wing was 
not engaged. About 1000 of the Scots fell ; of the English, hardly 
a third of that number (April 16). This defeat put an end to all 
Charles's hopes. He rode from the field to the residence of lord 
Lovat, whom he now met for the first and the last time. Lovat 



594 



GEOKGE II 



II 



Chap. xxx. 



hardly behaved with common civility, and they parted in mutual 
displeasure. Some attempt was made to rally the army at Ruthven, 
but Charles sent a message thanking the leaders, and bidding them 
consult their own safety. They dispersed accordingly, and the 
rebellion was extinguished. The duke of Cumberland fixed his 
head-quarters near Fort Augustus, and permitted every sort of 
outrage and cruelty, in which he was well seconded by general 
Hawley, surnamed for this brutality the Butcher. When the 
duke returned to London in July, he was hailed as the deliverer of 
his country ; a pension of 25,000Z. per annum was settled on him 
and his heirs, and he was presented with the freedom of numerous 
companies. 

Murray and several other leaders escaped abroad. The govern- 
ment succeeded in capturing the earl of Kilmarnock, lord Balmerino, 
secretary Murray, and lord Lovat. The last was discovered in a 




Medal of the young Pretender. 

Obv. : CAEOLtrs wallije princeps. Bust to right. Below, 1745. Rev. : amor et spes. 

Britannia standing on the sea-shore : two ships arriving. Below, Britannia. 

little island in a lake in Inverness-shire, wrapped up in a blanket, 
and concealed in a hollow tree. Charles wandered about the 
country till September, undergoing during these five months a 
variety of hardships and dangers ; yet, though his secret was in- 
trusted to several hundreds of persons, he was not betrayed, not- 
withstanding a reward of 30,000?. had been offered for his capture. 
Among all these acts of loyalty the heroic devotion of Flora 
Macdonald was conspicuous. At last, on September 20, Charles 
got safely on board a French vessel in Lochnanuagh, and on the 
29th he landed in France, near Moiiaix. 

A great number of prisoners were brought to trial for this rebel- 
lion, of whom 80 were executed, and the rest were transported. 



a.d. 1746-1748. CHANGE OF MINISTRY. 595 

The ancient and barbarous ceremony of disembowelling and burning 
the heart and intestines was not omitted on this occasion, and was 
received with the shouts of the populace. The earl of Kilmarnock 
and lords Balmerino and Lovat were executed on Tower Hill, the 
last of whom met his fate with a strange compound of levity and 
courage. The suppression of the rebellion was followed by the 
total pacification of the Scottish highlands ; and various measures 
were adopted for their permanent improvement. 

§ 12. Lord Harrington having resigned the seals of secretary of 
state (October 29, 1746), they were transferred to Philip Dormer 
Stanhope, earl of Chesterfield, the lord-lieutenant of Ireland, in 
which office he was succeeded by lord Harrington. Chesterfield, 
who is commonly regarded as a fine gentleman, had also a large 
fund of wit and wisdom, and was one of the most accomplished 
orators of his day. Conversant with foreign languages as well as 
history, he had distinguished himself as a diplomatist, and had 
discharged with reputation two embassies to Holland. His govern- 
ment of Ireland had been wise and firm, and at the same time 
liberal. His defects were a want of generosity, a proneness to 
dissimulation, a passion for gambling, and a laxity of religious 
principle. 

During the years 1746 and 1747 the French were successful in 
arms ; but in the latter year the English gained two naval victories, 
one by Anson near Cape Finisterre (May 3), the other by admiral 
Hawke off Belleisle (October 14). The French, as well as a large 
party in England, were desirous of peace ; but Maria Theresa and 
the prince of Orange were not satisfied with the results obtained, 
and their views were adopted by George II. and the duke of Cum- 
berland. Chesterfield, a warm advocate for peace, finding his 
counsels disregarded and himself treated with coldness by the king, 
resigned the seals (February 6, 1748), and was succeeded by the 
duke of Bedford. Chesterfield never afterwards took office ; but he 
did not altogether withdraw from public life, and in 1751 he intro- 
duced a most useful measure, the reformation of the caleudar. 
The Julian year, or Old Style as it is called, had been corrected 
by pope Gregory XIII. in 1582, and the Gregorian calendar, or 
New Style, had been adopted by every country on the continent 
of Europe, except Sweden and Bussia. The error of the Old Style 
had now grown to 11 days. In preparing the bill for the reformation 
of the calendar, Chesterfield was assisted by the earl of Macclesfield 
and Mr. Bradley, two of the ablest mathematicians in Europe. By 
this bill the year was to commence on January 1, instead of 
March 25, and 11 days in September, 1752, were to be nomi- 
nally suppressed, in order to bring the calendar into unison with the 



596 GEORGE II. Chap. xxx. 

actual state of the solar year. The great body of the people, how- 
ever, regarded the reform as an impious and popish measure, and 
numbers were of opinion that they had been robbed of 11 days. 
Sweden followed the example of England in 1753 ; but Eussia and 
those countries which belong to the Greek church still follow the 
Old Style, which is now 12 days behind the New Style. 

The continued success of the French, who had invested Maestricht 
in the spring of 1748, increased the desire for peace ; and even the 
Dutch, who now saw an invasion imminent, signified their willing- 
ness to treat. In October a definitive treaty was signed by all the 
belligerents at Aix-la-Chapelle, which ended the war of the Austrian 
succession. The only gainer was the king of Prussia, by the 
cession of Silesia. The article for the mutual restitution of all 
conquests was very unpopular in England, and the more so as 
France demanded and obtained two hostages for the delivery of 
Cape Breton. The earl of Sussex and lord Cathcart were sent to 
Paris in that capacity. 

§ 13. By one of the articles of this treaty the French court under- 
took to expel the Pretender from France, and they offered him an 
establishment at Friburg in Switzerland, with a gnard and the title 
of prince of Wales ; but Charles, regarding such a course as a mean 
compliance with orders from Hanover, obstinately refused to quit 
Paris. At length it became necessary to use force. He was seized 
in his coach while going to the opera, bound hand and foot, and 
carried to the dungeon of Vincennes. After a few days' confine- 
ment, he was conveyed to Pont de Beauvois on the frontiers of 
Savoy, and abandoned to his lonely wanderings. He now appears 
to have visited Venice and Germany, to have resided some time 
secretly in Paris, and even to have paid two visits to England. 
After the death of his father, James, in 1765, he returned to Rome, 
and in his later years fell into habits of intemperance. In 1772, at 
the age of 52, he married the princess Louisa of Stolberg, a young 
lady of 20. They subsequently lived at Florence under the title 
of the count and countess of Albany. But the union was unhappy. 
He was harsh, and she faithless ; and in 1780 she eloped with 
Alfieri, the dramatic poet. Charles died at Rome (January 30, 1788). 
His younger brother, Henry Benedict, commonly called from his 
ecclesiastical dignity, " Cardinal York," lived at Rome till 1807, 
having for many years received a pension from George III. 

One of the results of the late war was the founding of Halifax in 
Nova Scotia, named after the earl of Halifax, president of the Board 
of Trade. To relieve the great number of discharged soldiers and 
sailors, they were encouraged to emigrate by a grant of 50 acres to 
each, a free passage, and immunity from taxes for a period of 10 



A.D. 1755. HOSTILITIES WITH FRANCE. 597 

years. At this time also Pelhaui seized the opportunity of reducing 
the national deht, by lowering the rate of interest. 

On March 20, 1751, died Frederick, prince of Wales, little 
regretted. His eldest son, George William Frederick, was now made 
prince of Wales ; and as he was only 11 years of age, while the king 
was 67, it became necessary to appoint a regency, in the event of a 
demise of the crown before the prince attained his majority. After 
considerable debate, a bill was passed appointing his mother, the 
dowager princess of Wales, guardian of his person and regent of the 
kingdom ; but subject, in the latter capacity, to the control of a 
council composed of the duke of Cumberland and nine of the prin- 
cipal officers of state at the time of the king's decease. The influence 
of John Stuart, earl of Bute, now became predominant at Leicester 
House, the residence of the princess dowager of Wales. Bute pos- 
sessed many accomplishments, but had no great abilities. He had 
a fine person, and his political enemies were not slow in misrepre- 
senting the favour he enjoyed, and its motives. 

§ 14. On the death of Henry Pelham (March 6, 1754), the duke 
of Newcastle resolved to be first lord of the treasury himself, and 
to make Henry Legge, son of the earl of Dartmouth, his chancellor 
of the exchequer. For the leadership of the House of Commons 
his choice wavered between William Pitt, Henry Fox, and Murray. 
But the ambition of the last was directed to the bench. He was 
the fourth son of lord Stormont, in the Scottish peerage, and had 
distinguished himself by his eloquence both at the bar and in the 
House of Commons. Pitt, besides being personally disliked by the 
king, was laid up at Bath with the gout. The seals were therefore 
offered to Henry Fox, younger son of sir Stephen Fox, and brother 
of the first earl of Ilchester. Fox had already some experience in 
business as secretary at war. He possessed wit and discernment, 
and, without much eloquence, was a ready debater ; but he had not 
the disinterestedness of Pitt. The negociation was broken off by a 
disagreement respecting the disposal of the secret-service money, 
and the seals were at last given to sir Thomas Robinson, a man of 
no ability, but entirely at Newcastle's command. That such a 
man should be set up to lead the House of Commons excited the 
indignation both of Pitt and Fox, and they united to attack and 
ridicule him. (Supplement, Note XIII.) 

Quarrels had long prevailed, both in the East Indies and in 
North America, between the French and English settlers, which 
threatened to produce hostilities between the mother countries. A 
large French armament, equipped at Brest, was watched by admiral 
Boscawen, who had orders to attack them in case their destination 
should be for the bay of St. Lawrence. At a signal from the admiral, 
27* 



598 GEORGE II. Chap. xxx. 

two English vessels had captured two French ships off Newfound- 
land (June 8, 1755) ; and some skirmishing had also occurred on 
the Ohio and near Lake George. The king had as usual gone to 
Hanover, and these events threw the regency into great perplexity. 
The duke of Cumberland was anxious to declare war immediately ; 
others desired to wait : the prime minister, as usual, vacillated 
between both opinions. At length sir Edward Hawke, who was in 
command of a powerful fleet, received orders to take and destroy 
every French ship that he could find be ween Cape Ortegal and 
Cape Clear — an act which, as no declaration of war had been made, 
was justly censured as piratical. (Supplement, Note XIV.) 

This state of things caused George II. great alarm for his elec- 
toral dominions, which he suspected would be seized by his nephew, 
Frederick of Prussia, whenever a war broke out. He therefore 
concluded with the landgrave of Hesse, and subsequently with the 
empress of Eussia, subsidiary treaties of the same sort as had 
already created so much disgust in England. Newcastle's ministry 
began to totter. In order to support it he applied to Pitt ; but 
that statesman disdained the seals at the price of subserviency to 
Hanoverian policy. Fox was not so delicate ; he engaged to sup- 
port the treaties : Eobinson was dismissed with a pension, and Fox 
became secretary of state. 

The French meanwhile were making vast naval preparations ; they 
threatened a descent upon England, but their real object was Minorca, 
which had been secured to the English by the treaty of Utrecht. 
The duke of Newcastle could not be persuaded that the French 
harboured any such designs. He neglected all necessary precautions 
till it was too late ; and then he sent out 10 ships badly equipped, 
under admiral Byng, fourth son of George, viscount Torrington. On 
April 13, 1756, a French fleet of 12 ships of the line, and a large 
number of transports, having 16,000 troops on board, appeared 
off Minorca, and threatened Mahon. The castle of St. Philip, 
which commands the town and harbour, was a strong fortress ; but 
the garrison had been reduced to 3000 men, and lord Tyrawley, the 
governor, was absent. The defence of the place therefore fell upon 
general Blakeney, a brave but old and invalid officer. 

When Byng hove in sight of St. Philip's, on May 19, the British 
flag was still flying there. On the following day the French admiral, 
De la Galissoniere, bore down with his whole force. Byng ranged 
his ships in line of battle ; and admiral West, the second in com- 
mand, engaged with his division and dispersed the ships opposed to 
him ; but Byng kept aloof. On the following morning the French 
were out of sight. Byng then called a council of war, expressed his 
determination to retreat, as his force was inferior to that of the 



a.d. 1756-1757. 



PITT PRIME MINISTER. 



599 



enemy ; and, sailing to Gibraltar, he left Minorca to its fate. Never- 
theless St. Philip's held ont till June 29, when, some of the out- 
works having been carried, the garrison was obliged to capitulate, 

§ 15. The popular indignation at this loss was uncontrollable. 
The cry was loud against the ministry, but louder still against 
Byng. Either treachery or cowardice was universally imputed to 
him, and he was burnt in effigy in all the great towns of the 
kingdom. The duke of Newcastle, willing to make a scapegoat 
of Byng, appointed admiral sir Edward Hawke to supersede him, 
and to send him and West home as prisoners. West was imme- 
diately liberated, but a court-martial was held on Byng in the 
following December, at Portsmouth. He was acquitted of cowardice 
and of treachery, but condemned, by the 12th article of war, 
for not having done all in his power to relieve St. Philip's and 
attack the French. At the same time he was unanimously recom- 
mended to mercy. But the popular clamour was too great to allow 
this recommendation to prevail. He was shot on the quarter-deck 
of the Monarque (March 14, 1757), and met his fate with courage.* 

In dread of the impending storm, Newcastle resigned (November 
1 1, 1756). Fox followed him a few days after. Murray, on the death 
of sir Dudley Ryder, was made lord chief justice, and obtained a 
peerage with the title of lord Mansfield (October 25). The king was 
now reluctantly compelled to have recourse to Pitt (December 4) ; 
but be had held the seals as secretary of state only for a few months, 
when the duke of Cumberland persuaded the king to dismiss him and 
recal Newcastle (March 29, 1757). As Newcastle found it impos- 
sible to form a ministry without Pitt's assistance, for Pitt was popular 
with the nation for opposing the Hanoverian partialities of George II., 
the king, after various attempts, was obliged to submit to Pitt's 
terms. Newcastle returned to the treasury, but without one of his 
own party at the board. Legge was made chancellor of the ex- 
chequer ; Pitt became secretary of state ; his brother-in-law, earl 
Temple,f privy seal ; and Fox condescended to accept the lucrative 



* Byng was accompanied by a clergy- 
man and two of his relatives. He was 
dressed in a light grey coat, white waist- 
coat, and white stockings, and wore a large 
white wig, and held in each hand a white 
handkerchief. Passing from the great 
cabin to the larboard side of the quarter- 
deck, he dropped his hat, kneeled on a 
cushion, tied one handkerchief over his 
eyes, and let the other fall as a signal for 
the marines to fire. 

f Earl Temple (Richard Grenville), 
born 1711, was the eldest son of Mr. Gren- 
ville and countess Temple, to whose title 



he succeeded upon her death in 1752. He 
died without issue in 1779. His only 
sister, Hester, was married, in 1754, to 
William Pitt, afterwards earl of Chatham, 
by whom she became the mother of the 
younger Pitt. 

George Grenville, second brother of 
earl Temple, was prime minister in the 
reign of George III., upon the resignation 
of lord Bute in 1763. (See p. 610.) He was 
born 1712, and died 1770. He had three 
distinguished sons : 1. George, who suc- 
ceeded his uncle as earl Temple, and 
became marquess of Buckingham ; his 



600 GEORGE II. Chap. xxx. 

office of paymaster of the forces, without a seat in the cabinet 
(June 29). This was the first ministry of Pitt, who was now 48 
years old. 

§ 16. It was too late in the season to attempt any enterprise of 
importance, and an expedition despatched against Kochefort, con- 
sisting of 16 ships of the line, with frigates and transports, com- 
manded by sir Edward Hawke, and having on board 10 regiments 
of foot under general sir John Mordaunt, proved abortive, through 
the irresolution of the latter. But England had now another war on 
hand. In the previous year France and Austria had leagued them- 
selves for the partition of Prussia by the treaty of Versailles (May 1, 
1756), to which Kussia, Saxony, and Sweden afterwards acceded. 
Apprised of this confederacy through the treachery of a clerk in the 
Saxon service, Frederick of Prussia was the first to strike a vigorous 
blow by seizing Dresden. Thus began the Seven Years' War 
(1756-1763). 

Frederick now drew closer his alliance with England; and in 
April, 1757, the duke of Cumberland proceeded to the continent to 
fight in his cause, and to defend the electorate. The French, 
advancing with a large army, compelled the duke to retreat, and 
overran all Hanover. Supported by four British men-of-war in the 
Elbe, the duke took refuge under the guns of Stade. In this 
critical position he appealed to the mediation of the king of Den- 
mark, and was compelled to enter into the convention of Kloster 
Seven, by which he agreed to dismiss his auxiliaries, withdraw 
his troops over the Elbe, and disperse them in cantonments, leaving 
only a garrison in Stade (September 8). Thus Hanover was lost. 
George II. was as indignant at this failure as Frederick himself, 
and received his son on his return with the greatest coldness. 
Offended by this treatment, the victor of Culloden threw up his 
employments, and lived in comparative obscurity till 1765, when he 
died in his 45th year. Frederick, reduced to the last extremity, 
retrieved his affairs by the victories of Eossbach and Leuthen. 
This success made him popular in England. He was regarded as 
the protestant hero ; and when, early in 1758, Pitt proposed a new 
convention with Prussia, with a subsidy of 670,OOOZ., it was carried 
almost unanimously. 

§ 17. In 1758 the war raged in all quarters of the world. The 

brilliant achievements of Clive, which decided whether the empire 

of India should fall to England or to France, are related in the next 

son became duke of Buckingham ; 2. 
Thomas, -who held several high offices 
in the state, and bequeathed to the 
country his splendid library, now in 1;h,e 
British Museum ; 3. William Wyndham, 



the friend and colleague of the younger 
Pitt, who was made lord Grenvillein 1790, 
and who became prime mini-ter in 1806. 
He died in 1834 without issue. 



A.D. 1756-1759. THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 601 

chapter (§ 4). In Africa, the island of Goree was wrested from the 
French. In America, Pitt projected the conquest of Cape Breton and 
St. John's ; and a fleet and army were despatched under admiral 
Boscawen and general (afterwards lord) Amherst. At the same time 
Wolfe, who had attracted Pitt's notice during the Eochefort expe- 
dition, was sent out as second in command, with the title of briga- 
dier-general. In these appointments, Pitt, disregarding seniority, as 
well as aristocratic and parliamentary interest, was guided by merit 
alone. The armament was composed of 150 ships and 12,000 
soldiers. Louisburg capitulated after a siege of two months (July 
26), in which Wolfe distinguished himself. After the fall of the 
capital, the whole of Cape Breton submitted ; and soon after the 
island of St. John did the same. The name of the latter was 
changed to Prince Edward's Island, in honour of the next brother 
of the prince of Wales. 

A secret expedition against Cherbourg was planned by Pitt, 
under commodore Howe and lord Anson, with 20,000 soldiers and 
marines, commanded by Charles, second duke of Marlborough, and 
lord George Sackville. The attempt partially failed, but was 
renewed with more success in August, under general Bligh, accom- 
panied by prince Edward. When the troops landed, the town was 
found to be deserted. The forts and basin were destroyed, together 
with 170 pieces of iron cannon, and 22 brass guns were carried off. 
The troops were then landed near St. Malo; but the duke d'Aiguillon 
coming up with superior forces, the English re-embarked in preci- 
pitation, and 1000 men of the rear-guard were either killed or made 
prisoners. 

By these exploits, the attention of the French was diverted from 
the campaign in Germany. Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick not 
only drove them out of Hanover, but even over the Bhine, whither 
he followed them, and gained on the left bank a victory at Crefeld ; 
but the advance of the prince de Soubise obliged him to fall back on 
Munster. Frederick had achieved brilliant successes, chequered by 
a disastrous defeat inflicted on him at Hochkirchen by the Austrian 
generals Daun and Laudon (October 14). 

§ 18. In 1759 the arms of England were successful by sea and 
land. The French, though scarcely able to defend their own coasts, 
threatened an invasion, and made preparations in Havre, Toulon, 
and other ports ; but in July admiral Bodney bombarded Havre, 
and did great damage to the town, destroying many of their fiat- 
bottomed boats ; whilst the Toulon fleet was dispersed with loss 
by admiral Boscawen, off Lagos in Algarve. Another fleet under 
sir Edward Hawke blockaded Brest, and a squadron of observation 
hovered near Dunkirk. Hawke gained a signal victory (November 



602 GEORGE II. Chap. xxx. 

20) near Quiberon, over a French fleet under De Conflans, con- 
sisting of 21 sail of the line and four frigates. Hawke's fleet, which 
was rather stronger, sunk or burnt three of the Frenchmen and 
captured two ; the others, more or less damaged, succeeded in 
getting into the river Vilaine. 

Frederick sustained a terrible defeat this year at Kunersdorf, near 
Fraukfort-on-the-Oder ; but from want of cordiality between the 
Anstrians and Russians, its consequences did not prove very dis- 
astrous. On the other hand, prince Ferdinand, who bad in his army 
10,000 or 12,000 English troops under lord George Sackville, was 
more fortunate. He failed indeed in an attack on the French 
position at Bergen ; but he more than retrieved this reverse by the 
brilliant victory of Minden (August 1), which would have been still 
more complete had Sackville, who commanded the cavalry, obeyed 
the orders to charge the routed enemy. Loud clamours were 
raised against him, both in England and Germany, and Pitt dis- 
missed Sackville from all his employments. 

But the chief success this year was achieved in Canada. The 
French had colonized that province in the reign of Francis I., but 
it was not till the following century that the cities of Quebec and 
Montreal rose to importance. Pitt proposed a plan of invasion by 
three separate divisions, which were to unite at Quebec. One of 
these, composed of colonists and Indians under general Prideaux and 
sir William Johnson, was to advance by way of Niagara and Lake 
Ontario towards Montreal ; another, of 8000 men, under the com- 
mand of general Wolfe, was to proceed up the St. Lawrence, and lay 
siege to Quebec ; whilst in the centre the main army under general 
Amherst was to attack Ticonderoga, secure the navigation of Lake 
Champlain, and, proceeding by the river Richelieu, form a junction 
with Wolfe. 

The first and last of these expeditions succeeded as far as they 
went. ' Niagara and Ticonderoga were captured, but it was too late 
in the season to form a junction with Wolfe. The fleet of admiral 
Saunders carried Wolfe safely to the Isle of Orleans, opposite 
Quebec, where the army disembarked on June 27, 1759. Wolfe 
formed a lodgment on the westernmost point of the island, where 
Quebec rose to his view, strong in its natural position, but without 
artificial defences. It is washed on two sides by the rivers St. 
Charles and St. Lawrence, whose banks are almost inaccessible, 
while a little below the town the Montmorency falls into the St. 
Lawrence. The entrance of the harbour is defended by a sand- 
bank ; the castle of St. Louis commands the approaches ; and 
above the city rise from the St. Lawrence the rugged Heights of 
Abraham. Quebec at that time contained a population of about 



a.d. 1760. HIS DEATH. 603 

7000 ; but it had a cathedral, a bishop's palace, and other public 
buildings. The marquis de Montcalm, the French governor of 
Canada, a distinguished officer, lay with an army of 10,000 men? 
chiefly Canadian colonists or native Indians, outside the city, on 
the line called Beauport, between the rivers St. Charles and Mont- 
morency. The ground was steep ; in his front lay the Mont- 
morency ; his rear was protected by dense woods, and every open 
space had been fortified. As Wolfe's attempts to draw Montcalm 
from this position failed, it only remained to attack him in his 
entrenchments. Eepulsed in an assault on July 31, Wolfe deter- 
mined on the hazardous exploit of proceeding up the St. Lawrence 
and scaling the Heights of Abraham, though, through deaths, 
sickness, and the necessary detachments for securing important 
points, he could muster no more than 4500 men. Early in the 
morning of September 13, the troops were silently conveyed by 
the tide in boats to a small cove, now called Wolfe's Cove, over- 
hung by lofty rocks. As they rowed along to this place, Wolfe 
repeated in a low voice to the officers in the boat with him Gray's 
beautiful " Elegy in a Country Churchyard," adding at the end, 
" Now, gentlemen, I would rather be the author of that poem than 
take Quebec." Wolfe himself was one of the first to leap ashore. 
The precipitous path was climbed ; an outpost of the enemy fled in 
alarm; and at daybreak the British army stood arrayed upon the 
heights, but without cavalry, and having no more than a single 
gun. Montcalm was now obliged to abandon his position and 
advance to siive battle. The English, by Wolfe's direction, reserved 
their fire till the enemy were within 40 yards, and then delivered 
a well-directed and destructive volley. Many fell, the rest wavered ; 
Wolfe, though wounded in the wrist, seized the favourable moment, 
and springing forwards ordered his grenadiers to charge. At this 
instant he was struck by another ball in the groin, and shortly 
after by a third in the breast, which caused him to fall, and he was 
conveyed to the rear. Before he breathed his last, an officer who 
was standing by exclaimed, " See, they run ! " " Who run ? " 
eagerly cried Wolfe. " The enemy," cried the officer. " Then God 
be praised!" said Wolfe, "I shall die h»ppy;"and immediately 
expired. Thus fell this gallant officer at the early age of 33. 
Montcalm, the French commander, was also mortally wounded. 
Quebec capitulated on September 17 ; the French garrison was 
conveyed by agreement to the nearest French port; and in the 
following year the conquest of all Canada was achieved. 

This event threw a lustre over the close of the reign of George II., 
which in other respects had not been inglorious. He died suddenly 
on October 25, 1760, at the age of 77, from the bursting of the 
right ventricle of the heart. 




Medal commemorating Battle of Plassy. 



Obv. 



victory . at . plassy clive . commandee. Victory without wings, bearing 
tropby and palm, seated on elephant, to left. Below, soc # p _ A C- ' 

Rev. : INIYRIES . ATTONED . PRIVILEGE . AVGMENTED . TERRITORY . ACQVIRED. Clive, 
. „ . . . . T j- x> i A SOVBAH GIVEN TO BENGAL 

in Roman costume, giving a sceptre to an Indian. Below, mdcclviii. 

(in imitation of the rex parthis datus, and the like, of the Roman imperial coinage). 



CHAPTER XXXI. 
George hi., I. 1738 ; r. 1760-1820. 

PROM THE KING'S ACCESSION TO THE RECOGNITION OF AMERICAN 
INDEPENDENCE, AND THE PEACE OF VERSAILLES, A.D. 1760-1783. 

§ 1. Accession of George III., and settlement of the government. King's 
marriage and coronation. § 2. State of the campaign. Negotiations. 
Pitt resigns. § 3. War with Spain. Lord Bute's administration. 
Peace of Fontainebleau. § 4. Rise and progress of the Indian empire. 
§ 5. Unpopularity of lord Bute. Wilkes and the North Briton, No. XLV. 
General warrants. § 6. Grenville's American Stamp Act. § 7. Lord 
Rockingham prime minister. Succeeded by lord Chatham. Lord 
North's American taxes. § 8. Proceedings against Wilkes. Disturb- 
ances in America. Lord North prime minister. Royal Marriage Act. 
§ 9. Effect of the tea duties in America. Commencement of the re- 
bellion. Skirmish at Lexington. Battle of Bunker's Hill. § 10. 
Attempts at conciliation. American independence. Progress of the 
war. § 11. La Fayette. Philadelphia taken. Capitulation of Saratoga. 
Treaty between France and the Americans. § 12. Death of Chatham. 
§ 13. The French fleet in America. Actions in the Channel. Spain 
joins the French and Americans. Paul Jones. § 14. Lord George 
Gordon's riots. § 15. Rodney's victory at Cape St. Vincent. The 
"Armed Neutrality." American campaign. Battles of Camden and 
Eutau Springs. Capitulation of York Town. § 16. Naval engagements. 
Losses and disasters. Lord Rockingham's second ministry. Inde- 
pendence of the Irish parliament. Parliamentary reform. § 17. 
Rodney's victory in the West Indies. Lord Shelburne's ministry. 



A.D. 1760-1761. MARRIAGE OF GEORGE III. 605 

Foundering of the Royal George. Siege of Gibraltar. § 18. Treaty 
with America, and recognition of American independence. Peace of 
Versailles. 

§ 1. The young prince who now ascended the throne of his grand- 
father, with the title of George III., was 22 years of age. His 
person was tall and strongly built, his countenance open and 
engaging. In his first address to the parliament he inserted, with 
his own hand, the words " Born and educated in this country, I 
glory in the name of Briton " — an expression which could not but 
awaken a cordial echo in a nation governed by foreigners during 
the greater part of a century. His conduct answered to his pro- 
fessions. The party distinctions which had prevailed during the 
reign of his grandfather seemed to be forgotten ; the Jacobites, who 
had absented themselves, returned to court, and some of the principal 
of them obtained places in the royal household. The old ministers 
were retained ; but it was soon evident that the earl of Bute would 
be the king's principal adviser, and both he and prince Edward, 
the king's next brother, were made privy councillors. After the 
dissolution of parliament (December 23), the seals of secretary 
of state were transferred from lord Holderness to lord Bute — a step 
in which Pitt acquiesced, though he had not been consulted. At 
the same time Legge vacated the chancellorship of the exchequer, 
and was succeeded by lord Barrington ; and lord Henley, who after 
the resignation of lord Hardwicke had been made lord keeper only, 
now became lord chancellor. 

Next year the king contracted a marriage with Charlotte, second 
sister of the duke of Mecklenburg Strelitz, then only 17 years of 
age. In person she was short, thin, and pale ; but she was sensible, 
cheerful, and good-tempered. The king is said to have been capti- 
vated by a spirited letter which she wrote to Frederic of Prussia, 
beseeching him to spare her country. She arrived at St. James's 
September 8, 1761, and the marriage was celebrated on the same 
day. The coronation followed (September 22). 

§ 2. During the last two or three years the campaign in Germany 
had proceeded with varied success ; and on the whole the con- 
tending parties stood much in the same position. The British con- 
tingents, under the marquess of Granby and general Conway, had 
made some atonement for the disgrace of lord Sackville at Minden. 
The losses sustained by France had made that country sincerely 
desirous of peace. Its affairs were now conducted by the duke de 
Choiseul, always, however, under the control of Madame de Pompa- 
dour, the mistress of Louis XV. A conference at Augsburg was 
agreed to by all the belligerents ; but between France and England 
Choiseul preferred a separate negociation ; and with this view M. de 



606 GEORGE III. Chap. xxx. 

Bussy was accredited to London,, and Mr. Hans Stanley to Paris. To 
strengthen his negociations, Pitt sent an expedition under commo- 
dore Keppel, with 9000 troops under general Hodgson, against 
Belleisle, a barren island, strongly fortified, on the coast of Brittany. 
Belleisle was taken (June 7) ; and it was considered that it might 
be set off against Minorca, not for its importance, but as a point of 
honour in the sight of France. Good news also arrived from other 
quarters. The island of Dominica had been reduced by lord Bolls ; 
and in the east Pondicherry had been captured, the last of the 
French strongholds in India. 

Ohoiseul might probably have yielded all the points demanded 
by Pitt, had not the court of France been supported by that of 
Madrid. Ferdinand VI. had died in 1759 ; and his brother Charles, 
formerly king of Naples, now ruled Spain and the Indies with the 
title of Charles III. He had been obliged to relinquish Naples to 
his third son Ferdinand, as by the treaty of Vienna the crowns of 
Spain and Naples could not be united on the same head. Charles 
naturally regarded the French Bourbons as the head of his house. 
He was desirous of acting with them, and he had besides several 
causes of complaint against England. He now proposed -that the 
contemplated peace between England and France should be 
guaranteed by Spain, and that at the same time certain claims of 
Spain on England should be adjusted. Pitt at once refused, and 
the court of Spain was informed that no negociations could be 
opened with it through the medium of France. In consequence 
of this refusal the Family Compact, as it was called, was concluded 
(August 15, 1761). France and Spain mutually agreed to regard 
for the future the enemy of either as the enemy of both, and to 
guarantee their respective dominions. The king of Naples too, as 
a Bourbon, also acceded to this alliance. A secret convention was 
also entered into, that in case England and France should be still 
at war on May 1, 1762, Spain should declare war against England, 
in consideration of which France should restore Minorca to Spain. 

As soon as Pitt obtained certain intelligence of this agreement, 
he strongly advised that the Spanish declaration should be antici- 
pated. He urged the importance of striking the first blow against 
Spain, and he showed that expense would be saved by taking the 
Spaniards unawares, and seizing their merchantmen and treasure- 
ships ; but in this daring counsel he could find none to second him, 
except his relative Temple. They consequently tendered their 
resignations, which were received by the king with many gracious 
expressions towards Pitt (October 5, 1761). Thus fell an adminis- 
tration which had raised England to a great pitch of military glory. 
Pitt was offered the governorship of Canada, without residence, and 



a.d. 1761-1762. WAR WITH SPAIN. 607 

5000Z. a year; or the duchy of Lancaster, with about the same 
emolument. These offers he rather haughtily refused, but he 
accepted the title of baroness Chatham for his wife, lady Hester 
Pitt, and a pension of 30001. per annum for three lives — his own, 
lady Chatham's, and their eldest son's. Pitt's retirement paved the 
way for lord Bute. 

§ 3. Pitt's anticipations were fulfilled. No sooner were the 
Spanish West Indiamen safe in harbour, than the Spaniards began 
to alter their tone ; and before the close of the year the ambassadors 
on both sides were dismissed from London and Madrid. Before his 
departure, the Spanish minister inveighed against Pitt by name, 
in an angry memorial which he presented to lord Egremont, the 
new secretary. War was declared against Spain (January 4, 1762). 
Shortly afterwards France and Spain made a joint demand on 
Portugal to renounce her neutrality, and large bodies of Spanish 
troops were collected on the Portuguese frontiers to enforce it. The 
king of Portugal gave a spirited refusal, and applied to England for 
assistance, which Bute, in spite of his pacific policy, could not refuse. 

The duke of Newcastle still continued at the head of the treasury, 
though the chief share of power fell to Bute. But as Bute had 
refused to support the king of Prussia and had withdrawn the 
subsidy, Newcastle tendered his resignation, and was surprised to 
find it accepted (May 14, 1762). Bute was advanced to be first lord 
of the treasury ; George Grenville became secretary of state in his 
stead, and sir Francis Dashwood was made chancellor of the ex- 
chequer. Bute's rapid promotion procured him many enemies. A 
strong whig phalanx, headed by Pitt, was arrayed against him. 
Wilkes, who was now beginning to emerge into notice, directed 
popular indignation against him in the North Briton, and was 
assisted by his friend and fellow-satirist, the poet Churchill. 

The thoughts of Bute were constantly directed towards peace, 
though the arms of Great Britain and her allies had been successful 
on every side. In Germany, Frederick and prince Ferdinand had 
been victorious. In Portugal, the British troops under Burgoyne 
had arrested the progress of the Spaniards. In the West Indies, 
an armament under admiral Eodney and general Monckton had 
taken Martinique in January. Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent, 
subsequently surrendered; Guadaloupe had been taken in 1759, 
and thus the whole of the Caribbees were now in the power of Eng- 
land. The Havannah also capitulated after a desperate siege, where 
the booty, in treasure and merchandise, was computed at three 
millions (August 12). About the same time, in the eastern 
hemisphere, Manilla, the capital of the Philippine Islands, was 
taken ; and several rich Spanish prizes were captured at sea. 



608 . GEORGE III. Chap. xxxi. 

In spite ot tnese brilliant successes, overtures for a peace, made 
through the neutral court of Sardinia, were readily caught at. 
Bute seems to have been alarmed at the great increase of the national 
debt, which had doubled during the war, and now amounted to 
132,600,0002. A treaty, concluded at Paris (February 10, 1763), 
put an end to the Seven Years' War. By the peace of Paris 
Minorca was exchanged for Belleisle ; the provinces of Nova Scotia, 
Cape Breton, and Canada were ceded to England; the islands of 
Guadaloupe, Martinique, and St. Lucia were restored ; but Tobago, 
Dominica, St. Vincent, and Grenada were retained. These were 
the principal provisions with regard to the interests of England. 
By a clause in the treaty, all conquests made in any part of the 
world during the negociations were to be given up. This involved 
the cession of the Havannah and Manilla, the conquest of which 
was not yet known. Bute seemed inclined to yield them without 
an equivalent ; and it was only at the pressing instance of George 
Grenville and lord Egremont that Florida or Porto Kico was 
demanded in return. The former was readily conceded. 

§ 4. Among the places restored to the French was also Pondi- 
cherry in the East Indies ; but they could never recover their lost4n- 
fluence in that country, and soon after this their East India Company 
was dissolved. The genius and courage of Clive had now converted 
an association of traders into the rulers of a large and magnificent 
empire. Though established in the latter part of Elizabeth's reign, 
it was not till the time of Charles II. that the East India Company 
made any considerable advances in wealth and power. Charles 
granted them a new charter, conveying many exclusive rights and 
privileges, and also ceded to them the settlement of Bombay, which 
he had received as a marriage portion with Catherine of Braganza. 
Fort St. George and the town of Madras had already been founded 
in the Carnatic. The first English factories were settled at Bantam 
and Surat, but were subsequently abandoned. At the period of the 
Revolution a new company was instituted, the rivalship of which 
produced much mischief, till the two were amalgamated in 1702. In 
1698, a grant of land on rent having been obtained from Aurungzebe, 
the Mogul emperor, at Chutternuttee, on the river Hooghly, Fort 
William was erected, under shelter of which the town of Calcutta, 
ultimately expanded into the magnificent capital of modern India. 
Thus, before the accession of the house of Hanover, the three 
presidencies of Madras (Fort St. George), Calcutta (Fort William), 
and Bombay, had already been erected ; but no central government 
yet existed. These settlements had but little territory attached to 
them, and often trembled for their own safety. 

The French, who had established an East India Company in the 



a.d. 1755-1757. RISE OF CLIVE. ■ 609 

reign of Louis XIV., were our only formidable rivals in India. The 
Portuguese were our allies, and their power was but small; the 
Dutch confined their attention chiefly to Java and the neighbouring 
islands. The French had two important settlements : Chander- 
nagore on the Hooghly, higher up than Fort William ; and Pondi- 
cherry on the coast of the Carnatic, about 80 miles south of 
Madras. They also possessed two fertile islands in the Indian 
Ocean : the Isle of Bourbon, and Mauritius or the Isle of France. 
The wars of the mother countries extended to these colonies. 
In 1746 the French under La Bourdonnais took Madras; and 
Dupleix, governor of Pondicherry, in violation of the terms of the 
capitulation, carried the principal inhabitants to that town, and 
paraded them through the streets in triumph. Madras was restored 
at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. During the peace, Dupleix, by 
intrigues with the native princes, endeavoured to extend the French 
empire in India at the expense of the English; but he was en- 
countered by the superior genius and valour of Clive, a writer or 
clerk, who had been among the captives of Madras. The taking 
of Arcot, the victory over Eajah Sahib at Arnee, the capture of 
the^ Great Pagoda, were some of the wonderful exploits of that 
merchant-soldier. After a two years' visit to England for the sake 
of his health, Clive returned to India in 1755, with the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel in the king's service, and his appointment from 
the company as governor of Fort St. David. 

His abilities were soon called into action. Surajah Dowlah, 
viceroy of Bengal, had taken Calcutta, and thrust the English in- 
habitants, to the number of 146, into a small and loathsome 
dungeon known as the Black Hole, where in one night 123 of them 
were stifled (June 20, 1756). But a signal vengeance followed. 
In January, 1757, Clive, with an army of 900 Europeans and 
1500 sepoys, retook Calcutta ; kept at bay the Surajah's army of 
40,000 men, and compelled him to make peace. Shortly after 
Clive took Chandernagore, as before related. His next exploit was 
to defeat the Surajah Dowlah at Plassy (1757). The nabob had 
50,000 men and 40 pieces of cannon, Clive only 1000 Europeans 
and 2000 sepoys, with eight field-pieces and two howitzers ; yet 
the rout was complete, and the Surajah lost all his artillery and 
baggage. This victory decided the fate of India, and laid the 
foundation of our empire. Meer Jaffier, a rebellious vassal of the 
Surajah's, was installed in the capital of Moorshedabad as nabob of 
Bengal, Orissa, and Bahar ; his predecessor was put to death, and 
the new nabob ceded to the English all the land within the 
Mahratta ditch or fortification round Calcutta, and all the country 
from Calcutta to the sea. Clive was now made governor of Bengal 



610 GEORGE III. Chap. xxxi. 

"by the East India Company. In return for Give's assistance 
against the emperor of Delhi, Meer Jaffier presented him with a 
domain worth 27,000Z. a year. In 1760 Clive returned to England, 
having previously defeated an attempt of the Dutch upon Calcutta. 
He received an Irish peerage as lord Clive and baron Plassy, and 
obtained a seat in the House of Commons. 

The hostilities between the French and English in India, after 
the declaration of war in 1758, have already been related, to which 
it may be added that the defeat of Lally Tollendal by sir Eyre 
Coote, at Wandewash, and the surrender of Pondicherry (January 
17, 1761), secured the Carnatic. The further history of India will 
be resumed hereafter. 

§ 5. As Grenville was deficient in those qualities which are 
required for the leadership of the House of Commons, he was pre- 
vailed upon with great reluctance to make way for Fox, and to 
exchange the post of secretary of state for that of first lord of the 
admiralty. The seals were conferred upon the earl of Halifax, 
Fox still remaining paymaster of the forces, with a seat in the 
cabinet. Out of doors the peace was very unpopular. Bute was 
hissed and pelted. But, in spite of a bitter invective against it by 
Pitt, the address was carried by a large majority in the commons. 
Another cause of lord Bute's unpopularity was his Scotch descent. 
Wilkes branded him with the epithet of favourite. In some of the 
rural districts he was burnt under the effigy of a jack-boot, a rustic 
allusion to his name (Bute) ; and on more than one occasion when 
he walked the streets, he was accused of heing surrounded by 
prize-fighters. These symptoms of popular dislike drove him to 
resign (April 8, 1763), to the surprise of all. Fox was at the same 
time raised to the upper house with the title of lord Holland, still, 
however, retaining his office. Bute was succeeded by George 
Grenville, who became first lord of the treasury and chancellor of 
the exchequer* (April 16). The two secretaries of state were 
lords Egremont and Halifax. 

Parliament was prorogued by a speech from the throne, in which 
the king adverted to the late peace as honourable to the crown and 
beneficial to the people (April 18). This was immediately attacked 
in the North Briton (April 23), in the celebrated No. 45. 
Grenville was impolitic enough to order the prosecution both of 
author and publisher ; and to this circumstance the article owed its 
notoriety, for it did not equal, either in ability or virulence, many 
of the preceding numbers. On April 30, Wilkes was arrested in 

* "Lord Bute," said WaTburton, his 1 First, he is a Scotchman ; secondly, he is 
political opponent, " is a very unfit the king's friend ; and thirdly, he is an 
man to be prime minister of England. ' honest man." 



A.D. 1763-1764. WILKES AND THE NORTH BRITON. 611 

his own house by virtue of what was called " a general warrant," 
that is, a warrant not specifying any particular person, but directed 
against "the authors, printers, and publishers" of the obnoxious 
paper. His papers were seized at the same time, and he was 
committed to the Tower. On May 6 he was brought before chief 
justice Pratt, who, without pronouncing any opinion on general 
warrants, discharged him on the ground that his offence did not 
destroy his privilege as a member of parliament. 

In the next session, which opened November 15, Wilkes took his 
seat as usual. Warm debates ensued in the commons. It was 
voted that No. 45 was a false, scandalous, and malicious libel, and 
it was ordered to be burnt by the hangman (December 3). The 
attempt to execute this sentence in the Royal Exchange produced a 
serious riot. A jack-boot and a petticoat, the latter denoting the 
princess of Wales, were thrown into the fire prepared for the paper, 
the mob shouting " Wilkes and liberty for ever ! " A few days 
after, he recovered 1000Z. damages against Mr. Wood, the under- 
secretary of state, for seizing his papers (December 6). Some 
delay was occasioned in the measures against Wilkes from his 
having been wounded in a duel by Mr. Martin, who challenged him 
on account of a libel in some former numbers of the North Briton. 
Wilkes fled to Paris, and at length was expelled from the house 
by a unanimous vote (January 19, 1764). On February 21, a 
verdict was obtained against him, both for No. 45, and for an 
obscene and scurrilous pamphlet, called an " Essay on Woman," a 
parody of Pope's " Essay on Man," containing reflections on lord 
Sandwich, secretary of state, bishop Warburton, and others. Wilkes 
remaining still abroad, and not appearing to receive judgment, was 
outlawed. Wilkes's case derives its chief importance from the 
question which it raised respecting the legality of general warrants. 
Chief justice Pratt and the most eminent lawyers of the day 
declared them illegal from their form, their tenor being to appre- 
hend all persons guilty of a certain crime, thus assuming a guilt 
which remained to be proved. For the present, however, the 
government had influence enough to postpone a resolution to that 
effect being carried in the commons. 

§ 6. Another impolitic step of Grenville's, but attended with far 
more momentous consequences, was that of extending the Stamp 
Act to the North American colonies. The late war had been very 
expensive ; and, as it had been partly undertaken for the defence 
of those colonies, it occurred to Grenville that they might not 
unjustly be called upon to bear a part of the burthen. He consulted 
the agents of the several North American colonies in London upon 
his project, inquired whether any other tax would be more agree- 



612 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxl 

able to them, and gave a year's notice of his plan by a resolution 
entered on the Journals of the Commons in March, 1764. 

The American colonies had been continually increasing in strength 
and prosperity, and at this time they consisted of 13 states, with a 
population of about two millions of whites, and half a million of 
coloured people. They were — 1-4. The New England colonies, 
settled by the puritans, consisting of the four states of Massachu- 
setts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Khode Island; 5. New 
York ; 6. New Jersey ; 7. Pennsylvania ; 8. Delaware ; 9. Maryland ; 
10. Virginia; 11, 12. The two states of North and South Carolina; 
and 13. Georgia. Each of these colonies was governed on the 
English model, and had a House of Assembly elected by the 
people. There was also a governor appointed by the crown, and 
a council. In Connecticut the governor was elective. 

Hitherto the mother country and her colonies had lived in 
tolerable harmony ; but at this time the Americans were in a dis- 
tressed and irritable condition. They were suffering from the 
effects of a terrible border war with the Indians ; they considered 
themselves aggrieved by new duties imposed on their foreign trade, 
as well as by the stringent regulations by which their illicit traffic 
with the Spanish colonies was repressed. All were opposed to a 
stamp act, which from its nature was far more obnoxious than 
any custom-house duties. The latter might be regarded as imperial, 
the former was a sort of local excise. They refused to suggest any 
substitute, but based their opposition on the broad principle, that 
there should be no taxation without representation, and that they 
were not represented in the House of Commons. They intimated 
however a wish that, as in former instances, a letter from the 
secretary of state, in the king's name, requiring contributions for 
his service, should be laid before the different Houses of Assembly. 
It is possible that such a project might have succeeded, partially at 
least, for a short time longer, and have produced 100,000Z. a year, 
as much as was expected from the Stamp Act. 

In February, 1765, the measure passed through parliament. It 
attracted little or no notice. Pitt was absent; Barre alone raised 
Lis voice against it, and was languidly supported by three or four 
more. Nobody suspected that this little spark would burst out 
into a vast and inextinguishable flame. Even Dr. Franklin, the 
agent for Pennsylvania, one of the chief and ablest representatives 
of the views of the colonists, expected little else than acquiescence 
from his countrymen. (Supplement, Note XV.) 

Far different was the spirit which the act excited in some parts of 
America. It was reprinted with a death's head at top in place of 
the king's arms, and was hawked about under the title of " The 



a.v. 1764-1765. THE AMERICAN STAMP ACT. 613 

Folly of England and Ruin of America." The vessels in Boston 
harbour hoisted their colours half-mast high, and the muffled bells 
of the churches tolled out a death-knell. The Virginian House of 
Assembly, roused by the eloquence of Patrick Henry, took the lead 
in opposition, and drew up a series of resolutions, accompanied by 
a petition to the king, denying the right of the mother country to 
tax the colonists without their consent. Most of the otber assem- 
blies followed this example, and a general congress was appointed 
to meet at New York in October, when resolutions and petitions, 
much the same as those of Virginia, were adopted. In some parts 
associations were formed against the importation or use of British 
manufactures ; and presently a small party began to appear, who 
promulgated their views of a federal republic. When the ships 
arrived with the stamps, it became necessary to stow them away 
in some place of safety. Nobody would use them, and the persons 
who had been appointed distributors resigned their posts. 

§ 7. While these things were going on, the author of the mis- 
chief had been compelled to resign his office. On the 12th of 
January, 1765, George III. was attacked with a severe illness, 
accompanied with symptoms of that dreadful malady which 
darkened his later years. On his recovery, in April, he was the 
first to propose a regency. The ministers wished to leave out his 
mother's name, and the king had been surprised into giving his 
consent, on the assurance that, if it were inserted in the bill, it 
would be struck out by the House of Commons. It was unani- 
mously restored by the house. But the king's mind was alienated 
from Grenville in consequence of his behaviour on this occasion, 
and shortly after he entered into negociations with Pitt and 
Temple. On their refusal, the king applied to the marquess of 
Rockingham. This nobleman, who was descended from a sister of 
the famous earl of Strafford, and thus inherited his great estates, 
now became first lord of the treasury (July 13, 1765). Rockingham 
was one of the greatest landholders in England. Without possessing 
any shining talents, his judgment was sound and his character 
honourable. His chief passion was horse-racing. Under him the 
duke of Grafton and general Conway became secretaries of state; Mr. 
William Dowdeswell, chancellor of the exchequer ; and the veteran 
duke of Newcastle was propitiated with the privy seal. Pitt was 
conciliated by the raising of his confidential friend, chief justice 
Pratt, to the peerage, with the title of lord Camden. 

The state of America was very embarrassing for the new ministry. 

To withdraw the Stamp Act was regarded as an evil precedent and 

a confession of weakness : to press it would be painful, and might 

had to dangerous consequences. The vigour with which Pitt dc- 

28 



614 GEORGE III. Chap. xxxi. 

nounced Grenville and attacked his measure, in the session of 1766, 
decided the cabinet. They brought in two bills : one to repeal the 
Stamp Act, the other declaring the power of parliament over the 
colonies to be supreme. Both measures were carried. The majority 
of the colonists were still loyal, and the news of the repeal of the 
obnoxious act was received with great satisfaction in America. It 
was not, however, in human nature but that some soreness should 
be left behind, as well as a still more dangerous feeling of secret 
triumph at this recognition of their strength. (Sup. N. XVI.) 

Rockingham adopted other measures of a popular nature. A silk 
bill, introduced by the late ministry, had occasioned serious riots 
in the preceding year among the Spitalfields weavers; siege had 
been laid to the duke of Bedford's house in Bloomsbury-square, and 
it became necessary to disperse the rioters by means of the military. 
Rockingham now restrained the importation of foreign silks. He 
also repealed the unpopular cider-tax, obtained a resolution of the 
House of Commons declaring general warrants illegal, and another 
condemning the seizure of papers in cases of libel. The ministry, 
however, was tottering through internal weakness ; lord Northing- 
ton, the chancellor, told the king at the end of the session that they 
could not go on, and advised him to send for Mr. Pitt. This time 
Pitt accepted office, and succeeded in forming a ministry ; but, to 
the surprise of all, he reserved for himself the office of privy seal, 
with a peerage as earl of Chatham (July 30, 1766). Pitt named 
the duke of Grafton as head of the treasury ; Charles Townshend 
became chancellor of the exchequer ; general Conway continued 
secretary of state and leader of the House of Commons, with the 
earl of Shelburne * as his colleague ; and lord Camden was made 
chancellor. 

The prospect of Pitt's support in the House of Commons had 
been the chief inducement with most of the ministers to take office, 
and they were naturally much disappointed to find themselves 
deprived of it by his elevation to the peerage. " This fatal title," 
writes Walpole, "blasted all the affection which his country had 
borne to him." To increase his mortification, his ministry was 
assailed by the most scurrilous lampooners, hounded on by the 
ceaseless malignancy of Temple. Disappointment at his proceed- 
ings did not end here. He appeared but seldom even in the lords ; 
and in the spring of 1767 .he was so prostrated by the gout or some 
mysterious malady, that he would neither see any one of his 
colleagues on the most urgent business, nor attend to business. 

* William Petty, 2nd earl of Shelburne, l minister in 1782 (see p. 631), and was 
in the Irish peerage, and 2nd Baron created marquess of Lansdownc in 178-4. 
"Wycombe, in England, became prime I 



a.d. 1766-1769. PROCEEDINGS AGAINST WILKES. 



615 



Edmund Burke, who was now rising into eminence, adverted to him 
in one of his speeches as a great invisible power — a being so im- 
measurably high that not even his own cabinet could get access to 
him.* In his absence the opposition carried a motion to reduce the 
land-tax, by which the revenue was deprived of half a million. To 
repair this loss, Charles Townshend resolved to raise a revenue in 
America by small taxes on tea, glass, paper, and painters' colours, 
the whole amount of which would not exceed 40,000?. a year. He 
died in the following September, in the 41st year of his age, and 
lord North accepted the vacant office of chancellor of the exchequer 
(December 1). Changes soon after occurred in the ministry, and 
the new office of colonial secretary was established, in which the 
earl of Hillsborough f was installed (January, 1768). 

§ 8. In the elections of 1768 for a new parliament, the second of 
this reign, Wilkes, who was still under a sentence of outlawry, being 
rejected by the city of London, contrived to obtain his return ai 
member for Middlesex (April 20). He was committed to prison. 
On the road a vast mob removed the horses from his coach and 
drew it to a tavern on Cornhill. But Wilkes effected his escaps, 
and delivered himself up at the King's Bench prison. Parliament 
met on May 10, when a vast concourse assembled in St. George's 
Fields, expecting to see Wilkes emerge from confinement on his 
way to the House of Commons ; but being disappointed in their 
hopes, they became ungovernable, and were fired on by the soldiers. 
To add to the disorders, the sailors and coal-heavers had risen in a 
body, filling the whole city with consternation. On June 18 
Wilkes's sentence of outlawry was reversed by lord Mansfield ; but 
the original verdicts were confirmed, and Wilkes was sentenced to 
two years' imprisonment, computed from the day of his arrest, and 
to pay two fines of 500Z. each for No. 45 and the "Essay on 
Woman." Wilkes appealed to the House of Commons, but it pro- 
nounced him guilty of an insolent libel, for publishing a letter of 
lord Weymouth's, now secretary of state, to the magistrates of 
Surrey, accompanied with some caustic remarks. On the motion 
of lord Barrington he was expelled the house for the second time 
(February 3, 1769). His popularity was undiminished. In the 
city he had been elected alderman of Farringdon Without; and 



* In a letter written to a private friend 
the year before, Burke says of him : " A 
few days will show whether he will take 
this part, or that of continuing on his 
back at Hayes, talking fashion, excluded 
from all ministerial and incapable of all 
parliamentary service ; for his gout is 
worse than ever, but his pride may dis- 



able him worse than his gout." — "Corre- 
spondence," i. 341. Whether it was gout 
or mortified pride which determined 
Chatham's strange conduct on this oc- 
casion, it is not easy to decide. 

f Wills Hill, first earl of Hillsborough, 
created marquess of Downshire in Ireland 
in 17S9 ; ancestor of the present marquess. 



616 GEOEGE III. Chap. xxxi. 

when the election for Middlesex came on, he was again unanimously 
returned (February 16). The House insisted on his exclusion 
(February 17). A third time he was returned (March 16), and a 
third time the House of Commons declared him ineligible (March 
17), and ordered a new writ to be issued. Their tactics were now 
changed. Wilkes was opposed by colonel Luttrell (April 13) ; and 
the house pronounced Luttrell duly elected, though Wilkes had a 
great majority (April 16). So ended " the fifth act of this tragi- 
comedy," as Burke called it. But though the ministers carried their 
point, they had rendered Wilkes the idol of the nation. In the 
autumn he brought an action against lord Halifax for having seized 
his papers, and obtained 4000Z. damages (November 10). 

Meanwhile Townshend's ill-advised taxes had revived in the 
North American colonies all the animosity occasioned by the Stamp 
Act. In this opposition the state of Massachusetts took the lead. 
A violent altercation arose between the House of Assembly and 
Bernard the governor, who finally, by lord Hillsborough's instruc- 
tions, dissolved the Assembly (July 1, 1768). Biots of the most 
serious description ensued at Boston. The other American states, 
though not so violent, displayed a sort of passive resistance. Asso- 
ciations were formed calling themselves " Sons of Liberty," and even 
" Daughters of Liberty," to enter into non-importation agreements, 
and forbear the use of tea. Subsequently it became customary to 
strip those who refused to enter into these agreements, and to cover 
them with tar and feathers. (Supplement, Note XVII.) 

The cabinet now deemed it prudent to propose a repeal of the 
obnoxious taxes ; but lord North, at the suggestion of lord Hills- 
borough, supported the tea-duties, merely as a question of right. 
Lord Hillsborough communicated the determination of the ministry 
in a circular to the governors of the North American colonies, 
but in terms so ungracious, as only served to increase the irritation. 
Chatham, who had held aloof from the administration, resigned 
(October 15, 1768), and the duke of Grafton, first lord of the 
Treasury, became the recognized premier. In July, 1769, Chatham 
was able to attend the king's levee, and when parliament opened 
in January, 1770, he appeared in his place and denounced in severe 
terms both the foreign and the American policy of the ministers, 
all of whom had been his own chosen colleagues in office a few 
weeks before. Shortly after Grafton resigned, and North accepted 
the place of first lord of the treasury, in addition to that of chan- 
cellor of the exchequer, and thus became prime minister. 

As two of the king's brothers, the dukes of Cumberland and 
Gloucester, had contracted marriages, the former with Mrs. Horton, 
sister of colonel Luttrell, the latter with an illegitimate daughter 



a.d. 1772-1774. THE AMERICAN TEA-DUTY. 617 

of sir Edward Walpole, the king caused the Royal Marriage Bill to 
be introduced into the House of Lords. By this act every prince 
or princess, the descendant of George II., except only the issue of 
princesses married abroad, is prohibited from marrying without the 
king's consent before attaining the age of 25. After that age they 
may be relieved from the king's veto if, after formal notice to the 
privy council, parliament expresses no disapprobation of the pro- 
posed marriage within 12 months (1772). This statute still remains 
in force. 

§ 9. With the exception of some disturbances in Massachusetts, 
no great disaffection appeared in America. The colonists apparently 
acquiesced in the tea-duty, which was only 3c?. per pound. But 
in 1773 an act was committed which, though far from being so 
intended, finally estranged the American colonies. The East India 
Company had contracted a large debt. An enormous stock of tea 
was accumulated in their warehouses, for which they could find no 
sale. In order to relieve them by procuring a market for their 
stock, lord North now proposed that the tea exported to America, 
which had a drawback of only three-fifths of the duty paid in 
England, should have a drawback of the whole duty, thus leaving 
it subject only to the 3c?. duty in America. This appeared to be a 
boon, not only to the East India Company, but also to the American 
colonists, as it would enable them to purchase their tea at a cheaper 
rate than they could obtain it even before the 3d duty was im- 
posed. Accordingly the East India Company freighted several 
ships with tea, and appointed consignees in America for its sale. 
Meanwhile events had occurred which' embittered the feeling of the 
colonists against England. Mr. Thomas Whately, Grenville's private 
secretary, and under-secretary of state to lord Suffolk, had been 
engaged in a private correspondence with Hutchinson, governor of 
Massachusetts, Oliver, the lieutenant-governor, and other officers of 
the crown in that province. After Whately died, these letters were 
purloined, and were confidentially communicated to Dr. Franklin. 
At Franklin's earnest solicitations, and on his solemn vow of 
secrecy, they were forwarded to Boston, to be shown, as he 
promised, only to a few influential friends, and no others. No copies 
were to be taken. The promise was not observed. The letters 
were formally laid before the House of Assembly of Massachusetts ; 
they were voted subversive of the constitution, and printed, and 
a petition was drawn up for the removal of Hutchinson and Oliver. 
The matter was subsequently referred to the privy council, where 
Wedderburn, the solicitor-general, attacked Franklin for his breach 
of confidence in a most biting and sarcastic speech (January 29, 
1774). The privy council decided that the petition was founded 



618 GEORGE III. Chap. xxxi. 

on false and erroneous allegations, and that it was groundless, vex- 
atious, and scandalous. Two days after, Franklin was deprived of 
his post as deputy postmaster-general in America. (Sup.N.XVIII.) 

Public feeling in America was in a great state of excitement, 
when the first tea-ships made their appearance. It was given out 
that they were only the forerunners of further taxation ; that the 
ships were laden, not with tea, but with fetters. The consignees 
were threatened, and obliged to fling up their engagements. At 
Charleston the teas were allowed to be landed, but not to be sold, 
and were stowed in cellars, where they perished from damp. The 
Boston people went further. On December 18, 1773, a body of 
men disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded the tea-ships and 
scattered their cargoes in the water, to the value, it is computed, 
of 18,O0OZ. 

To punish this outrage, lord North carried through parliament 
certain acts for transferring the Boston custom-houses to Salem, 
another port of Massachusetts, and he made important alterations 
in the charter granted to that state by William III. (March 14, 
1774). This last step excited the jealousy and alarm of the other 
states. They were encouraged to resist by finding that they were 
supported by a powerful party in the British parliament, which 
numbered in its ranks Chatham, Burke, Charles James Fox, third 
son of lord Holland, and other eminent men. The royalist colony 
of Virginia, where the popular feeling was directed by Patrick Henry 
and Thomas Jefferson, was one of the first to give in its adhesion to 
the puritan Massachusetts. In imitation of the puritan opposition 
in Charles I.'s time, they set on foot a " Solemn League and Cove- 
nant." Committees of correspondence were established, and a 
congress was summoned at Philadelphia. Delegates from 12 
colonies met in September, and debated with closed doors. The 
assembly drew up a Declaration of Rights, claiming all the liberties 
of Englishmen, and adopted resolutions to suspend all trade be- 
tween England and America till their grievances were redressed. 
Addresses were prepared to the people of Great Britain, to the people 
of Canada, and to the king. After appointing another congress 
for May 10, 1775, the meeting quietly dispersed. (Sup. N. XIX.) 

When the parliament met in January, 1775, Burke brought 
forward his propositions for conciliation, and denounced the attempts 
which were making to coerce the Americans, as pregnant with the 
most fatal consequences. They were negatived by a large majority. 
Meanwhile a militia had been raised in Massachusetts, called 
minute men, because they were to be ready at a minute's notice ; 
arms also and other stores were provided, and deposited in an 
arsenal at Concord, a town about 18 miles from Boston. General 



a.d. 1775. THE AMERICAN REBELLION. 619 

Gage, who commanded at Boston, secretly despatched a few 
hundred light troops ou the night of April 18, to destroy these 
stores. The design, however, had oozed out ; and the van, on 
reaching Lexington, a place about six miles from Concord, found 
about 70 militiamen, part of their main army, drawn up on the 
parade.* A collision took place, and several Americans were 
killed and wounded. The troops then proceeded to Concord, spiked 
three guns, and destroyed some stores. But the whole country, 
already prepared for this event, was roused ; the British, on their 
return, were surrounded and galled on every side by an incessant 
fire, poured upon them by marksmen posted behind walls and 
hedges. Their loss was 273 killed and 174 wounded, while the 
Americans, sheltered by their mode of fighting, did not lose a third 
of that number. The ardour of the Americans was excited. A 
force of 20,000 men was raised in the New England provinces, and 
blockaded general Gage in Boston ; whilst a party of Connecticut 
men marched to Lake Champlain, and surprised and captured the 
forts of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 

On the appointed day the congress met at Philadelphia. They 
prohibited the export of provisions to any British colony, the supply 
of necessaries to the British army and navy, and the negociation 
of bills drawn by British officers. They took measures for pro- 
viding supplies of men and money. They appointed, as com- 
mander-in-chief, George Washington, who had distinguished 
himself in the wars with the French. On June 21 Washington 
set out to take the command of the army blockading Boston. 
The English had then been reinforced by divisions under general 
Burgoyne, general William Howe, brother of lord Howe, and 
general Clinton. Their whole force amounted to about 10,000 
men. A considerable body of Americans, having been sent to 
occupy Bunker's Hill, proceeded by mistake to Breed's Hill, which 
also forms part of the peninsula on which Charlestown stands ; 
and as that frontier overlooks Boston, from which it is separated 
only by an arm of the sea about as broad as the Thames at London, 
it became necessary to dislodge them. This was not effected till 
after three assaults, and with the loss of 1000 men, while the 
Americans did not lose half that number. This is known as the 
battle of Bunker's Hill (June 17). (Supplement, Note XX.) 

§ 10. A civil war was now fairly kindled. Yet the Americans 
were still reluctant to break off from the mother country, and in 
June congress signed a petition to the king, expressing their 
loyalty and their desire for reconciliation. They called this petition 

* As the colonists were still under the crown, these were acts of rebellion which tho 
authorities were bound in duty to suppress. 



620 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxl 

the " Olive Branch," and sent it to England by Richard Penn. In 
September it was submitted to the cabinet, by whom it was re- 
solved that no answer should be given, as they could not recog- 
nize the congress, which was a self-constituted body and guilty 
of rebellion. In his opening speech to parliament (October 26), 
the king stated that the rebellion had become general, showing 
a purpose of establishing an independent empire ; but as he would 
never consent to surrender the colonies, he was resolved to put an 
end to these disorders by decisive exertions. Loyal addresses 
poured in from all parts of the kingdom, expressive of satisfaction 
at the attitude assumed by the king and his ministers. Several 
changes took place in the ministry. The colonial secretaryship 
was transferred to lord George Germaine, formerly lord George 
Sackville, a man of some ability, but of a violent temper. 

On November 23, lord North obtained a repeal of the acts re- 
specting the port of Boston and the Massachusetts charter ; but, on 
the other hand, all commerce with the insurgent colonies was 
strictly forbidden, so long as they remained in a state of rebellion, 
and the capture of American goods and vessels was authorized. 
The burning of the town of Falmouth, and soon after of Norfolk 
on the Chesapeake, further incensed the Americans. They had 
this year invaded Canada, and laid siege to Quebec, which they 
blockaded during the winter ; but they were foiled in their purpose 
by general Guy Carleton, and decamped in the following summer. 

As Boston did not afford a good point for entering the country, 
and they were surrounded by a superior force, the British, under the 
command of sir William Howe, evacuated the place in March, 1776, 
by a sort of tacit convention with the " Select Men," that, if their 
embarkation was not molested, the town should not be injured. 
They proceeded by sea to Halifax and thence to Staten Island, and 
Boston was immediately occupied by Washington's troops. The 
recovery of this place was regarded as a triumph by the Americans. 
The inhabitants of Staten Island were loyally disposed, and ad- 
mitted the British without resistance. (Supplement, Note XXI.) 

At this time the determination to assert their independence was 
more fully entertained by the Americans. Their views had expanded 
with the progress of the rebellion. At first they had merely con- 
templated redress of grievances ; now, a large party was inclined 
to separation. These sentiments were kept alive by a host of 
writers, especially by Thomas Paine, an Englishman settled in 
America. A committee of five was appointed to draw up a 
Declaration of Independence, which was composed by Jefferson, 
corrected by Adams and Franklin, and subsequently amended by 
the congress. It was a long time, however, before the 13 colonies 



A.D. 1776. AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 621 

could be induced to concur in it. South Carolina, Pennsylvania, 
New York, and Delaware, held back. Maryland acceded reluctantly. 
At length unanimity prevailed ; and, on July 4, 1776, the United 
Colonies declared themselves Free and Independent States. On 
July 12, eight days after the proclamation of Independence, lord 
Howe arrived off Sandy Hook, furnished with full powers to treat. 
He sent a letter with a flag of truce to Washington (July 14) ; but 
as it was addressed to G. Washington, Esq., instead of General 
Washington, it was not received. Howe then addressed himself 
to Franklin, but was met with discourtesy. (Sup. N. XXII.) 

The British government had collected a body of about 13,000 
German troops, for which they paid large subsidies to the land- 
grave of Hesse, the duke of Brunswick, and other petty German 
sovereigns. On receiving these reinforcements, general Howe sent 
over in August a detachment of 8000 men to Brooklyn, where the 
Americans were defeated and compelled to evacuate the town. In 
this affair the American general Sullivan had been captured, 
through whom lord Howe induced congress to send three members 
to Staten Island, to discuss an accommodation, in the character of 
private gentlemen. The congress deputed three of their members 
known to be most inimical to the British connection : namely, Dr. 
Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Butledge of South Carolina. 
As this deputation at once declared that the colonies could enter 
into no peace, except as independent states, the conference proved 
abortive (September 11). (Supplement, Note XXIII.) 

Four days after, Howe crossed the water and attacked New York, 
which was abandoned on his approach. In the autumn the Ameri- 
cans gradually retired before the British, till they had crossed the 
Delaware into Pennsylvania. Howe was loth to pursue his ad- 
vantages, and he ordered lord Cornwallis, who had overrun New 
Jersey, not to attempt to follow the enemy over the Delaware, but 
to disperse his troops in winter quarters. Washington, on the other 
hand, recrossed that river, and by his skilful manoeuvres re- 
covered nearly the whole of the Jerseys. These successes produced 
a great moral effect on the Americans, and the congress which 
met at Baltimore conferred extraordinary powers upon their general. 

§ 11. Out of hatred to this country, the American cause was 
popular in France. Franklin and Silas Deane had been sent as 
envoys to Paris, to solicit the support of the French ; and, though 
the latter were not yet prepared to declare openly in favour of the 
Americans, they gave them secret assistance. Many French officers 
proceeded to America to offer their services, among whom the most 
distinguished in rank and fortune was the young marquis de la 
Fayette, who was not yet 20 years of age. The Americans gave 
28* 



622 GEORGE III. Chap. xxxi. 

him the rank of major-general, and he undertook to serve without 
emolument. In England, Chatham appeared in the House of 
Lords (May 30, 1777), and made an eloquent appeal for con- 
ciliating America, hut was defeated hy a large majority. Public 
opinion, with the exception of a few turbulent demagogues, was 
against any surrender. To them it served as an occasion for ex- 
citing sedition and disturbance. The Rev. Mr. Home, better known 
by his subsequent name of Home Tooke, was convicted before lord 
Mansfield of a libel, for having, in advertising for subscriptions for 
the relief of the Americans, stigmatized the affairs at Lexington 
and Concord as inhuman murders ; and he was sentenced to twelve 
months' imprisonment. 

Abandoning the design of reaching Philadelphia through the 
Jerseys, Howe, withdrawing his troops, embarked them at New 
York, with the intention of proceeding by water. Finding the banks 
of the Delaware well fortified, he proceeded up the Chesapeake, 
and landed his men at the head of the Elk. Midway between 
that place and Philadelphia runs the stream called the Brandywine, 
where the Americans occupied a strong position. They were 
attacked and completely routed (September 11), and the British 
vanguard took possession of Philadelphia without resistance. In an 
attempt to recover it, the Americans were repulsed at German 
Town. These successes were more than counterbalanced by re- 
verses in the north, in which quarter General Burgoyne was directed 
to operate down the Hudson, in order to prevent any further 
attempts on Canada. He took Ticonderoga, but two advanced 
divisions, consisting chiefly of Germans, which he had thrown 
across the Hudson, were defeated at Bennington by general Starke. 
After collecting provisions, Burgoyne again crossed that river and 
advanced beyond Saratoga. He defeated the Americans at Be- 
rnis's Heights (September 19), but gained no advantage by the 
victory ; and he was himself shortly afterwards attacked near the 
same spot by Arnold, who was presently superseded by the abler 
general Gates. After waiting in vain for the expected co-operation 
of sir Henry Clinton, and having failed in an effort to force his way 
onwards, Burgoyne attempted to retrace his steps towards Canada. 
But on reaching the fords of the Hudson, near Saratoga, he found 
himself almost surrounded by the enemy; and, as his provisions 
were nearly exhausted, he had no course left but to enter into a 
convention with general Gates, by which he agreed to lay down his 
arms (October 17). His fighting men had been reduced to 3500, 
whilst Gates had upwards of 13,000 fit for duty. This capitula- 
tion was the turning-point in the American war. (Sup. N. XXIV.) 

The news of Burgoyne's disaster roused a patriotic spirit in Eng- 



a.d. 1778. DEATH OF LORD CHATHAM. 623 

land. Voluntary subscriptions were opened, and a sum was raised 
sufficient to maintain 15,000 soldiers without the aid of govern- 
ment. In France the news had a decisive effect. It was officially 
announced to the American envoys that Louis XVI. was prepared 
to acknowledge the independence of America ; and two treaties of 
commerce and alliance with that country were signed at Paris 
(February 6, 1778). 

Now, when it was too late, lord North attempted measures of 
conciliation. He formally renounced the right of the British par- 
liament to tax America ; he appointed five commissioners with the 
most ample powers, who were instructed to raise no difficulties 
respecting the rank or legal position of those who might be ap- 
pointed to treat with them ; and it seemed to be intimated that 
any terms short of independence would be conceded. The bills 
were received by parliament with astonishment and dejection ; but 
no opposition was made, and the royal assent was given (March 
11, 1778). Two days after, the marquis de Noailles, the French 
ambassador, delivered a note, couched in ironical and insulting 
terms, announcing the treaties concluded between France and the 
United States. At this juncture, in the hour of danger, lord North 
deserted his post. On the very next day he tendered his resigna- 
tion to the king, and advised him to send for lord Chatham ; butk 
the king's mind was embittered against that statesman by his 
previous condnct and his groundless insinuations of Bute's secret 
influence, which had long ceased to exist. The king expressed his 
determination not to accept the services of that " perfidious man," 
except in a subordinate post. 

§ 12. But the days of Chatham were drawing to a close. Although 
suffering severely from the gout, he was supported into the house 
by his second son, William Pitt, and his son-in-law, lord Mahon 
(April 7). He had resolved to oppose a motion of the duke of 
Richmond for an address to the king recommending peace and 
the recognition of American independence ; for, though Chatham 
had always been the warm advocate of conciliation, he regarded 
such a step with the utmost abhorrence, as a dismemberment of 
the empire, and especially under present circumstances, when it 
would seem to be taken at the dictation of France. He made a 
speech against the motion, in which, though traces of faltering 
were sometimes visible, flashes of his former eloquence seemed to 
revive as if for some grand and last occasion. He was answered 
by the duke of Richmond ; and, as Chatham rose to reply, he 
staggered and fell back in convulsions. The peers crowded round 
him with marks of the deepest sympathy. He was carried to a 
neighbouring house, where, with the aid of a physician, he rallied 



624 GEORGE III. Chap. xxxi. 

in some degree, and was conveyed to his house at Hayes, where, 
after lingering a few weeks, he expired (May 11), in the 70th year 
of his age. Parliament voted a public funeral, with a monument 
in Westminster Abhey, an annuity of 4000Z., to he attached for 
ever to the earldom of Chatham, and a sum of 20,000Z. to discharge 
his debts. 

The king had prevailed upon lord North to continue in office ; 
and the ministry was strengthened in the House of Lords by con- 
ferring the great seal upon Thurlow. 

§ 13. The Americans had been encouraged by the French alli- 
ance, and by the retreat of sir Henry Clinton from Philadelphia to 
New York ; and congress refused to hold any conference with lord 
North's commissioners unless the British fleets and armies were 
firet withdrawn from America, or unless at all events the indepen- 
dence of the United States was acknowledged — conditions which 
were of course inadmissible; and all communications were conse- 
quently broken off (June 17). In July a French fleet of 12 ships 
of the line and six frigates, under count d'Estaing, appeared off the 
coast of America. This summer, Clinton reduced the whole pro- 
vince of Georgia, the inhabitants of which were for the most part 
loyally inclined. By orders from home, 5000 of his troops had 
been detached, and effected the conquest of St. Lucia, St. Pierre, 
and Miquelon ; but, on the other hand, the French took Dominica. 

Several actions were fought in the Channel, where admiral Keppel 
commanded the English fleet. In July a general engagement took 
place off Ushant. The French fleet, under d'Orvilliers, was much 
superior in force ; but the action was indecisive, and the respective 
fleets retired to Brest and Plymouth. Keppel had signalled sir 
Hugh Palliser, his second in command, to bear up with his squad- 
ron and renew the combat ; but, Palliser's ship being much crippled, 
he was unable to comply. Both of these admirals had seats in 
parliament, and, being political adversaries, they now began to 
incriminate each other. Keppel was brought to a court-martial on 
charges made against him by Palliser, and after a trial of 32 days 
was honourably acquitted. As he was the popular favourite, all 
London was illuminated on his acquittal, whilst Palliser was burnt 
in effigy. The latter, having demanded a court-martial on himself, 
was also acquitted; 

In the next summer (1779), Spain joined France in the war against 
England; and manifestoes were published, both at Paris and 
Madrid, containing long statements of alleged grievances. In 
answer to the former, Gibbon the historian drew up a Memoire 
Justificatif, which, though not exactly official, was circulated in 
the different courts of Europe as a state paper. The combined 



a.d. 1780. LORD GEORGE GORDON'S RIOTS. 625 

Spanish and French fleets amounted to 66 sail of the line, besides 
frigates and other smaller vessels. The French began to threaten 
an invasion, and 50,000 men were spread along the coast of 
France, from Havre to St. Malo. The threat, as usual, created 
considerable alarm in England, which was perhaps all that was 
contemplated. Sir Charles Hardy, who now commanded the 
English fleet, had only 38 ships, and was therefore obliged to 
remain on the defensive ; but dissensions broke out between 
the enemy's admirals about the mode of conducting the war, and, 
the Spanish commander having retired into port, it became 
necessary for the French admiral to follow his example. It was 
at this time that Paul Jones, a Scotchman by birth, but hold- 
ing a commission in the American service, appeared off the eastern 
coast of Scotland, with three small ships of war and one armed 
brigantine. He attacked our Baltic fleet, captured the Serapis and 
the Scarborough that were convoying it (September 23), and carried 
his prizes to Holland. He then appeared in the Firth of Forth, and 
filled Edinburgh with alarm and humiliation, till a steady west; 
wind blew him out of the Firth. (Supplement, Note XXV.) 

The war was now raging in various quarters of the globe. The 
Spaniards formed the siege of Gibraltar ; the French made an 
attempt upon Jersey, took Senegal in Africa, but lost Goree. In 
the West Indies, D'Estaing, in the absence of admiral Byron, reduced 
St. Vincent and Grenada (July 4, 1779) ; but an attempt which 
he made, in conjunction with some American land forces, on 
Savannah, the capital of Georgia, was repulsed. 

§ 14. The year 1780 is memorable for the " No popery riots " 
excited by lord George Gordon. To explain their origin it will be 
necessary to remember that, in 1778, sir George Savile had pro- 
cured the repeal of a very severe act against the Roman catholics, 
passed in 1699 in consequence of the number of priests that came 
over to England after the peace of Ryswick. By this law priests or 
Jesuits exercising their functions, or teaching, were liable to im- 
prisonment for life ; and all catholics who within six months after 
attaining the age of 18 refused to take the oaths of allegiance and 
supremacy, and to subscribe the declarations against transubstantia- 
tion and the worship of saints, were declared incapable of purchasing, 
inheriting, or holding landed property, which passed, during their 
lives, to their next of kin who happened to be protestants. The 
very severity of this law had rendered it inoperative, yet its 
repeal excited among the more bigoted protestants, especially 
in Scotland, and among the English populace, the most violent 
animosity. Protestant associations were formed, both in England 
and Scotland ; and lord George Gordon, a younger son of the duke 



626 GEORGE III. Chap. xxxi. 

of Gordon, a young man of turbulent temper, fond of notoriety, 
but without either ability or principle, put himself at the head 
of the movement. He made many silly and violent speeches 
in the House of Commons, and even went so far as to insinuate 
that the king himself was at heart a Eoman catholic. On 
June 2 he assembled a vast mob in St. George's Fields, to 
accompany him to the House with a petition against the recent 
changes in the penal laws. Many of the members of both Houses 
were insulted and ill-treated ; the mob broke into the lobby of the 
House of Commons, and, knocking violently at the door, shouted 
out " No popery ! " while lord George appeared at the top of the 
gallery stairs to encourage and incite them. There was then no 
organized police ; but lord North, who displayed the utmost courage 
and firmness, privately sent for a detachment of the Guards. 
Colonel Murray, a kinsman of lord George, drew his sword and 
threatened to run him through the body if any one of the mob 
entered the House. The Guards arrived and cleared the lobby. Lord 
George Gordon's proposal for immediate deliberation was rejected by 
a majority of 192 to 6, and the rioters dispersed, but not before they 
had burnt the chapels of the Sardinian and Bavarian legations. On 
the following day (Saturday) the mob was tolerably quiet ; but on 
Sunday the blue cockades reassembled in great numbers, and burnt 
two or three catholic chapels. On Monday more chapels were 
burnt, as well as the house of sir George Savile in Leicester Fields. 
On Tuesday, lord George having appeared in the House with a blue 
cockade, colonel Herbert desired him to remove it, or threatened to 
remove it himself. For some days the mob were in possession of 
London. Fiercer spirits had now appeared — men who thirsted for 
plunder and revolution. On Tuesday evening Newgate was broken 
open, the prisoners to the number of 300 were released, and the 
building, lately rebuilt at a cost of 140,000/., was reduced to a heap 
of smouldering ruins. Clerkenwell was also entered, and the houses 
of three or four magistrates were destroyed. Towards midnight the 
mob proceeded to the residence of lord Mansfield in Bloomsbury- 
square, destroyed all hid furniture, and his valuable library, con- 
taining letters which he had been collecting nearly 50 years, with 
the view of writing the history of his times. Lord and lady Mans- 
field had barely time to escape by the back door. On June 7 the 
riot was at its height. All the shops were shut, the mob were un- 
controlled masters, and most of the prisons were forced and their 
inmates released. The magistrates seemed paralyzed. Kennett, the 
lord mayor, displayed a great dereliction of duty, for which he was 
afterwards prosecuted and convicted ; while alderman Wilkes, on 
the contrary, was active in suppressing the tumult. The king him- 



a.d. 1780. THE " ARMED NEUTRALITY." 627 

self showed the greatest resolution on this occasion. Having 
assembled a council, he caused a proclamation to be issued warning 
the people to keep within doors, and intimating that the military 
had instructions to act without waiting for orders from the civil 
magistrates. That night London bore the aspect of a place taken 
by storm. In various quarters parties of soldiers fired upon the 
mob, and the fire was sometimes returned ; people might be seen 
removing their goods in haste and alarm from the numerous houses 
which had been set on fire; and the streets resounded with the 
groans and yells of the wounded and the drunken. Nearly 500 
persons were killed or wounded. But the riot was at an end : next 
day London was tranquil. Lord George Gordon was apprehended 
on the 9th, and committed to the Tower on a charge of high 
treason, of which he was acquitted ; but at last he died, mad, in 
Newgate, a prisoner on another charge (1793). Shortly afterwards 59 
of the rioters were convicted, of whom 21 were executed. On this 
occasion Wedderburn, the solicitor-general, was made chief justice 
of the common pleas, with the title of lord Loughborough, his 
predecessor, sir William de Grey, having resigned in alarm. 

§ 15. Admiral sir George Rodney gained a signal victory this 
year (January 16) over the Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent. 
Eight Spanish ships were taken or destroyed, and only four of 
their fleet escaped into Cadiz. He had previously captured a rich 
Spanish convoy in the Bay of Biscay. But the Spaniards amply 
avenged their losses by intercepting, off the Azores, our East and 
West India fleets, Avhich had been sent to sea with a convoy of 
only two men-of-war. These escaped, but nearly 60 sail of 
merchantmen, freighted with valuable cargoes, were carried into 
Cadiz. Besides her declared enemies, England had now to contend 
with the neutral powers, who, under cover of their flags, supplied 
our enemies with warlike stores. Our first quarrel on this account 
was with the Dutch ; and in February the empress Catharine of 
Eussia issued a declaration to the belligerent courts, in which it 
was insisted that free ships make free goods ; that no goods are 
contraband, except those declared such by treaty ; and that 
blockades to be acknowledged must be effective. This declaration 
became the basis of the " armed neutrality " subsequently estab- 
lished between Russia, Sweden, and Denmark, to which Holland 
and Prussia, and eventually Spain and Prance, also acceded. Its 
object was to support the claims of neutrals, if necessary, by force 
of arms. Thus all the more powerful nations of Europe seemed 
arrayed against England, if not actively, at all events in sullen 
and indirect hostility. Before the end of the year the Dutch were 
added to the number. On board an American packet that had 



628 GEORGE III. Chap. xxxr. 

been captured, there was found among the papers of Mr. Laurens, 
an envoy to Holland, the plan of an alliance between Holland and 
America, dated as far back as September, 1778. Kemonstrances 
and negociations ensued; and on December 20, 1780, war was 
declared against the Dutch. 

During this year's campaign in America, sir Henry Clinton 
succeeded in taking Charleston after a protracted siege (May 12). 
All the American naval force at that place was destroyed or 
seized by admiral Arbuthnot, and 400 guns and a great quantity 
of stores were captured. On the news that a French fleet, 
with a considerable number of troops on board, had sailed for 
New England, Clinton re-embarked for New York with a por- 
tion of his force, leaving lord Cornwallis, with about 4000 men, 
to hold Charleston and South Carolina, and. if possible, to subdue 
North Carolina. General Gates was now approaching with a con- 
siderable army; and on August 16 an engagement ensued at 
Camden, in which the Americans were completely routed and 
dispersed, with the loss of all their baggage. The French ex- 
pedition against New England appeared off Rhode Island in July ; 
but admiral Arbuthnot, having been reinforced by admiral Graves, 
blockaded the French in Newport harbour during the remainder of 
the year. Clinton had now arrived at a just appreciation of the war. 
He perceived that his force was not strong enough, by some 
thousands, effectually to reduce the revolted provinces; and he wrote 
home to that effect, at the same time tendering his resignation. 

The campaign in America ceased in the next year (1781), though 
the war was not absolutely terminated. The last action, at Ewtaw 
Springs, about 60 miles from Charleston, fought on September 8, 
was one of the sharpest of the whole war. The American artillery 
was taken and retaken several times, and several hundreds of men 
were slain. Notwithstanding their great inferiority in numbers, the 
English, who were commanded by colonel Stewart, remained 
masters of the field ; yet, in spite of their victory, they were obliged 
to retreat to Charleston Neck, and the Americans recovered the 
greater part of South Carolina and Georgia. To increase the dis- 
proportion between the two combatants, the count de Grasse now 
arrived from the West Indies with 28 sail of the line and about 
4000 troops. Sir Samuel Hood had followed him with only 14 
ships ; but, being reinforced by admiral Graves with five ships, he 
brought the French to an action off the coast of Virginia (Sep- 
tember 5). It proved indecisive, and both fleets retired — the Eng- 
lish to New York, the French to the Chesapeake, where De Grasse 
landed the troops intended for the Americans. (Sup. N. XXVI.) 

Lord Cornwallis, with only 7000 men, took up a position at the 



a.d. 1782. RESIGNATION OF LORD NORTH. 629 

half-fortified village of York Town, surrounded by an army of 18,000 
men, with 50 or 60 pieces of artillery, commanded by Washington, 
La Fayette, and St. Simon. The bombardment commenced on 
October 9. By the 14th two redoubts had been carried, and the 
town more closely invested. A s all relief or escape was impossible, 
Cornwallis was now obliged to capitulate, and he obtained certain 
honours of war (October 19). With this capitulation the American 
war may be said to have ceased. 

§ 16. In other quarters the British were more successful. In 
the West Indies admiral Bodney captured the Dutch island of 
St. Eustatius, with an immense amount of property and ships 
(February 3, 1781). The Dutch shipping lying at Demerara and 
Essequibo was also captured by English privateers, and these 
settlements were surrendered to the governor of Barbadoes. On 
August 5, admiral Hyde Parker, convoying a fleet from the Baltic, 
fell in with a Dutch fleet and convoy off the Dogger Bank ; but 
though the Dutch admiral, Zoutman, was beaten, and bore away 
for the Texel, Parker was in no condition to pursue (November 27). 
General Eliott made a vigorous sortie from Gibraltar, and succeeded 
in destroying the immense batteries raised by the Spaniards. But 
these successes did little to relieve the general despondency. Tobago 
was taken by the French, and the island of St. Eustatius was re- 
captured by the marquis de Bouille (November 26). Demerara 
and Essequibo were lost, together with St. Kitt's, Nevis, and 
Montserrat ; so that of all the Leeward Islands England retained 
only Barbadoes and Antigua. These misfortunes were crowned by 
the surrender of Minorca (February 6, 1782), after an heroic defence, 
and when, chiefly from the ravages of disease, only about 700 men 
were left fit for duty. 

Parliament met on November 27, 1781. On February 27, 1782, 
general Conway carried a resolution in the House of Commons 
against any further attempts to reduce the insurgent colonies ; and 
subsequently an address to the king, that whosoever should advise 
the prosecution of the war should be regarded as enemies of the 
throne and the nation. On March 15, the ministry escaped a vote 
of non-confidence, proposed by sir John Bous, only by a majority of 
nine, and lord North announced his resignation four days after. The 
marquess of Bockingham now became prime minister a second time, 
with lord John Cavendish as chancellor of the exchequer, admiral 
viscount Keppel first lord of the admiralty, the duke of Bichmond 
master of the ordnance, the earl of Shelburne and Mr. Fox secre- 
taries of state, and general Conway commander-in-chief. The tory 
chancellor, lord Thurlow, retained the seals (March 27). Burke 
was not admitted into the cabinet, but was made paymaster of the 
forces ; and a small appointment was conferred upon his son. 



630 GEORGE III. Chap. xxxi. 

In the preceding year two young men of distinguished ability had 
entered on their political career: Kichard Brinsley Sheridan, and 
William Pitt, the second son of lord Chatham. Sheridan's maiden 
speech was a failure. Pitt's first address, on the contrary, was that 
of a practised orator, and was received with applause and warm 
congratulations, even by his opponents. Sheridan accepted the 
place of under-secretary of state in the new ministry. A choice 
of some of the smaller posts was offered to Pitt, but, though he was 
only 23 years of age, he had already declared in the House of 
Commons that he would not accept any subordinate position. 

The ministry were embarrassed at the outset by the state of 
Ireland, where great discontent prevailed on account of commercial 
restrictions. The catholic question had not yet arisen, but the 
question of the independence of the Irish parliament was agitated 
with great warmth. Henry Grattan, the eloquent leader of the 
opposition, was a protestant. On April 16, 1782, he carried an address 
to the crown, declaratory of the legislative independence of the 
Irish houses. Such an independence was clearly an i aomaly, 
which might lead to the greatest practical inconvenience, if, for 
instance, the Irish parliament should vote for peace with a foreign 
country against which England had declared war. The English 
ministers could not but perceive this glaring evil ; but the present 
state of the country rendered a breach with Ireland highly inex- 
pedient, and Fox carried a motion (May 17) which, by repealing 
the act 6 Geo. I., acknowledged the independence of the Irish 
legislature. The gratitude of the Irish was unbounded. They 
immediately passed a vote to raise 20,000 seamen, and they 
prevailed upon Grattan to accept 50,000/. for himself. 

The question of parliamentary reform had now begun to excite 
considerable attention in England. It had been warmly advocated 
by lord Chatham ; and Pitt, who took up his father's views on this 
subject, moved for a committee to inquire into the state of the re- 
presentation. Opinions were divided in the cabinet, but the motion 
was negatived in the commons by 20 votes (May 7). Some 
measures of reform were introduced by the ministry, such as a bill 
to prevent revenue officers from voting at elections, and another 
forbidding contractors to sit in the House of Commons. Burke car- 
ried a bill by which many useless offices were abolished, the pension- 
list was reduced, and the amount of secret-service money limited. 

§ 17. On April 12, 1782, admiral Eodney succeeded in. bringing 
to an engagement the French fleet under De Grasse, which, with a 
large body of troops on board, had sailed from Martinique to attack 
Jamaica. Each fleet consisted of upwards of 30 ships of the line. 
The action lasted nearly 11 hours, and was desperately contested. 



a.d. 1782. LORD SHELBURNE's MINISTRY. 631 

but ended in the decisive victory of the English. The Ville de 
Paris, carrying admiral De Grasse's flag, the largest ship in the 
French navy, was taken, together with four more first-rate vessels, 
and another was sunk. Admiral Hood captured two more as they 
were retreating. Owing to the French vessels being crowded with 
troops, they are said to have lost 3000 killed and 6000 wounded, 
whilst the loss on the side of the English did not exceed 1100 men. 
In the Ville de Paris were 36 chests of money to pay the soldiers, 
and their whole train of artillery was on board the other captured 
ships. The remainder of the French fleet were scattered, and could 
not contrive to reunite. Thus was Jamaica saved. The ministry 
had just before sent out orders recalling Eodney, with every mark 
of coolness and almost disgrace ; but they now found themselves 
called upon to reward him with a barony and a pension. An Irish 
barony was bestowed on Hood. 

Negociations for a peace had already been opened at Paris. Dr. 
Franklin, the American minister there, refused to treat on any other 
terms than the recognition of the independence of the United States, 
to which also he at first added a demand for the cession of Canada. 
In the midst of these negociations lord Rockingham died (July 1). 
The king now sent for the earl of Shelburne, who accepted the office 
of first lord of the treasury, upon which many of the ministry, 
including Fox, lord John Cavendish, the duke of Portland, Burke, 
and Sheridan, resigned. Under lord Shelburne, Pitt became chan- 
cellor of the exchequer, Thomas Townshend and lord Grantham 
secretaries of state. 

The combined French and Spanish fleets again swept the Channel 
this summer, yet lord Howe, with a far inferior force, contrived to 
screen from them the East and West India merchantmen convoyed 
by sir Peter Parker. After Howe's return to Portsmouth, the Royal 
George, of 108 guns, reckoned the first ship in the British navy, 
having been laid slightly on her side in order to stop a leak, was 
capsized at Spithead by a squall. As all her ports were open, she 
sank immediately. Most of the crew were drowned, with many 
women and children who had come on board, as well as admiral 
Kempenfeldt, who was writing in his cabin (August 29) 
Rodney's prizes also, including the Ville de Paris, unfortunately- 
foundered on their way home from the West Indies. 

On September 11, lord Howe sailed with 34 ships of the line 
to relieve Gibraltar, which had now endured a memorable siege of 
more than three years. It was defended by sir George Eliott, with 
a garrison of more than 5000 men. They had been relieved on 
different occasions by admirals Rodney and Darby, but were 
reduced at times to such distress as to feed on vegetables and even 



632 GEOKGE III. Chap. xxxi. 

weeds. In the spring of 1781 the bombardment was terrible. It 
is computed that the enemy fired 56,000 balls and 20,000 shells 
from the middle of April till the end of May, yet the casemates 
afforded so effectual a protection that only 70 men were killed. 
The bombardment was relaxed during the summer, but was renewed 
again in the autumn. On the night of November 26, Eliott made 
a sortie with 2000 men. The Spaniards were taken by surprise, 
and fled on all sides ; their works were destroyed, their guns spiked, 
their ammunition blown up. It was long before the bombardment 
was renewed, and then not with the previous vigour. Early in 
1782 the Spaniards were encouraged by the arrival of De Crillon, 
the victor of Minorca, who assumed the chief command. The total 
French and Spanish force now collected before Gibraltar amounted 
to 33,000 men, with 170 pieces of heavy artillery. The English 
had likewise been reinforced, and had a garrison of 7000 men, with 
80 guns of large calibre. The siege now attracted the eyes of all 
Europe. The comte d'Artois and the duke of Bourbon came from 
Paris to share the expected glory of its termination. King Charles of 
Spain was accustomed to ask every morning on waking, " Is it 
taken ? " and to the invariable " No," he invariably replied, " It will 
be soon." De Crillon, deeming the land side impregnable, caused 
immense floating batteries to be constructed, mounted with 142 
guns ; and on the morning of September 13 a fire was opened on 
the English works at a distance of about 600 yards, the batteries 
on the land side playing at the same time. All day this terrific 
bombardment continued, but towards evening the red-hot shot 
from the English batteries began to tell ; and before midnight 
one of the largest floating batteries, as well as the Spanish flag-ship 
Pastora, was in flames. The light served to direct the aim of the 
besieged, and at last every one of the batbering-ships was on fire. 
The enemy lost 1600 men on this occasion. Soon afterwards lord 
Howe entered the bay, and the combined fleet did not venture to 
attack him. The siege was continued til] the peace in 1783, but 
only nominally. General Eliott, on his return to England in 1787, 
was raised to the peerage as lord Heathfield of Gibraltar.* 

§ 18. As France and Spain seemed desirous of continuing the war, 
lord Shelburne hastened to renew the negociations for a separate 
treaty with America; and though the terms of the American alliance 
with France, which had been carried out in the most liberal spirit 
by the latter country, strictly precluded a separate peace, yet as it 
was obvious that the continuance of the war for any object beyond 
the recognition of the independence of the American States could 
serve only French or Spanish interests, Dr. Franklin, and the three 
* The title became extinct on the death of the tecond lord Heathfield in 1S13. 



a.d. 1782-1783. PEACE OF VEESAILLES. G33 

other American commissioners in Paris, did not hesitate to respond 
to the advances of the British government. Articles were signed 
at Paris (November 30, 1782), the chief of which were the recogni- 
tion of the independence of the United States, an advantageous 
irrangement of their boundaries, and the concession of the right of 
fishing on the banks of Newfoundland. Great Britain recognized 
and satisfied the claims of the American loyalists, to the extent of 
nearly ten millions sterling for losses of real or personal property, and 
of 120,000Z. per annum in life annuities for loss of income in trades 
or professions — a splendid instance of good faith after so expensive 
a war. Many, however, withdrew and settled in Nova Scotia and 
Canada, to escape the hostility of their countrymen. It was not 
till June, 1785, that George III. had an interview with Mr. Adams, 
the first minister from the United States, which naturally occasioned 
considerable emotion on both sides. The king received Mr. Adams 
with affability and frankness. He remarked that he wished it to be 
understood in America, that, though he had been the last to consent 
to a separation, he would be the first to welcome the friendship oi 
the United States as an independent power. (Sup. N. XXVII.) 

During the Christmas recess the ministers exerted themselves to 
bring to a close the negociations with France and Spain. The latter 
power at first insisted on the restoration of Gibraltar, and lord Shel- 
burne seemed not unwilling to exchange it against Porto Rico, whilst 
his colleagues required the addition of Trinidad. But since its gal- 
lant defence, the heart of the nation was fixed on that barren rock ; 
and lord Shelburne, perceiving that to cede it would bring great 
unpopularity upon the ministry, informed the Spaniards that no 
terms would tempt him to its surrender. The Spanish court were 
indignant ; but, finding they were not backed by France, they 
sullenly acquiesced, and the preliminaries of a peace between the 
three countries were signed at Versailles (January 20, 1783). 
England restored St. Lucia and ceded Tobago to France, receiving 
in return Grenada, St. Vincent, Dominica, Nevis, and Montserrat. 
In Africa England yielded Senegal and Goree, retaining Fort James 
and the river Gambia. In Iudia the French recovered Chanderna- 
gore, Pondicherry, Mahe, and the Comptoir of Surat. French pride 
was gratified by the abrogation of the articles in the treaty of 
Utrecht relative to the demolition of Dunkirk — a place which no 
outlay could have been rendered capable of receiving ships of the line. 

To Spain were ceded Minorca and both the Floridas, while king 
Charles guaranteed to England the right of cutting logwood within 
certain boundaries to be hereafter determined, and agreed to restore 
the Bahamas. Some months after, a treaty was also concluded 
with the Dutch on the basis of mutual restitution of conquests. 




Medal in commemoration of Lord Howe's victory over the French fleet, June 1,1794. 

O.JV. : EARL HOWE ADM l OV THE WH1TK K: G: Bust to right. BeloW, mdd.b . 1. : 
w : wvon . f : Rev. : FRENCH FLEET DEFEATED OFF USHANT VII SAIL OF THE LINE 

captured i June mdccxciv. Neptune, drawn by two sea-horses, to right. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



GEORGE III. — CONTINUED. FROM THE PEACE OF VERSAILLES TO THE 
PEACE OF AMIENS. A.D. 1783-1802. 

1. Coalition ministry. Fox's India Bill. Pitt prime minister. His India 
Bill. Financial Measures and Treaty of Commerce with France. 
§ 2. Impeachment of Warren Hastings. Affairs of India till his 
governor-generalship. Vote of censure on lord Clive. His suicide. § 3. 
Administration of Warren Hastings. § 4. His extortions in Oude. 
Charges against him. Result of his impeachment. § 5. The king's 
illness. Outbreak of the French Revolution. § 6. Riots at Birming- 
ham. Attitude of Europe. State of feeling in England. The French 
declare war. § 7. Campaign in Flanders. Insurrection of Toulon, and 
siege of that city. § 8. Campaign of 1794. Holland overrun by the 
French. § 9. Naval successes. Lord Howe's victory. § 10. Sedition 
in England. Expedition to Quiberon. Dutch colonies taken. §11. 
Alliance between France and Spain. Lord Malmesbury's negotiations. 
Attempted invasions of England. Bank Restriction Act. § 12. Battle 
of Cape St. Vincent. Duncan's victory off Camperdown. § 13. 
Mutinies at Portsmouth and the Nore. Threatened invasion. § 14. 
Expedition to Ostend. The French in Egypt. Battle of the Nile. 
Its consequences. § 15. English and Russian expedition to Holland. 
The Helder taken. The duke f York capitulates. Siege of Acre and 
flight of Bonaparte from Egypt. § 16. Disturbances in Ireland. Irish 
Union. § 17. Pitt's opinions on Parliamentary Reform and Catholic 
Emancipation. Warlike operations. The armed neutrality. § 18. 
Pitt resigns. Addington prime minister. Expedition against Copen- 
hagen. Dissolution of the armed neutrality. § 19. Threatened 
invasion, and attack on Boulogne. The French in Egypt. Battle of 
Alexandria, and death of Abercromby. § 20. The French expelled 
from Egypt. Peace of Amiens. 

§ 1. The war had added upwards of 100 millions to the national 
debt, and the country was so exhausted that it would have been 



a.d. 1783-1784. PITT PRIME MINISTER. 635 

difficult to send 3000 men on any foreign expedition. These par- 
ticulars, however, were not generally known ; and when the condi- 
tions of the peace were communicated to the parliament, they were 
received by the opposition with a storm of disapprobation. The 
cession of Chandernagore and Pondicherry was especially the object 
of animadversion. The ministers having been twice left in 
minorities in the commons, lord Shelburne resigned. The state of 
parties rendered it difficult to form a new administration. Mr. Pitt 
declined the task, and for some weeks a sort of interregnum 
ensued. At length a coalition ministry was formed (April 5, 
1783). The duke of Portland, a man of small abilities, became 
first lord of the treasury. The virtual ministers were lord North 
and Fox, the secretaries of state ; yet only a little previously Fox 
had publicly declared that, if ever he could be persuaded to act 
with lord North, he should consider himself worthy of eternal 
infamy ! Their power, however, was of no long duration. In 
November Fox brought in a bill to reform the government of 
India, which passed the commons, but was rejected by the lords. 
The ministers, having a large majority in the former house, did not 
think it necessary to resign ; but the king, who had always viewed 
the coalition with disgust, sent messages to lord North and Fox 
requiring them to deliver up the seals (December 18). Pitt, in 
his 25th year, as first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the ex- 
chequer, now became the head of a ministry, of which the principal 
members were lord Thurlow, lord chancellor ; earl Gower, president 
of the council ; the duke of Rutland, privy seal ; lord Carmarthen 
and lord Sydney, secretaries of state ; and lord Howe, first lord of 
the admiralty. 

Pitt, like his predecessors, was defeated in the commons, on a bill 
which he introduced to regulate the government of India ; but he 
resorted to a dissolution, and the elections, which took place in April, 
1784, secured a large majority for the ministry. In August he suc- 
ceeded in carrying his India bill, the main feature of which was the 
creation of the Board of Control, consisting of six privy councillors 
nominated by the king, who, with the principal secretaries of state 
and the chancellor of the exchequer, were to be commissioners for 
India, with supreme control over the civil and military government 
and the affairs of the company. This double government lasted till 
1858. Pitt also adopted important measures for remedying the 
disordered state of the finances. He lowered the customs duties 
and imposed various new taxes, amounting to nearly a million per 
annum. His financial reform was completed, in 1786, by the 
simplification of the indirect taxes, namely, the customs, excise, and 
stamps. At the same time, he negociated a treaty of commerce 



636 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxii. 

with France, which had only been in operation long enough to indi- 
cate the benefits it would have conferred on both nations, when its 
first-fruits were blighted by the events of 1789, and the realization of 
Pitt's policy was postponed till 1860. He was likewise before his 
age in proposing (1785) a bill for a reform of parliament, which 
was supported by some of his opponents, and opposed by some of his 
supporters, but was finally lost by a majority of 74. 

George prince of "Wales, the king's eldest son, had attained his 
majority in 1783, when he had a separate establishment assigned 
him, with Carlton House as a residence. Like other heirs- 
apparent of this house, he had thrown himself into the ranks of the 
opposition, from which his friends were chiefly selected, as lord 
North, Fox, Burke, Sheridan, Windham, Erskine, and others. By 
improving his residence, by losses at the gaming-table and on the 
turf, as well as by the expenses incident to his station, and to a 
youthful prince of gay and voluptuous habits, he had contracted 
a large debt ; and such was his distress that, in 1786, an execution 
was put into his house for the sum of 600Z. The king, whose 
regular and moral habits led him to view the prince's course of life 
with high disapprobation, refused to assist him, especially as it 
was believed that, in violation of the Royal Marriage Act, he had 
contracted a private marriage with Mrs. Fitzherbert, a Roman catholic 
lady of great personal charms, correct conduct, and elegant manners. 
The prince was obliged to reduce his establishment, sell his horses, 
and suspend the works at Carlton House. At length the prince's 
embarrassments were forced upon the notice of Mr. Pitt by the 
opposition ; and, to avoid a threatened motion upon the subject, the 
king instructed the minister to propose, on the understanding^that 
the prince would reform his expenditure, an increase of 10,000Z. per 
annum to his income, together with the sum of 161,000?. for the 
discharge of his debts, and 20,000Z. for the works at Carlton House. 

§ 2. In 1786 Burke brought forward his celebrated impeachment 
of Warren Hastings. To understand this subject it will be neces- 
sary briefly to resume the history of India from an earlier period.* 
Great disorder had prevailed during the absence of Clive. The 
government had fallen into the hands of Mr. Vansittart, who was 
by no means competent to conduct it. The native princes could no 
longer be kept in subjection ; the servants of the company were 
amassing great wealth by bribery and extortion, whilst the com- 
pany itself was on the verge of bankruptcy. In May, 1765, lord 
Clive again landed at Calcutta, having, after an arduous struggle, 
obtained the appointment of governor and commander-in-chief in 
Bengal. As yet there was no central government ; and the three 
* See p. 610. 



a.d. 1765-1786. AFFAIRS IN INDIA. 637 

presidencies of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, were in a state of 
rivalry. Clive first applied himself to remedy the abuses in the 
company's service. He made the civil officers bind themselves in 
writing to accept no more presents from the native princes ; and 
he ordered the military to relinquish the double batta, or additional 
allowances, granted to them by Meer Jaffier after the battle of 
Plassy. This order produced a mutiny. Nearly 200 officers, and 
among them sir Robert Fletcher, the second in command, conspired 
to throw up their commissions on the same day. Clive immediately 
repaired to the camp at Monghir ; and, having assembled the officers, 
pointed out to them the guilt of their conduct, declared his resolu- 
tion to suppress the mutiny, and to supply the place of the mutineers 
by other officers from Madras, or even by the clerks and civil 
servants of the company. He then cashiered sir R. Fletcher, and 
caused the ringleaders to be arrested and sent to Calcutta for trial. 
The rest now entreated to be allowed to recal their resignations — 
a request which was in most instances granted, but only as an act 
of grace and favour, whilst the vacancies were supplied by a judicious 
promotion of subalterns. Clive also placed the jurisdiction of the 
company on a satisfactory footing ; and he procured from Shah 
Alum, emperor of Delhi, a deed conferring on them the sole 
administration of the provinces of Bengal, Orissa, and Behar. Clive 
returned to England in January, 1767. 

In his absence affairs again went wrong. In the Madras presi- 
dency, Hyder Ali, founder of the kingdom of Mysore, the most 
daring and skilful enemy the English bad ever encountered in India, 
finding his advances neglected by the company, joined the Mahratta 
chieftains, threatened the capital itself, and extorted an advantageous 
peace. The company's trade suffered to such an extent that, in the 
spring of 1769, India stock fell 60 per cent. In 1770 Bengal was 
afflicted by a famine, which is computed to have carried off one-third 
of the inhabitants. The disasters and misrule in India, and the 
declining state of the company's affairs, at length attracted the 
attention, of government, and committees of inquiry were appointed 
in 1772. In the spring of the following year lord North, by the 
act called the Regulating Act, made several reforms in the constitu- 
tion of the company, both with regard to the court at home and 
the management of affairs in India. The most remarkable feature 
of this act was, that the governor of Bengal was invested with 
authority over the other presidencies, and with the title of governor- 
general of India, but was himself subjected to the control of his 
council. Warren Hastings, who had been appointed to the govern- 
ment of Bengal in the previous year, was the first governor-general 

of India. 

29 



638 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxii. 

In the same year general, at that time colonel, Burgoyne, a soldier 
who had seen little service, moved a vote of censure on the man who 
had established our empire in the East. Olive's wealth, and his 
magnificent seat at Claremont, had attracted envy ; and there were 
questionable circumstances in his extraordinary career. He had, 
in his public capacity, fought deceit with its own weapons. He 
had sanctioned the forgery of admiral Watson's signature in order 
to deceive the traitor Omichund, who had threatened to reveal 
the conspiracy to dethrone Surajah Dowlah. But Clive derived no 
private advantage from the act. This and other matters were 
objected to him, whilst all his eminent services were forgotten 
or overlooked. Burgoyne carried the first part of his resolutions, 
affirming certain matters of fact that had been proved against 
Clive; the second part, censuring him for having abused his 
powers, was negatived; and, on the motion of Wedderburn, it 
was unanimously added to the resolutions carried, " that Bobert, 
lord Clive, did at the same time render great and meritorious 
services to his country." But the taunts to which he had been 
subjected had sunk deep into his mind ; he was accustomed to 
complain that he had been examined like a sheep-stealer ; and his 
melancholy temperament, which even in early youth had displayed 
itself in an attempt at suicide, now further aggravated by ill health 
and perhaps also by a life of inaction, led him to lay violent hands 
on himself (November 22, 1774), before he had attained his 50th 
year.* 

§ 3. The administration of "Warren Hastings was able and 
vigorous. He reformed and improved the revenues of India; he 
transferred the government of Bengal to tht company, leaving only 
a phantom of power at Moorshedabad ; he resumed the possession 
of Allahabad and Corah, and discontinued the tribute to Shah 
Alum. But his measures for replenishing the company's treasury 
were not always scrupulous. The vizier of Oude being desirous of 
subjugating the neighbouring country of Rohilcund, Hastings did 
not hesitate to lend him some British bayonets for that purpose, in 
consideration, when the conquest was acomplished, of a payment of 
40 lacs of rupees. The measures of Hastings were impeded and 
disconcerted by his council. In October, 1774, general Clavering, 
colonel Monson, and Mr. Philip Francis arrived in India, having 
been appointed members of the governor-general's council. These 
men were utterly ignorant of Indian affairs, yet they united in 
opposing every measure of Hastings. Francis was their leader, 

* His son was created an English baron l the family of Herbert. His descendants 
in 1794, and earl Powis in 1804, having assumed the name of Herbert instead of 
married the sister of the last earl of ' Clive. 



a.d. 1772-1785. ADMINISTRATION OF WARREN HASTINGS. 639 

and he and his confederates formed the majority of the council, 
which consisted, besides them, only of Hastings himself and Mr. 
Barwell. Thus they were able to control all the steps of the 
governor, and to wrest from him his patronage ; nay, they even 
took steps to bring him to trial on a cbarge of corruption, but 
Hastings refused to submit to their jurisdiction. He afterwards 
prosecuted in the supreme court some of the natives who had been 
incited to accuse him ; and in August, 1775, one of them, the 
Rajah Nuncomar, was hanged. By this decisive step Hastings 
recovered the respect of the natives, of which the conduct of the 
council had deprived him. 

After the death of colonel Monson, in September, 1776, Hastings 
recovered his authority in the council, by virtue of his casting vote. 
Attempts were made both in India and at home to deprive him of 
the government, but without success ; and when the war with 
France broke out in 1778, it was felt, even by his enemies, that 
his great abilities could not be spared. It was under his auspices, 
and with the assistance of sir Hector Munro, that Chandernagore, 
Pondicherry, and the other French settlements in India, were 
captured. An expedition against the Mahratta chiefs proved not 
so fortunate. The British force, hemmed in at Wargaum, was 
obliged to capitulate, on condition of restoring all the conquests 
made from the Mahrattas since 1756. All India seemed now in a 
conspiracy against us. Hyder Ali availed himself of our entangle- 
ment with the Mahrattas to overrun the Madras presidency ; and 
a body of 3000 of our troops, under colonel Baillie, was surprised 
and cut to pieces. Munro, at the head of 5000 more, only saved 
himself by a precipitate flight. All the open country lay at Hyder's 
mercy ; and the smoke of the burning villages around struck alarm 
into the capital itself. At this juncture Hastings signally displayed 
his genius and presence of mind. He immediately abandoned his 
favourite scheme of the Mahratta war, and, conceding to the chiefs 
the main points at issue, tendered offers not only of peace but even 
of alliance. He then despatched every available soldier in Bengal, 
under the command of sir Eyre Coote, by whose military genius he 
was ably seconded, to the rescue of Madras. Coote defeated Hyder 
Ali in a great battle at Porto Novo (July 1, 1781), again at 
Pollalore (August 27), and a third time at Vellore (September 27). 
These victories led to the recovery of the open country, and saved 
the Carnatic. In 1782, after again defeating Hyder Ali at Arnee 
(June 2), Coote retired for a while to Calcutta. In December of 
that year Hyder died, and Coote, anxious to measure swords with 
his son and successor Tippoo, proceeded in 1783 to the Carnatic. 
The vessel in which he sailed was chased two days and nights by 



640 GEORGE ITI. Chap, xxxii. 

some French men-of-war. Coote's anxiety kept him constantly on 
deck ; his feeble health received a fatal blow, and two days after 
landing at Madras he expired. 

§ 4. The exertions for the relief of Madras had exhausted the 
resources of Bengal ; yet the India proprietors at home expected 
large remittances. In order to raise them, Hastings had recourse to 
t he feudatory rajahs, and above all to Chey te Sing, rajah of Benares, 
from whom he was accused of extorting an exorbitant fine of 
500,000Z. for having delayed to pay 50,000£. He was said also to 
have received from this rajah two lacs of rupees for his private use, 
to have retained the money some time, and then placed it to the 
credit of the company. But it was his treatment of the Begums of 
Oude that was most loudly denounced by his enemies. The govern- 
ment had large claims on Asaph ul Dowlah, nabob vizier of Oude. 
To satisfy these claims Hastings compelled him to extort large sums 
from the Begums, his mother and grandmother, the mother and 
widow of Sujah ul Dowlah; although Asaph ul Dowlah, after wring- 
ing large sums of money from them, had signed a treaty, sanctioned 
by the council of Bengal, by which he pledged himself to make no 
further demands upon them. As this treaty, however, had been 
made contrary to the wishes of Hastings, and when bis authority 
was overruled by the council, he now disregarded it. To extort the 
money from the Begums, two aged eunuchs, their principal minis- 
ters, were thrown into prison and deprived of all food till they con- 
sented to reveal the place where the treasure of the princesses was 
concealed. Many other severities were continued through the year 
1782, till upwards of a million sterling had been extorted. 

Hastings concluded a peace with Tippoo in the autumn of 1783, 
on the basis of mutual restitution, and then proceeded to Lucknow 
to tranquillize that district. Towards the close of 1784, he an- 
nounced his intention of retiring ; and when he sailed for England 
in the spring of 1785, peace prevailed throughout India. Mr. 
M'Pherson, senior member of the council, succeeded to the vacant 
government, till lord Cornwallis was appointed governor-general 
(February, 1786). 

Such were the chief transactions which, whether truly or falsely 
represented, gave rise to the impeachment of Warren Hastings by 
Burke, who brought forward 22 articles, comprehending a great 
variety of charges. The first, on the subject of the Bohilla war, 
was negatived by a considerable majority, and the whole impeach- 
ment seemed to be upset. But on May 13 Fox moved the charge 
respecting Cheyte Sing and the proceedings at Benares ; when Pitt, 
after a speech in which at first he appeared to exculpate Hastings, 
concluded by observing that he had acted in an arbitrary and 



A.D. 1783-1789. THE FEENCH REVOLUTION. 641 

tyrannical manner, by imposing a fine so shamefully exorbitant. 
This conclusion took the house by surprise, and on a division the 
impeachment was voted. Nothing further was done in the matter 
till February, 1787, when Sheridan moved the Oude charge in a 
most brilliant harangue. This motion was also supported by Pitt, 
and an impeachment was voted. Other articles were subsequently 
carried, and Burke, accompanied by a great number of members, 
proceeded to the bar of the House of Lords, and impeached 
Hastings of high crimes and misdemeanours. Hastings was com- 
mitted to custody, but released on bail. His trial did not com- 
mence till the spring of 1788, and lasted seven years, when he 
was acquitted by a large majority on all the charges. Whatever 
may be thought of the acts which he committed for the interest 
of the East India Company, his personal disinterestedness was 
proved by the fact that he was indebted to the bounty of the 
directors for the means of passing the remainder of his days in a 
manner becoming his high station. 

§ 5. In 1788 the king was seized with a violent illness. As the 
symptoms terminated in lunacy, it became necessary in October 
to subject him to medical treatment, and he was placed under 
the care of Dr. Willis, who was both a physician and a clergyman. 
In this seclusion of the crown, Fox insisted on the exclusive right 
of the prince of Wales to be appointed regent — a position which 
Pitt triumphantly refuted. Not, however, that he opposed the 
nomination of the prince ; he merely denied that he had any natural 
or legal right, without the authority of parliament. Committees 
were appointed in both houses to search for precedents ; but, whilst 
the bill for a regency was in progress, the king's convalescence was 
announced (February, 1789). (Supplement, Note XXVIII.) 

An event was now impending which was destined to shake 
Europe to its foundations. To outward appearance France seemed 
to be in a prosperous condition. She was at peace with all 
Europe; she had achieved a triumph over England, her ancient 
rival, by helping to emancipate her rebellious colonies ; yet she 
was herself on the brink of a terrible convulsion. To trace the 
causes, or to detail the events, of the French Revolution, falls not 
within the scope of this book. Our notice of it must be confined 
to those results which, from the vicinity of the two countries, and 
their constant intercourse, could not fail of affecting this country. 
The French had been regarded in England as the slaves of an 
absolute monarch, and the early efforts of the revolution were looked 
upon by many amongst us as the first steps towards a system of 
constitutional freedom. The storming of the Bastile was almost 
as much applauded in London as in Paris. But the burnings, the 



642 



GEORGE III. 



Chap, xxxrr. 



plundering, the murders, which ensued, and degraded what once 
had been considered the politest nation in the world into a horde 
of savages, soon alienated most English hearts. Party feeling 
was embittered in England ; the names of democrat and aristo- 
crat bade fair to supplant those of whig and tory ; and a stronger 
line of demarcation than ever was drawn between political sections. 
Friends who had long acted together now parted for ever; in 
particular, the separation of Burke from Fox and his party was 
conspicuous from the genius and eminence of the men. The con- 
gratulations addressed to the National Assembly of France by a 
club in London, called the Revolution Society, established to 
commemorate the Revolution of 1688, under the signature of 
earl Stanhope, tbeir chairman, incited Burke to publish his " Re- 
flections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings of 
certain Societies in London." In the most eloquent and impressive 
language, he denounced the proceedings in France, and almost pro- 
phetically foretold the future destinies of that country (1790).* 
This publication called forth many attacks and answers, of which 
the most remarkable were Thomas Paine's " Rights of Man," and 
the Vindicise Oallicse of Sir James Macintosh. The former is 
written in a coarse but forcible style ; the latter in elegant language, 
palliating the excesses of the movement as the necessary concomitants 
of all revolutions. These three works produced a prodigious effect 
on public opinion in England. It was not, however, till May, 1791, 
in a debate concerning Canada, that Burke, in a powerful and 
affecting speech, wholly separated himself from Fox. 

§ 6. The Unitarians were the most ardent admirers of the French 
revolution. Dr. Priestley, a leading member of the sect, proposed 
to celebrate at Birmingham the anniversary of the capture of the 
Bastile by a dinner, which was prepared on the appointed day (July 
14, 1790) at an hotel in the town, in spite of the plainest symptoms 
of an intended riot. The party, consisting of upwards of 80 gentle- 
men, were received with hisses by the mob ; the windows of the hotel 
were smashed ; two meeting-houses were destroyed, as well as the 
dwelling of Dr. Priestley, together with his valuable library and 
philosophical instruments, and the manuscripts of works which had 
cost him years of labour. 

The decree of the Constituent Assembly (September 14, 1791), 
wresting Avignon and the Venaissin from the pope, showed that the 
French revolutionary power would not long respect the territorial 



* It is not so much as a history of the 
French Revolution that Burke's " Reflec- 
tions " are valuable, as for the profound 
philosophical insight the work affords into 



the principles of the English constitution, 
of politics in general, and the immutable 
laws on which they rest. 



a.d. 1790-1793. ATTITUDE OF EUROPE. 643 

rights of others. The person and authority of Louis XVI. were 
no longer respected. His attempted flight, which was stopped at 
Varennes (June, 1791), and the outcries of the French emigrants, 
headed by the Comte d'Artois, filled Europe, and especially Germany, 
with alarm. The emperor Leopold II., and Frederick III. , king of 
Prussia, attended by many of their chief nobility, held a conference 
in August at Pilnitz, near Dresden. They signed a declaration that 
the interests of Europe were imperilled in the person of Louis. 
Hopes of succour were held out ; Eussia, Spain, and the principal 
states of Italy, subsequently declared their adherence to these views. 
England alone observed a strict neutrality. The war was begun by 
France. Leopold died in March, 1792, and Dumouriez, the Girondist 
minister for foreign affairs (for the Girondins were now in the ascen- 
dant), demanded from the emperor Francis II., as king of Hungary 
and Bohemia, an explanation of his views with regard to France. 
As his answers were considered evasive, war was declared (April 
20). An army of Austrians and Prussians now took the field, 
under the command of the duke of Brunswick, who on July 25 
published, against his own better judgment, that ill-considered 
manifesto which probably hastened the dethronement and murder 
of Louis XVI. The irritating and offensive language of the mani- 
festo was not supported by vigorous action. The deposition of the 
king, the massacres of September in Paris, the defeat of Valmy, 
and finally the retreat of the duke of Brunswick, followed in rapid 
succession. 

These events occasioned a great ferment in London. The militia 
was embodied, the Tower was fortified and guarded. A numerous 
meeting of merchants, bankers, and traders signed a loyal declara- 
tion, pledging themselves to uphold the constitution. The execu- 
tion of the French king (January 21, 1793) provoked a still deeper 
sensation throughout the country. The French ambassador was 
dismissed, and immediate hostilities were anticipated. The ancient 
jealousies and rivalries between the two nations still subsisted, in 
spite of the imitation of English fashions, and some ill-understood 
admiration of English literature, which had been introduced into 
France by the duke of Orleans, and obtained the name of Anglo- 
mania. The French had displayed their willingness to interfere in 
the domestic affairs of other countries, by the decree of November 
19, 1792, declaring themselves ready to fraternize with all nations 
desirous of recovering their liberty. In England various meetings 
and societies had voted congratulatory addresses to the French on 
their proceedings. Monge, the French minister of marine, in a 
circular letter of December 31, 1792, distinctly avowed the notion 
of flying to the assistance of the English republicans against their 



644 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxir. 

tyrannical government ; and on February 3, 1793, the French 
declared war against England and Holland. 

Till now Pitt had been sanguine of peace. He was busy in 
establishing his great project of a sinking fund for reducing the, 
national debt. He had supported the efforts of Wilberforce for the 
abolition of slavery ; and, like most of his countrymen, he contem- 
plated the further extension of the revolution with the strongest 
aversion. 

§ 7. The whole of Europe was arrayed against the French, 
but the vigour of their measures enabled them to disconcert 
the ill-conceived and dilatory schemes of their enemies. In a short 
time they had no fewer than eight armies on foot ; but into the 
detail of military operations we cannot enter, even briefly, further 
than England is concerned. In the course of the spring (1793) 
10,000 British troops under the duke of York landed at Ostend ; 
and, having joined the imperial army under the prince of Coburg, 
assisted to defeat the French at St. Amand. The success of the 
attack on the French camp at Famars (May 23) was chiefly owing 
to the British division, which turned the enemy's right. They 
were next employed in the siege of Valenciennes, which surrendered 
(July 25). The duke of York subsequently undertook the siege 
of Dunkirk, but without success ; he was obliged to retreat upon 
Fumes, and in November the armies went into winter quarters. 
In the East and West Indies the English arms were more success- 
ful. In the former, Chandernagore, Pondicherry, and one or two 
smaller French settlements, fell into our hands; in the latter, 
Tobago, as well as St. Pierre and Miquelon, near Newfoundland, were 
captured, but the attempts on Martinique and St. Domingo failed. 

In the same year the insurrection at Toulon was aided by the 
fleet cruising in the Mediterranean under the command of lord 
Hood, consisting of English, Spanish, and Neapolitan vessels. A 
French fleet of 18 sail of the line lay in Toulon harbour ; but, after 
a little show of resistance, Hood and the Spanish commander took 
possession of the place in the name of Louis XVII. General O'Hara 
arrived from Gibraltar with reinforcements, and assumed the com- 
mand. But even then the garrison was too small for the defence of 
Toulon against a besieging army of 30,000 men, especially as they 
had to struggle with jealousies and dissensions among themselves 
and treachery on the part of the inhabitants. It was on this scene 
that that extraordinary man first appeared, who was to sway for a 
brief period the destinies of Europe. Napoleon Bonaparte, then a 
chef de bataillon, was despatched to Toulon by the Committee of 
Public Safety as second in command of the artillery ; but the siege 
was in reality conducted by his advice. By degrees, the heights 



a.d. 1793-1794. PREPARATIONS FOE THE CAMPAIGN. 645 

which surround the place were captured by the French; and 
when the eminence of Pharon fell into their hands, Toulon was no 
longer tenable. Before retiring it was determined to burn the fleet 
and arsenal ; a task which was intrusted to the Spanish, under 
admiral Langara, and a body of British under captain sir Sidney 
Smith : but, owing to the remissness of the former, the operation was 
badly conducted. Nevertheless three sail of the line and 12 frigates 
were carried to England, and nine sail of the line and some smaller 
vessels were burnt by Smith. The allies also carried off as many 
of the royalist inhabitants as possible, to save them from the 
vengeance of the republican army. 

§ 8. In September Gamier des Saintes proposed and carried in 
the Convention a vote denouncing Pitt as an enemy of the human 
race. This patron of mankind wished to add to the resolution that 
anybody had a right to assassinate the English minister ; but the 
Convention was not quite prepared to adopt so abominable a 
doctrine. The manufactures of Great Britain were strictly pro- 
hibited in France ; and it was ordered that all British subjects in 
whatever part of the republic should be arrested, and their property 
confiscated. 

The preparations for the campaign of 1794 seemed to promise 
something of importance. The French had three armies on their 
northern frontier, those of the North, the Rhine, and the Moselle, 
amounting to 500,000 men. and mostly animated with an enthu- 
siastic spirit. Voltaire, one of the literary patriarchs of the revolu- 
tion, had laughed at the English shooting admiral Byng, " pour 
encourager les autres ; " but the French themselves had on this 
occasion provided a like stimulus for defective patriotism or valour. 
An ambulatory guillotine, under the superintendence of St. Just 
and Le Bas, accompanied the march of the French army, and in 
cases of failure it was put into operation. The forces of the allies 
were also large, but inferior to the French. The emperor com- 
manded in person 140,000 men, and had besides an army of 60,000 
Austrians on the Rhine ; the Prussians amounted to 65,000 ; the 
duke of York was at the head of 40,000 British and Hanoverians; 
and there was also a body of 32,000 emigrants and others. But 
division reigned among the allies. Austria and Prussia were jealous 
of each other, and intent on objects of selfish aggrandisement, to 
which the affairs of France were quite subordinated. Prussia de- 
manded and received large subsidies from England, nor would 
Russia move an army without the same support. 

The plan of the campaign was to take Landrecies and advance 
upon Paris. The siege was assigned to three divisions of the allied 
army, under the duke of York, the prince of Coburg, and the herc- 
29* 



646 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxii. 

ditary prince of Orange. There was much manoeuvring along the 
whole line of frontier from Luxembourg to Nieuport, and several 
skirmishes and battles, attended with various success. The most 
remarkable of these was the battle of Turcoing. The object was to 
cut off the left wing of the French and drive them towards the sea, 
when they must have surrendered. The emperor superintended the 
attack in person, which was made with 90,000 men ; but the opera- 
tion proved a failure in consequence of the various divisions not 
arriving at the appointed time. On the following morning (May 
18, 1794), the duke of York was surrounded at Turcoing by superior 
bodies of French, who took 1500 prisoners and 50 guns, but left 
4000 men on the field. The duke himself escaped only through 
the fieetness of his horse. The British troops retrieved this disgrace 
a few days afterwards at Pont-a-chin ; whore Pichegru, the French 
general, with 100,000 men, made a general attack on the right 
wing of the allies. The battle had raged from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m., and 
the allies were beginning to give way, when the duke of York 
despatched to their support seven battalions of Austrians and the 2nd 
brigade of British infantry. The latter threw themselves into the 
centre of the French army, bayonet in hand, and completely routed 
them. Alarmed at the display of British valour on this and other 
occasions, the Convention passed a dastardly and ferocious decree, 
that no quarter should be given to British or Hanoverians. But 
the French generals refused to execute it. 

On June 26 the allies were totally defeated on the plains of 
Fleurus, and were compelled to retreat. This battle sealed the fate 
of Flanders, nearly all the towns of which fell into the hands of the 
French. Led by generals Moreau, Jourdan, and Pichegru, they 
were equally successful on the Bhine and wherever they were en- 
gaged. During this time the Beign of Terror was in full vigour in 
France ; but it was drawing towards its close, and on July 28 
Bobespierre was executed. 

The prince of Orange and duke of York had been compelled to 
retire gradually before the overwhelming armies of the French. 
Towards winter they entered Amsterdam, and a little afterwards 
the duke resigned his command to general Walmoden and returned 
to England. The Dutch had determined to defend themselves by 
inundating the country ; but they were deprived of this resource by 
a severe frost. The French crossed the rivers and canals on the ice ; 
and then was beheld the singular spectacle of a fleet, frozen up at 
the entrance of the Zuyder Zee, captured by land forces and artillery. 
The Stadtholder and a great number of Dutch of the higher classes 
fled to England. The British troops, unable to maintain their 
position in the province of Utrecht, retreated towards Westphalia, 



a.d. 1794. LORD HOWE'S VICTORY. 647 

enduring the most dreadful sufferings, both from the rigour of the 
season and the barbarity of their allies, who plundered, insulted, 
and sometimes murdered the sick and wounded. At length they 
reached Bremen, and embarked for England in March, 1795. A 
large portion of the Dutch nation were willing to fraternize with 
the French, and Holland submitted to them without resistance. 

§ 9. As in the preceding year, the disasters of England on the 
continent were in a great degree compensated by her naval successes 
and her victories in other quarters. In the summer of 1794, Corsica 
was taken by admiral lord Hood and annexed to the British crown ; 
but in 1796 the French recovered it by a revolt of the inhabitants. 
In this expedition colonel Moore and captain Nelson highly dis- 
tinguished themselves. At the siege of Calvi, Nelson received a 
wound which destroyed the sight of his right eye. But the most 
brilliant victory of the year was that gained by lord Howe. The 
French had resolved to dispute the sovereignty of the seas, and had 
prepared at Brest a fleet of 26 ships of the line, commanded by Jean 
Bon St. Andre, once a calvinist minister. Howe fell in with them 
(May 28) with a larger number of ships ; but in weight of metal the 
French were much superior, having 1290 guns to 1012 of the English. 
A general engagement ensued on June 1, when, after an hour's hard 
fighting, Howe succeeded in breaking the French line. The French 
admiral then made for port, followed by all the ships capable of 
carrying sail. Seven ships were captured and one sunk during the 
action. For this victory lord Howe and the fleet received the thanks 
of parliament ; London was illuminated three nights ; and the king 
and queen, accompanied by some of the younger branches of the royal 
family, visited the fleet at Spithead, when the king presented Howe 
with a magnificent sword set in diamonds. Success also attended 
our arms in the West Indies, where admiral sir John Jervis and 
lieutenant-general sir Charles Grey captured Martinique, St. Lucie, 
and Les Saintes. But an attack upon the French portion of St. 
Domingo proved a failure. 

§ 10. In England attempts were made this year by seditious 
admirers of the French revolution to excite disturbances ; but the 
great mass of the public remained unmoved. Several prosecutions 
were instituted by government, the most remarkable of which were 
those of Hardy, Home Tooke, and Thelwall ; but convictions were 
obtained only in two instances at Edinburgh, where one individual 
was hanged and another transported for life. The ill success of the 
continental campaigns had increased the peace party ; but Mr. Pitt 
warmly supported the war as just and necessary. In April, 1795, 
Prussia, though she had accepted a subsidy from England, made a 
separate treaty with France, and the emperor required a loan of 



648 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxii. 

four or five millions to continue the war, which was granted. The 
western provinces of France were still in arms in favour of 
monarchy, and Pitt entertained their applications for assistance. A 
considerable body of French royalists, accompanied by a few 
English troops, landed at Quiberon in June ; but discord prevailed 
among the emigrants. They were opposed by the brave and skilful 
general Hoche, and were speedily obliged to surrender (July). 

After the flight of the Stadtholder to England, an embargo was 
laid on all Dutch shipping in English ports ; and, as the United 
Provinces had submitted to French domination, orders were issued 
for reprisals against them. In the West Indies, the Dutch colonies 
of Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo, were captured ; in the East, 
the greater part of the island of Ceylon, Malacca, Cochioa, and the 
other Dutch settlements on the continent. About the same time 
the Cape of Good Hope was taken ; and the whole of a squadron 
sent out by the Dutch in the following year to recapture it fell into 
the hands of admiral Elphinstone. Against these successes must 
be set off the retaking of St. Lucie and St. Vincent's by the French. 
Towards the close of the year a great disaster occurred. To retrieve 
our losses in the West Indies, a large fleet was despatched under 
admiral Christian, with 15,000 troops commanded by sir Ealph 
Abercrombie. Scarcely had they passed the isle of Portland when 
they were caught in a violent gale from the west ; many transports 
were wrecked ; the Chesil beach was strewed with corpses ; and the 
fleet was so much damaged that the expedition was wholly discon- 
certed. In the following year, however, the remains of it were 
refitted and despatched under admiral Cornwallis, and St. Lucie 
and St. Vincent's were recovered. 

In England sedition was inflamed by a bad harvest and the high 
price of bread. The king, proceeding to open parliament (October 
29), was assailed with groans and hootings, and a bullet, or marble, 
supposed to have been discharged from an air-gun, passed through 
his carriage-window. The same spirit was manifested on his 
return. Missiles of every kind were hurled at his coach ; and when 
he had alighted, the rabble followed it to the Mews, and broke it 
to pieces. During these outrages the king displayed the greatest 
composure, and delivered his speech with his usual firmness. 

§ 11. A peace had been effected between France and Spain by 
Don Emanuel Godoy, afterwards styled the Prince of the Peace ; 
and in the spring of 1796 an offensive and defensive alliance, with 
regard to England only, was concluded between these powers at San 
Ildefonso. The design of this alliance was to injure British com- 
merce by coercing Portugal. A French army was to march through 
Spain upon Lisbon ; and the queen of Portugal, in her alarm, con- 



a.d. 1796-1797. ATTEMPTED INVASIONS OF ENGLAND. 649 

sented to declare that city a free port. Spain, which soon after- 
wards declared war against Great Britain, was by this alliance 
placed as much at the disposal of France as by the Family Compact; 
but she only prepared the way for her own subsequent misfortunes. 

After their retreat from Holland, the English for a long time 
took no part in the struggle on the continent, and the war was 
confined to France and Austria by land, and France, Spain, and 
Great Britain at sea. This was the year of Bonaparte's splendid 
campaign in Italy (179G) ; but, in spite of their great successes in 
that quarter, the French met with reverses on the Rhine. The 
Directory seemed not disinclined for peace, and lord Malmesbury, 
who was despatched to make overtures, was received with acclama- 
tions by the Parisians. It was, however, soon evident, from the 
arrogant and insincere tone of the French minister, that peace was 
not really desired. Every opportunity was taken to insult and 
irritate lord Malmesbury. In December he received a rude message 
to quit Paris in 48 hours. The negociations had been protracted 
so long merely to prepare an expedition against Ireland ; and two 
days after lord Malmesbury's departure a French fleet sailed from 
Brest. It was, however, dispersed by a storm. Only a small portion 
of it succeeded in reaching Bantry Bay ; but the inhabitants proved 
hostile, and the attempt was frustrated. This attempt was con- 
nected with another scheme for the invasion of England. A body 
of about 1200 malefactors and galley-slaves were to have ascended 
the Avon and burnt Bristol ; but, having been landed at Fish- 
guard Bay in Pembrokeshire, they surrendered to about half their 
number of fencibles and militia collected by lord Cawdor. The two 
frigates which brought them were captured on their way home. 

The war had pressed heavily upon the resources of the country, 
and early in 1797 it was evident that the Bank of England, which 
had advanced 10^ millions for the public service, would be unable 
to meet its payments in specie. In February an order in council 
appeared, prohibiting the Bank from paying their notes in specie. 
At a meeting of the principal bankers and merchants in London, it 
was resolved to take Bank notes to any amount ; notes of 11. and 
21. were issued, and in March Pitt brought in his Bank Restriction 
Bill, the main provisions of which were to indemnify the Bank for 
refusing cash payments, and to prohibit them from making such pay- 
ments except in sums under 20s. The bill was to continue in force 
till June 24. Afterwards the term was prolonged, and the Bank did 
not resume cash payments till some years after the war (in 1821). 

§ 12. The French, to whom Spain and Holland were now sub- 
sidiary, determined upon an invasion of England on a grand scale, 
and large fleets, amounting to more than 70 sail, were got ready at 



650 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxii. 

the Texel, Brest, and Cadiz. Commodore Nelson, whilst sailing 
with a convoy to Gibraltar, descried a Spanish fleet of 27 sail of the 
line off Cape St. Vincent, and hastened to notify it to admiral Jervis, 
who was cruising with 15 sail of the line. Nelson hoisted his pend- 
ant on board the Captain, of 74 guns ; and the hostile fleets came 
in sight at daybreak on February 14, 1797. The Spaniards were not 
only superior in number, but also in the size of their ships. Among 
them was the Santissima Trinidad, of 136 guns on four decks, sup- 
posed to be the largest man-of-war in the world. Jervis cut off nine 
of their ships before they could form their line of battle, eight of which 
immediately took to flight. Of their remaining ships, Nelson, sup- 
ported by captain Trowbridge in the Oidloden, engaged no fewer 
than six; namely, the Santissima Trinidad, the San Josef, and the 
Salvador del Mondo, each of 112 guns, and three seventy-fours. He 
was nobly supported by captain Frederick in the Blenheim, and 
captain Collingwood in the Excellent. When Nelson's ship was 
nearly disabled, and his ammunition almost expended, he found 
himself exposed to the fire from the San Josef. Boarding the San 
Nicolas, he next headed a party and took the San Josef, himself lead- 
ing the way, and exclaiming, " Westminster Abbey or victory ! " 
The Spanish admiral declined renewing the fight, though many of our 
ships were quite disabled, and at the close of the day he made his 
escape in the Santissima Trinidad. For this victory sir John 
Jervis was raised to the peerage by the title of earl St. Vincent, 
with a pension of 3000Z. a year. Nelson was included in a promo- 
tion of rear-admirals, and received the Order of the Bath. In July 
he made an unsuccessful attempt on the town of Santa Cruz in 
Teneriffe, with a small squadron, but, on the point of landing, his 
right arm was shattered by a shot, and he was obliged to have it 
amputated. 

§ 13. Though our navy formed both the glory and the safeguard 
of the country, yet in this very year it threatened to be the source of 
our disgrace and ruin. Discontent was lurking among the seamen, 
who complained that they only received the wages fixed in the 
reign of Charles II., though the prices of articles had risen at least 
30 per cent. ; — that their provisions were deficient in weight and 
measure ; — that they were not properly tended when sick ; — that 
their pay was stopped when they were wounded ; — and that when in 
port they were detained on board ship. On May 7 a mutiny broke 
out in the fleet at Spithead. Upon the signal being given to weigh, 
the crew of the Queen Charlotte, the flag-ship, instead of obeying, 
ran up the shrouds and gave three cheers, which were answered 
from the other ships. Two delegates from each then went on board 
the Queen Charlotte, where orders were framed for the government of 



a.d. 1797. MUTINY IN THE NAVY. 651 

the fleet, and petitions were drawn up to the House of Commons and 
the lords of the Admiralty for a redress of grievances. This alarm- 
ing mutiny was at length suppressed hy judicious concessions, and 
by the personal influence of lord Howe, who was deservedly popular 
among the seamen, and who, at the king's request, proceeded on 
board the fleet. But no sooner was the mutiny at Spithead quelled, 
than another still more dangerous broke out among the ships in the 
Medway. One Kichard Parker, formerly a small shopkeeper in 
Scotland, was the ringleader. Though illiterate, he was a man of 
quick intellect and determined will, and assumed the style of rear- 
admiral Parker. The ships were withdrawn from Sheerness to the 
Nore, to be out of reach of the batteries ; the obnoxious officers were 
sent on shore and the red flag hoisted. The demands of the muti- 
neers were more peremptory and more extensive than those made 
at Portsmouth, and embraced important alterations in the Articles 
of War. Altogether 24 or 25 ships were included in the mutiny. 
The mutineers seized certain store-ships, fired on some frigates that 
were about to put to sea, and had even the audacity to blockade the 
mouth of the Thames. Gloom and depression pervaded the metro- 
polis, and the Funds fell to an unheard-of price. All attempts at 
conciliation having failed, it became necessary to resort to stringent 
measures. Pitt brought in a bill for the better prevention and 
punishment of attempts to seduce seamen ; and another forbidding 
all intercourse with the mutineers, on the penalty of felony. 
Several ships and numerous gunboats were armed ; batteries were 
erected on shore ; the mutineers were prevented from landing to 
obtain fresh water or provisions; and all the buoys and beacons 
were removed, so as to render egress from the Thames impossible. 
A great part of the crews had in their hearts continued loyal, and 
the proposal to carry the fleet into a French port was rejected with 
horror. One by one the ships engaged in the mutiny began to drop 
off, and at last the Sandwich, Parker's flag-ship, ran in under the 
batteries and deli vered up the ringleaders. Parker was hanged at the 
yard-arm (June 30). He behaved at his death with great modesty 
and firmness, expressing a hope that his fate would be considered 
as some atonement for his crimes, and save the lives of others. 

Notwithstanding the defeat of their Spanish auxiliaries at St. 
Vincent, the French did not abandon their project of an invasion, 
and during the summer a fleet of 15 sail of the line, with frigates, 
under admiral de Winter, was prepared in the Texel to convey 
15,000 men to Ireland, then on the point of rebellion. Admiral 
Duncan, who was refitting in Yarmouth Eoads after the mutiny, hear- 
ing that De Winter had put to sea, joined his fleet in sight of the 
enemy, placed himself between them and a lee shore, off Camper- 



652 GEORGE III. Chap. xxxii. 

down, and after a desperate engagement, which lasted four hours, 
captured eight sail of the line, two ships of 56 guns, and a frigate 
(October 11). For this victory he was made viscount Duncan* of 
Camperdown, with a pension of 3000?. 

Duncan's victory was an effectual bar to all projects of invasion ; 
nevertheless the French still continued their empty menaces. 
Bonaparte, who was now rapidly advancing towards supreme power, 
had conceived a deadly hatred of this country. After compelling 
the Austrians to the peace of Campo Formio (October 17), he had 
returned to Paris, where he was enthusiastically received; the 
Directory called him to their councils, and consulted him on every 
occasion. An army, called the Army of England, was marched 
towards the Channel. A proclamation was issued, in which it is 
difficult to say whether the abuse of England or the vaunting laud- 
ation of France was the more silly and extravagant. A loan of 
about four millions sterling was proposed to be raised on the security 
of the contemplated conquest, but without effect. The threatened 
invasion was only a mask, intended to conceal an expedition which 
Bonaparte was now meditating against Egypt. 

§ 14. The English in their turn were not backward. In May, 
1798, Havre was bombarded by sir Bichard Strahan ; and in the 
same month an expedition, under sir Home Popham, was undertaken 
against Ostend. General Coote landed with 1000 men, and destroyed 
the basin, gates, and sluices of the Bruges canal, in order to inter- 
rupt the navigation between France and Flanders. But as the surf 
prevented their return to the ships, and on the following morning they 
were surrounded by several columns of the enemy drawn from the 
adjacent garrisons, they were outnumbered, and obliged to surrender. 

At the same period, Bonaparte, accompanied by a body of savans, 
sailed from Toulon on his Egyptian expedition, with 13 ships 
of the line and transports, conveying 20,000 men (May 19). His 
object was a mere desire of spoliation and aggrandizement, for 
the French had not the shadow of a grievance to allege against 
the Porte. On the way, Malta, then governed by the Grand Master 
and Knights of St. John, was surprised and seized with as little 
pretence. At the beginning of July the French landed between 
3000 and 4000 men near Alexandria, and captured that city after 
a slight resistance. They took Aboukir and Bosetta, and thus 
gained the command of one of the mouths of the Nile. Bonaparte 
issued a proclamation, in which he declared that the French were 
" true Mussulmans," and took credit for driving out the Christian 
Knights of Malta. He then crossed the desert, fought the battles of 
Chebreiss and the Pyramids, and seized Cairo, the capital of Egypt. 

* His son was created earl of Camperdown in 1831, 



A.D. 1798. BATTLE OF THE NILE. 653 

Meanwhile Nelson had been vainly looking out for the French 
fleet, and it was not till August 1 that he descried their trans- 
ports in the harbour of Alexandria. Their men-of-war were 
anchored in the Bay of Aboukir, as close as possible to the shore. 
Nevertheless Nelson determined to get inside of them with some of 
his vessels, a manoeuvre for which they were not prepared ; and, 
though the Culloden grounded in the attempt, Nelson persevered. 
Thus a great part of the enemy's fleet was placed between two fires. 
The battle began at six in the evening. By eight o'clock four ships of 
the Trench van had struck, but the combat still raged in the centre. 
Between nine and ten o'clock, the French admiral's ship, I? Orient, 
having caught fire, blew up with a terrible explosion, followed 
by a deep silence of full ten minutes. The battle was then 
renewed, and continued through the night, with only an hour's 
respite. Separate engagements occurred throughout the following 
day, and at noon rear-admiral Villeneuve escaped with four ships. 
On the following morning the only French ships remaining un- 
captured or undestroyed were the Timoleon and the Tonnant, when 
the latter surrendered, and the former was set on fire and abandoned 
by the crew. Such was the victory known as the " Battle of the 
Nile." From the heights of Rosetta the French beheld with con- 
sternation and dismay the destruction of their fleet, which deprived 
them of the means of returning to their country. Soon afterwards 
the islands of Gozo and Minorca fell into the hands of the English. 

The news of Nelson's victory was received with the sincerest 
demonstrations of joy not only at home, but through a great part 
of Europe. He was created baron Nelson of the Nile ana of Burn- 
ham Thorpe in Norfolk ; the thanks of both houses of parliament 
were voted to him, and an annuity of 2000/. He received also 
magnificent presents from the Grand Seignor, the emperor of Russia, 
and the king of Sardinia. His return to the Bay of Naples ani- 
mated the king to undertake an expedition against Rome, which 
was recovered from the French. At the same time Nelson landed 
6000 men and captured Leghorn. These enterprises, however, were 
rash and ill-considered. In a few days the French retook Rome 
and marched upon Naples itself, when the king took refuge on board 
Nelson's ship and proceeded to Sicily, which for some time became 
his home. Naples, deserted by the sovereign and the greater part 
of the nobility, was heroically defended by the lower classes and 
the lazzaroni ; but, as they had no artillery, they were forced to 
succumb, and the French established the Parthenopean Republic. 

In consequence of the battle of the Nile, an alliance was formed 
between England, Russia, and the Porte; and early in 1799 hostilities 
were recommenced between Austria and France. The Congress of 



654 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxii. 

Rastadt, which had been some time sitting with the view of arrang- 
ing a general pacification, was dissolved, and the French, defeated 
by the archduke Charles at the battle of Stockach, near the Lake 
of Constance (March 25), were obliged to recross the Ehine. At the 
same time the Kussians under Suwarov, advancing into Italy, 
recovered with extraordinary rapidity all the conquests made by 
Bonaparte, with the exception of Genoa. Suwarov then invaded 
Switzerland, but all his successes were compromised by the want 
of cordial co-operation between him and the Austrians. 

§ 15. After the alliance between England and Kussia, a joint expe- 
dition was agreed upon for the recovery of Holland, which was to be 
undertaken with 30,000 British troops under sir Balph Abercrombie 
and 17,000 Russians (1799). The first division of the British, under 
sir James Pulteney, general Moore, and general Coote, effected 
a landing, and after two severe encounters took the towns of the 
Helder and Huysduinen. The fleet entered the Texeh and the 
Dutch fleet of 13 ships of war, together with some, Indiamen 
and transports, surrendered by capitulation to admiral Mitchell 
(August 30). In the middle of September, by the arrival of some 
Russian divisions, and of the duke of York with three British 
brigades, the allied army amounted to 33,000 men, of which the 
duke was commander-in-chief. Several actions took place, attended 
with varying success and considerable losses on both sides. At 
length the duke, sensible of the advancing season, and finding that 
his army was reduced by 10,000 men, retired to a fortified position 
at the Zype, which he might have maintained by inundating the 
country ; but, as such an operation would have destroyed an im- 
mense amount of property and occasioned great misery to the Dutch, 
he preferred to capitulate. It was agreed that he should restore the 
Helder in the same state as before its capture, together with 8000 
Dutch and French prisoners, and that the allied army should re- 
embark without molestation before the end of November. Thus 
ended an expedition which, though unfortunate, can hardly be 
called disgraceful. As a sort of compensation, the Dutch colony 
of Surinam was conquered this summer. 

Meanwhile the situation of the French in Egypt had become very 
critical. The army was seized with alarm and dejection ; many 
committed suicide ; but Bonaparte retained his presence of mind. 
Having despatched Desaix against the Mamelukes in Upper Egypt, 
he himself undertook an expedition into Palestine against Djezzar 
Pasha. El Arish, Graza, Jaffa, yielded to his arms. At Jaffa he 
massacred in cold blood between 3000 and 4000 prisoners. But at 
St. Jean d'Acre, the key of Syria, he was met by sir Sidney Smith, 
to whom the sultan had entrusted his fleet. Sir Sidney destroyed 



a.d. 1798. DISTURBANCES IN IRELAND. 655 

the flotilla that was conveying the French battering-train ; never- 
theless they continued the siege with field-pieces. After a siege of 
two months, and several assaults, Bonaparte was compelled to 
retreat, though he had resorted to the treachery of ordering an 
assault after sending in a flag of truce. Returning to Egypt to- 
wards the end of August, he went on board a French man-of-war 
in the night, accompanied by some of his best generals, leaving the 
command of the army to Menou and Kleber. By hugging the 
African coast he escaped the English cruisers, and arrived safely at 
Frejus. Notwithstanding his ill success, his popularity had if 
possible increased in Paris. On the 18th of Brumaire (November 9), 
he turned out the two Legislative Assemblies at St. Cloud. The 
five Directors were compelled to resign, and a new executive, con- 
sisting of three consuls, Bonaparte, Sieyes, and Boger Ducos, took 
their places. 

§ 16. A measure was now in agitation in England for con- 
solidating the power and integrity of the empire by a union with 
Ireland. That country had been for some years in a very disturbed 
state. The examples of America and France had inspired many 
with the idea of establishing an independent republic. About 1793 
the society of United Irishmen, consisting mostly of Protestants, 
was formed. Its projector, a barrister named Theobald Wolfe Tone, 
having become secretary of the committee for managing the affairs 
of the Irish Roman catholics, effected an alliance between the two 
religious parties. The ramifications of this society extended 
throughout Ireland. Tone, having been detected in a treasonable 
correspondence with the French, was obliged to fly to America, 
whence he soon afterwards passed over to France, and employed 
himself in forwarding the projected invasions already mentioned 
in 1796 and 1797. Notwithstanding the frustration of these ex- 
peditions, the Irish malcontents did not abandon their plan of an 
insurrection. One of their principal leaders was lord Edward 
Fitzgerald, brother to the duke of Leinster. Fitzgerald was 
seconded by Arthur O'Connor, Napper Tandy, Thomas Addis 
Emmet, Oliver Bond, and others. But the conspiracy was divulged 
by one Thomas Reynolds, and some of the principal conspirators 
were arrested at a meeting held by them in Bond's house. 
(March 12, 1798). Fitzgerald happened not to be present, but he 
was discovered and seized about two months afterwards. He made a 
desperate resistance, wounding two of the officers sent to apprehend 
him, one of whom died of his injuries. He himself was shot with 
a bullet in the shoulder, the effects of which proved fatal. After 
this discovery martial law was proclaimed in Ireland, and many 
acts of violence and cruelty took place on both sides. Numerous 



656 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxii. 

engagements occurred in various quarters, in which the rebels were 
almost invariably defeated, except in Wexford, where they were in 
greatest force, and where they sometimes made head against the 
king's troops. Their principal camp or station was at Vinegar 
Hill, near the town of Wexford, and here they were defeated (June 
21) by general Lake, the commander-in-chief. Lord Cornwallis, 
the new viceroy, who arrived shortly afterwards, succeeded in 
reducing the country to comparative tranquillity. 

The union of England and Ireland had been discussed for many 
years as a speculative question, and these disturbances forced it 
upon the serious attention of the government. The king, in his 
speech on opening parliament (Jan. 22, 1800), alluded to the subject, 
and a few days afterwards Pitt brought forward a series of resolutions, 
which were carried after considerable debate. A bill embodying 
these resolutions passed both houses in the following July. By its 
main provisions, 100* Irish members were added to the English 
House of Commons, 32 Irish peers to the House of Lords — four 
spiritual and 28 temporal — whose seats were to be held for life. 
The measure passed both houses of the Irish parliament, and it was 
agreed that the Union should take effect on January 1, 1801. On 
that day, a council was held consisting of the most eminent 
dignitaries in church and state, including the royal princes. They 
issued proclamations for making the necessary changes in the king's 
title, the national arms, and the liturgy. The title of " King of 
France " was dropped and the fleurs de lys expunged from the 
royal arms; long since an empty pretension, which had proved 
inconvenient in recent negociations with France. 

§ 17. When Pitt brought forward this measure, he publicly re- 
nounced the opinions which he had formerly held on the subject of 
parliamentary reform. England had now, he considered, ridden 
through the revolutionary storm, and the change of circumstances 
produced by the French revolution justified a change of views. 

During the debates on the Union the Irish catholics remained 
almost entirely neutral, and what little feeling they displayed was 
in its favour. This is attributable to their hatred of the Orange- 
men, the warmest opponents of union, as also to the expectation 
that their demands would be more favourably considered in a united 
parliament than by a separate Irish legislature. Pitt was not 
adverse to their claims, and held out to them hopes to that effect. 

This year the king was shot at in his box at Drury-lane theatre 
(May 15). When the assassin was apprehended, he was found to be 
a lunatic named James Hatfield, and the attempt was not in any way 
connected with politics. But the deficient harvest this year, and 

* Now 105. 



a.d. 1801. RESIGNATION OF PITT. 657 

the consequent high, price of bread, occasioned much distress and 
discontent. Attacks on the property of farmers, millers, and corn- 
dealers, were frequent in the country and riots occurred in London. 

On December 25, 1799, Bonaparte addressed a letter personally 
to George III., containing overtures of peace ; but on receiving 
only an unfavourable reply, couched in official terms, and another 
of similar import from Austria, he crossed the Alps, and defeated the 
Austrians at Marengo (June 14, 1800). By this success he became 
master of northern Italy, while the battle of Hohenlinden, in 
Bavaria, gained by Moreau in December, by opening to the French 
the way to Vienna, enabled Bonaparte to dictate peace to the Aus- 
trians at Luneville (February 9, 1801). On the other hand, Malta 
surrendered to the British, after a blockade of two years (Sep- 
tember 5, 1800). 

Disputes had again occurred between England and the northern 
powers respecting the right of search, and they were artfully 
fomented by France. The emperor Paul was also offended by the 
rejection of his claims upon Malta, to which he thought himself 
entitled as Grand Master. In November, 1800, he proceeded to 
lay an embargo on British vessels and to sequester all British 
property in Russia. The masters and crews of about 300 ships 
were seized and carried in dispersed parties into the interior, 
where only a miserable pittance was assigned for their subsistence. 
Before the end of the year a league of armed neutrality was formed 
between Bussia and Sweden, and was soon after joined by Denmark. 

§ 18. While new difficulties were thus gathering around Eng- 
land, the statesman who had hitherto so ably directed her course 
was about to retire from the helm. Previously to the Union, Pitt 
had expressed himself in favour of the catholic claims, and 
before the first parliament of Great Britain and Ireland assembled 
he addressed a letter to the king (January 31, 1801), in which he 
expressed the opinion of himself and his colleagues, that Roman 
catholics should be admitted to sit in parliament and to hold public 
offices. George III. entertained very strong scruples on this sub- 
ject. He regarded any relaxation of the catholic disabilities as a 
breach of his coronation oath, and in this opinion he was confirmed 
by lord Loughborough, the chancellor. In his reply the king 
entreated Pitt not to leave office, but he would make no concessions 
to his views, and Pitt determined to resign. The king then sent for 
Mr. Addington, the speaker, who after some delay succeeded in 
forming a ministry. Sir John Scott obtained the chancellorship, 
with the title of lord Eldon ; his predecessor, lord Loughborough, 
retiring with a pension and the higher title of earl of Rossi yn. 
The threatening nature of the northern league now demanded 



658 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxii. 

serious attention. In March the king of Prussia had notified to 
the Hanoverian government his accession to the league, and the 
closing of the mouths of the Elbe, the Weser, and the Ems. He 
demanded and obtained immediate military possession of Hanover. 
A little previously Hamburg had been seized in the name of the 
king of Denmark by prince Charles of Hesse, at the head of 
15,000 men, and an embargo laid on all British property. Remon- 
strances having failed, a fleet of 18 sail of the line, with frigates, 
gunboats, and bomb-vessels, was despatched to Denmark, under 
the command of sir Hyde Parker, with Nelson as second in com- 
mand. The Danish navy itself was considerably superior to the force 
despatched against it, and Nelson pressed the necessity of hasten- 
ing operations before the breaking up of the ice should enable the 
Russians to come to the assistance of the enemy. The passage of 
the Sound was preferred to that of the Belt, though more exposed 
to the guns of the enemy, and by keeping near the Swedish coast 
the fire of Kronburg castle was avoided. Between Copenhagen and 
the sand-bank which defends its approach, the Danes had moored 
floating batteries mounting 70 guns ; and 13 men-of-war were also 
posted before the town. Nelson led in with the greater part of the 
fleet, and anchored off Draco point, while sir Hyde Parker with the 
remainder menaced the Crown batteries. Two of Nelson's ships 
grounded in going in, so that he could not extend his line. The 
action was hot, and sir Hyde Parker hoisted the signal to desist ; 
but Nelson would not see it, and, hoisting his own for closer action, 
ordered it to be nailed to the mast. The Danes, encouraged by the 
presence of the crown-prince, fought with desperate valour ; but by 
half-past three the Danish ships had all struck, though it was im- 
possible to carry them off on account of the batteries. Nelson now 
sent a note ashore addressed " to the brothers of Englishmen, the 
Danes," in which he remarked that if he could effect a reconciliation 
between the two countries, he should consider it the greatest victory 
he ever had gained (April 2, 1801). Subsequently he had an audi- 
ence with Christian VII., and Denmark was detached from the league. 
The happy effects of this blow were seconded by an accident. 
Just at this time the emperor Paul was assassinated. His son and 
successor, Alexander I., immediately declared his intention of govern- 
ing on the principles of Catharine, and he ordered all British prisoners 
to be liberated and all sequestrated British property to be restored. 
When Nelson proceeded from Copenhagen to Cronstadt, he found 
that the pacific disposition of Alexander rendered all attack super- 
fluous, even had the strength of the place permitted it. Lord St. 
Helens negociated a treaty at St. Petersburg, to which the king of 
Sweden acceded. On June 17 a definitive treaty was signed by 



a.d. 1801. CAMPAIGN IN EGYPT. 659 

Great Britain, Eussia, Denmark, and Sweden. By this treaty the 
rights of neutral navigation were placed on a satisfactory footing, 
the neutrality of the Elbe was re-established, the troops withdrawn 
from Hamburg and Lubeck, and the embargo on British property 
removed. On the other hand, England restored all captured vessels 
belonging to the northern powers, and the islands in the West 
Indies which she had taken from the Danes and Sweden. These 
results were due in great part to the unhesitating vigour of Nelson. 

§ 19. Foiled in their northern projects, the French renewed the 
threat of invasion. Camps had been formed at Ostend, Dunkirk, 
Brest, and St. Malo ; but the main force was assembled at Boulogne. 
It was rumoured that immense rafts, to be impelled by mechanical 
power, and capable of conveying an army, were to be constructed. 
But, though so chimerical a project was never realized, precautions 
against it were adopted in England. Nelson, having taken the 
command of a squadron, commissioned to operate between Orford- 
ness and Beachy Head, sent a few vessels into Boulogne, which 
succeeded in destroying two floating batteries, two gunboats, and 
a gun-brig. An attempt to cut out the flotilla in that harbour with 
boats proved abortive, and the French triumphed in the result as 
if the memory of Copenhagen and the Nile had been obliterated 
(August 16). 

Ever since the accession of Mr. Addington to power, negociations 
had been attempted for a peace with France, but the haughty 
views of the first consul rendered them abortive. The eyes of the 
English ministry were still anxiously directed towards Egypt, from 
which, on account of our East Indian possessions, as well as for 
other reasons, it was highly desirable that the French should be 
expelled. Towards the close of 1800, an army of about 15,000 men, 
under the command of sir Balph Abercrombie, was despatched to 
Egypt. The French force there had been greatly underrated. In 
spite of our cruisers, they had managed to procure reinforcements. 
Their army numbered more than 32,000 men, with upwards of 
1000 pieces of artillery and some excellent cavalry, whilst the 
English were very deficient in both. Early in March, 1801, the 
first British division, consisting of 5000 or 6000 men, landed in 
boats in Aboukir Bay, under a hot discharge of shot, shell, grape, 
and musketry from the castle, and from artillery planted on the 
sand-hills. In the midst of this fire the British troops formed 
on the beach as they landed, and without firing a shot drove the 
French from the position at the point of the bayonet. Their loss, 
however, was very considerable. On March 18, Aboukir castle 
surrendered. Early in the morning of the 21st, Menou, who bad 
succeeded Kleber as commander-in-chief, advancing from Cairo 



660 GEOEGE III. Chap, xxxii. 

with a large force, attempted to surprise the English camp. The 
combat was sustained with great obstinacy, and, the ammunition of 
both parties being exhausted, was carried on with stones. At 
length, after a struggle of nearly seven hours and the loss of 4000 
men, Menou retired. The English loss was only about 1500, but 
among them was Abercombie, who received a wound of which he 
expired in a week. 

§ 20. General Hutchinson, on whom the command now devolved, 
being reinforced by the Turks, successively captured Eosetta, El 
Aft, and Cairo, which last surrendered on June 27, after a siege of 
20 days. It was agreed that the garrison, consisting of about 
13,000 French, should be conveyed to France at the expense of the 
allied powers. Menou still held out in Alexandria. General Hut- 
chinson, being again reinforced by 7000 or 8000 Sepoys from India 
as well as by British troops, laid siege to that city on August 3, 
and on the 22nd it surrendered in spite of Menou's boast of holding 
out to the last extremity. The French garrison of 11,500 men 
obtained the same terms as that of Cairo. Six ships of war in the 
harbour were divided between the English and Turks. The savatis 
were permitted to retain their private papers, but all manuscripts 
and collections of art and science made for the republic were 
surrendered.* 

The French now began to listen to proposals for peace, and the 
preliminaries were signed (October 1). England was to cede all 
the French, Spanish, and Dutch colonies acquired during the war, 
except Trinidad and Ceylon ; the Cape of Good Hope was to be 
open to both the contracting parties ; Minorca was finally given 
back to Spain; Malta to be restored to the Order of St. John, 
Egypt to the Porte ; the French were to evacuate Naples and the 
States of the Church, the English Porto Ferrajo in Elba. On these 
terms a definitive treaty was signed at Amiens between Great 
Britain, France, and Holland (March 27, 1802). It was joyfully 
received in London as well as in Paris ; yet even the ministers 
did not venture to call it great or glorious. It left France in a state 
of unjust aggrandizement, whilst we had acquired little or nothing 
by the expenditure of so much blood and treasure. France re- 
tained the Austrian Netherlands, Dutch Flanders, the course of the 
Scheldt, and part of Dutch Brabant, Maestricht, Venloo, and other 
fortresses of importance, the German territories on the left bank of 
the Bhirie, Avignon, Savoy, Geneva, Nice, etc. Yet Bonaparte's am- 
bition was not satisfied. Charles Emmanuel IV., king of Sardinia, 

■ It was on this occasion that the ccle- George III., formed the foundation of the 

hrated Rosetta stone was acquired, to- collection of Egyptian antiquities in the 

gether with many statues, oriental MSS., British Museum.! 
etc. which, presented to the nation by ' 



a.d. 1802. PEACE OF AMIENS. 661 

having abdicated his throne in favour of his brother, Victor 
Emmanuel I. (June 4), Bonaparte annexed Piedmont to France as 
the 27th military department, on the pretence that, this being the 
king's second abdication, his subjects were released from their 
allegiance. Soon after, on the death of the grand duke of Parma, 
his territories were also seized. In all the neighbouring countries 
the influence of France was paramount. Spain was her abject 
vassal ; her troops, under pretence of a Jacobin plot, still occupied 
Holland, contrary to the treaty of Amiens ; and in Switzerland, 
whose constitution had been overthrown by Bonaparte, he reigned 
supreme under the title of Mediator. France herself was rapidly 
passing from anarchy to despotism. On May 9, Bonaparte was 
elected consul for ten years, and in August for life. In his court 
at the Tuileries and St. Cloud he displayed as much magnificence 
as the ancient sovereigns of France. His power was supported 
by the establishment of the Legion of Honour, a sort of new 
nobility, consisting of 7000 men receiving honours and pensions, 
and dispersed throughout the republic. But amidst these selfish 
aims much was also effected for the public good by the establishment 
of the code, still in force as the " Code Napoleon," by the diffusion 
of public instruction, and by other measures of the like nature. 
The church and the authority of the pope were restored by a con- 
cordat, though the clergy were still held in an oppressed and 
degraded state. (Supplement, Note XXIX.) 
30 




Medal in commemoration of the Battle of Trafalgar. 

Obv. : HORATIO . VISCOUNT NELSON : K . B . DUKE OF BEONTE . &. Bust to left. 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 



GEORGE III. — CONTINUED. FROM THE PEACE OF AMIENS TO THE 
DEATH OF THE KING. A.D. 1802-1820. 

1. Hostile feelings between France and England. Declaration of war. 
Hanover seized. § 2. Change of ministry. Pitt premier. War with 
Spain. Bonaparte proclaimed emperor, as NAPOLEON I. His violent 
measures. § 3. Impeachment of lord Melville. League between 
England, Russia, and Sweden. Napoleon enters Vienna. § 4. Nelson 
chases the French fleet to the West Indies. Sir Robert Calder's action. 
Battle of Trafalgar, and death of Nelson. § 5. Death of Pitt. The 
'' Talents " ministry. Fox vainly attempts a peace. § 6. Battle of 
Maida. War between France and Prussia. Berlin Decree. § 7. Death 
of Fox. Duke of Portland prime minister. Abolition of the slave- 
trade. § 8. Expeditions to Rio de la Plata, to Constantinople, and to 
Egypt- § 9. Peace of Tilsit. Expedition to Copenhagen and capture 
of the Danish fleet. § 10. Napoleon seizes Lisbon. Milan Decree. 
The throne of Spain seized for Joseph Bonaparte. Sir Arthur 
Wellesley proceeds to Portugal. § 11. Battle of Vimiera. Advance 
and retreat of sir John Moore. Battle of Corunna, and death of 
Moore. § 12. Colonel Wardle's charges against the duke of York. Sir 
A. Wellesley commander-in-chief in Portugal. Battle of Talavera. 
§ 13. Napoleon conquers the Austrians. Expedition to Walcheren. 
Expedition to Calabria. Ionian islands captured. § 14 Change in the 
ministry. Mr. Perceval premier. Burdett riots. Massena advances 
into Portugal. Battle of Busaco. Wellington occupies the lines of 
Torres Vedras. § 15. George III.'s illness. The regency. Retreat of 
Massena. Battles of Barrosa, of Fuentes de Ofioro, and of Albuera. 
§ 16. Perceval shot. Lord Liverpool prime minister. Ciudad Rodrigo 
and Badajoz taken. Battle of Salamanca. Wellington enters Madrid. 
§ 17. War with the Americans. Napoleon's Russian expedition. 
Treaties with Sweden and Russia. § 18. Wellington advances into 



a.d. 1802-1803. IMPENDING HOSTILITIES. 



663 




Rev. : England expects evert man will do his duty. English and French fleet. 
engaged. Below, trafalgae oct . 21 . 1805. 

Spain. Battle of Vittoria. Retreat of the French, and battles of the 
Pyrenees. Wellington enters France. § 1 9. Coalition against Napo- 
leon. Battles of Orthez and Toulouse. Abdication of Napoleon. 
§ 20. Congress of Chatillon. The allies enter Paris. Restoration of 
Louis XVIII., and peace of Paris. § 21. Progress of the American 
war. Peace of Ghent. § 22. Congress of Vienna. Escape of Napoleon. 
Battle of Waterloo. § 23. The allies enter Paris. Napoleon carried 
to St. Helena. Peace of Paris. § 24. Distress and discontent in 
England. Hampden clubs. Spa-fields riot. Algiers reduced. § 25. 
Hone's trial. Death of the princess Charlotte. Royal marriages. 
Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle. § 26. Peel's Act to repeal the Bank 
restriction. Manchester riots. Repressive measures. Death and 
character of George III. 

§ 1. It was soon felt that the peace could not last. Bonaparte 
evidently designed to exclude England from all continental influence 
or even commerce. Libels and invectives appeared both in the 
French and English newspapers. The harbouring of French emi- 
grants in England, and allowing them to wear orders which had 
' been abolished, furnished prominent topics of complaint. To re- 
move one cause of dissatisfaction, Peltier, the editor of a French 
paper published in London, called the Ambigu, was prosecuted and 
convicted of a libel on Bonaparte ; but before sentence was passed he 
escaped punishment, owing to the altered relations between the two 
countries. 

It was known that extensive preparations were making in the 
ports of France and Holland, designed, as it was pretended, for the 
French colonies ; but George III., in a message to parliament 
(March 8, 1803), adverted to the necessity of being prepared, and 
it was resolved to call out the militia and augment the naval 



6G4 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxiii. 

force. This message excited the indignation of the first consul. In 
a crowded court at the Tuileries he addressed our ambassador, lord 
Whitworth, in an angry tone (March 13). He made bitter com- 
plaints of the delay in the evacuation of Malta, and displayed so 
much irritation that lord Whitworth refused to attend the court, 
without some assurance that such conduct should not be repeated. 
After some further negociations, and an ultimatum to which no 
satisfactory answer was returned, lord Whitworth quitted Paris 
(May 12), and at the same time general Andreossi, the French 
ambassador, was directed to leave London. Thus, after a short and 
anxious peace, or rather suspension of hostilities, the two nations 
were again plunged into war (May 18). 

Lord Whitworth's departure was protracted as long as possible by 
Talleyrand ; nevertheless there was time to seize about 200 Dutch 
and French vessels, valued at nearly three millions sterling. In 
retaliation, Bonaparte ordered all English residents or travellers in 
France, and in all places subject to the French, to be seized and 
detained. About 10,000 persons of every class and condition, and of 
all ages and sexes, were apprehended and conveyed to prison. Subse- 
quently a considerable portion of them were cantoned at Verdun and 
in other French towns. Immediately after the declaration of war, a 
French army, under marshal Mortier, marched into Hanover ; the 
duke of Cambridge, the viceroy, capitulated, and retired beyond the 
Elbe, and the French entered the capital (June 5). On the other 
hand, the French and Dutch colonies in the West Indies soon fell 
into our possession. The most enthusiastic patriotism was ex- 
hibited in England. No fewer than 300,000 men enrolled them- 
selves in different volunteer corps and associations. The French 
camp at Boulogne still held out an empty menace of invasion, and 
in July the " Army of England " was reviewed by Bonaparte ; but 
our cruisers swept the Channel, and occasionally bombarded the 
enemy's towns. 

§ 2. Early in 1804 the king had a slight return of his former 
malady. Upon his convalescence, Addington, whose decreasing 
majorities rendered it impossible for him to carry on the ministry, 
retired from office, and Pitt again became premier (May 12). Pitt 
was very popular, especially in the city. After the peace of 
Amiens, a deputation of London merchants had waited upon him 
and informed him that 100,000Z. had been subscribed for his use, 
and that the names of the contributors would never be known ; but 
he declined this magnificent offer. The state of the king's health, 
as well as the alarming crisis of the country, induced Pitt to waive 
for the present the question of the catholic claims. 

The friendship of Spain was more than doubtful. A large arma- 



a.d. 1803-1804. WAR WITH FRANCE AND SPAIN. 665 

merit was preparing in the port of Ferrol, and its destination could 
hardly be questionable. It was therefore determined to intercept 
four Spanish frigates, laden with treasure, on their return to Cadiz 
from Monte Video. Captain Graham Moore, with four English 
frigates, having in vain summoned them to surrender, an action 
ensued, in which three of the Spaniards were captured and the fourth 
blown up (October 5, 1804). The treasure taken on this occasion was 
valued at nearly a million sterling. The policy of the act, setting 
aside the question of justice, may, however, be questioned, as it 
alienated from us a large party in Spain that was hostile to the 
French. It was, of course, followed by a formal declaration of war 
on the part of Spain (December .12). 

Bonaparte had been proclaimed emperor, as Napoleon I. (May 
18, 1804). Shortly before, on the groundless suspicion that the duke 
d'Enghien, a Bourbon prince who was residing at the castle of 
Ettenheim in the neutral territory of Baden, had been concerned in 
the conspiracy of Georges and Pichegru, Napoleon ordered him to 
be secretly seized in the night, and conveyed to the castle of Vin- 
cennes, where he was shot in the ditch. On October 24, sir George 
Rumbold, the English minister at Hamburg, was seized in like 
manner by a detachment of 250 French soldiers of the army occupying 
Hanover. He was conveyed to Paris and confined in the Temple, 
but was released at the intervention of Prussia. By means of an 
infamous spy named De la Touche, who received money at once 
both from the French and the English governments, Napoleon con- 
trived to expel our envoys from Munich and Stuttgart, on the 
charge of favouring a plot for his assassination. Though the accusa- 
tion was false, the dependent states of Europe, and even the court of 
Prussia, congratulated Napoleon on his happy escape. 

§ 3. Pitt's ministry was not strong. Lord Grenville, having 
coalesced with Fox and the party called the " Talents," offered a 
formidable opposition. Towards the end of the year, by the sug- 
gestion of the king, a reconciliation was effected between Pitt and 
Addington : the latter was created viscount Sidmouth, and became 
president of the council, in place of the duke of Portland. Soon 
afterwards lord Melville (Dundas), first lord of the admiralty, 
was compelled to resign, as Mr. Whitbread had carried a charge 
(April 6) against him of conniving at the misapplication of the 
public money, and even of deriving benefit from it himself. Pitt, 
with a bitter pang, was compelled to advise the king to erase the 
name of his old friend and companion from the list of the privy 
council. Lord Melville acknowledged at the bar of the House of 
Commons that his paymaster, Mr. Trotter, might have used the 
public money for his own advantage ; and, as there were some cir- 



C66 



GEORGE III. 



Chap, xxxiii. 



cumstances of suspicion against Melville himself, Mr. Whitbread, 
in the name of the commons of England, impeached him of high 
crimes and misdemeanours at the bar of the lords (June 26). 
The impeachment was not heard till the following year, when he was 
acquitted after a trial of 16 days (June 12, 1806). His culpability 
appears to have been owing rather to negligence than dishonesty. 

In April a treaty was concluded between England and Eussia, 
by which they bound themselves to resist the encroachments of 
Prance, and to secure the independence of Europe. The league 
was afterwards joined by Sweden and Austria ; but the king of 
Prussia kept aloof, intent on appropriating the Hanoverian do- 
minions of his relative and ally. 

The year 1805 was the period of Napoleon's most brilliant suc- 
cesses. In May he was crowned king of Italy in the cathedral of 
Milan with the iron crown of the Lombard kings ; and he appointed 
his stepson, Eugene Beauharnais, to be viceroy of that kingdom.* 
At the same time the republic of Genoa was united to France. 
Napoleon introduced the conscription into Italy, and an army of 
40,000 Italians proved of great service to him in his subsequent 
wars with Austria. On his return from Italy, he again repaired 
to Boulogne ; but when the hostile disposition of Austria was 
ascertained, the " Army of England," consisting of 150,000 men, 
was declared to be the Army of Germany, and was rapidly marched 
towards the Ehine (August 28). The Austrians, who had postponed 
hostilities too long, afterwards precipitated them before the Eussians 
could come to their support ; and the power of Austria was com- 
pletely broken by the disgraceful capitulation of general Mack at 
Ulm (October 17). The road was now open to Vienna, which was 
occupied without a struggle (November 14). Meanwhile Massena 
had driven the archduke Charles out of Italy, and obtained 
possession of the Tyrol. Napoleon pushed on into Moravia, the 
emperor and the czar retreating before him. The court of Berlin, 
guided by the counsels of its minister Haugwitz, temporized, waiting 
the result of another battle. That battle was fought at Austerlitz 
(December 2), where the Eussians and Austrians were completely 
defeated. The former retired into their own country ; and Austria 
made a separate peace with France, by which she lost Trieste, her 
only port, and recognized the regal titles of Bavaria and Wiirtem- 
berg.f The Confederation of the Ehine was now formed, with 
Napoleon for its protector (July, 1806). 



* Josephine, the wife of Napoleon, was 
the widow of General Beauharnais, and had 
hy him a son Eugene, and a daughter 
Hortense, married to Louis Napoleon's 
brother, king of Holland. Hortense was 



mother of Napoleon III. 

f Francis II. resigned the old title of 
emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and 
took rank as the first emperor of Austria, 
under the title of Francis I. 



a.d. 1805. BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 6G7 

§ 4. Thus the objects of the English and Eussian league seemed 
completely frustrated ; arid England appeared destined to be success- 
ful only when she acted by herself on her own peculiar domain, the 
ocean. Nelson had been in command of the Mediterranean fleet 
since 1803. The winter of 1804 was spent in watching the harbour 
of Toulon, where the French fleet was preparing to embark a large 
body of troops whose destination was unknown. To draw them 
out, Nelson sailed for Barcelona, and in his absence Villeneuve, the 
French admiral, put to sea with 10 sail of the line, besides several 
frigates and brigs (March, 1805). Nelson concluded that they were 
bound for Egypt, and made sail for Sicily; but he soon learned that 
they had passed the Straits of Gibraltar. At Cadiz they were rein- 
forced by six Spanish and two French line-of-battle ships, thus 
making their whole number 18 sail of the line. Nevertheless, as 
soon as the wind permitted, Nelson followed them to the West 
Indies with 10 sail of the line, but returned to Europe without 
having been fortunate enough to discover them. Being in a bad 
state of health, he struck his flag at Spithead, and retired to his 
seat at Merton. 

Sir Robert Calder was more fortunate. On July 22, he fell in 
with the enemy at some distance from Cape Finisterre, and, though 
much inferior in force, brought them to action. Two of the Spanish 
ships were taken. Calder, having neglected to renew the engage- 
ment on the following day, was brought to a court-martial and 
reprimanded. Villeneuve ultimately got into Cadiz, where he 
found his fleet now amounting to 35 sail of the line. Collingwood, 
who was watching that port, communicated the interesting intelli- 
gence to Nelson, who had led his friends to expect that he had 
finally retired from the service. But at this news his ardour could 
no longer be restrained. He immediately volunteered his services 
to the admiralty, which were gladly accepted, and on the 15th of 
September he was again on board the Victory, accompanied by the 
Ajax, the TJiunderer, and the Euryalus frigate. On the 29th, his 
birthday, he arrived off Cadiz, and joined Collingwood ; but his 
arrival was kept secret from the enemy, lest they should not 
venture out of port. No salute was fired, and Nelson kept well out 
at sea. 

On October 19, want of provisions obliged Villeneuve to leave 
Cadiz, and the English fleet immediately gave chase, the course 
being towards the Straits of Gibraltar. It was not till the 21st that 
Nelson fell in with them about seven miles east of Cape Trafalgar, 
there being a light breeze from the west. Nelson felt a sure pre- 
sentiment of victory, but at the same time of death. The enemy 
tacked, in order to be able, if necessary, to run back to Cadiz, when 



668 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxiii. 

Nelson steered a little more to the north, in order to cut off their 
van. He now asked captain Blackwood of the Euryalus, who was 
on board the Victory, whether a signal was not wanted. The latter 
replied that he thought all knew what they were about ; but Nelson 
ran up to the mast-head his last signal — England expects that 
every man will do his duty — which was greeted with three 
cheers from every ship. Nelson led the weather-line in the Victory ; 
but the lee-line, under Collingwood, was the first to get into action. 
The British fleet comprised 27 sail of the line, 4 frigates, a schooner, 
and a cutter ; the combined French and Spanish fleets numbered 33 
sail of the line, 5 frigates, and 2 brigs ; and they were vastly 
superior in weight of metal, having 2626 guns to 2148 of the English. 
The enemy's line had accidentally fallen into the shape of a cres- 
cent, which rendered the attack more difficult. It was a little after 
noon that Collingwood, in the Royal Sovereign, began the action. 
He was soon surrounded by five French and Spanish vessels ; but, 
finding that they damaged one another, they gradually drew off and 
left Collingwood in single combat with the Santa Anna. He had 
been engaged nearly a quarter of an hour before the other ships got 
into action. As the Victory bore down, she was made a mark by 
the enemy : her rigging was much damaged, her wheel shot away, 
and 50 officers and men killed or wounded before she had fired a shot. 
The foremost ships of the enemy, to the number of 19, closed round 
Nelson's column, leaving a gap of nearly a mile between it and the 
spot where Collingwood and his comrades were engaging the re- 
maining 14. Nelson, in the Victory, first engaged with Villeneuve's 
flag-ship, the Bucentaur, of 80 guns, and after disabling it he 
attacked the Eedoubtahle ; that ship and the Victory getting as 
it were locked together by their anchors. The tops of the Redoubt- 
able were filled with riflemen, and Nelson, on going into action, 
afforded a conspicuous mark. The action had lasted about half an 
hour, when he was struck by a musket-ball and fell on the quarter- 
deck. On his captain expressing a hope that he was not seriously 
wounded, Nelson replied, " They have done for me at last, Hardy — 
my backbone is shot through." He was carried to the cockpit, 
where it was found that the shot, having entered the left shoulder 
at the epaulette, had lodged in the spine, inflicting a mortal wound. 
While the hero lay there expiring, the battle still raged two hours, 
distressing him with the concussion of the firing, though ever and 
anon he was cheered by the huzzas of the crew as one after another 
the enemy's ships struck their colours. He had the satisfaction to 
hear from captain Hardy before his death that he had gained a 
complete victory. Almost his last words were to recommend to his 
country lady Hamilton, with whom he lived, and his daughter. 



a.d. 1805-1806. DEATH OF NELSON AND PITT. 669 

Then exclaiming, " Thank God, I have done my duty ! " he expired, 
at the age of 47 (October 21), almost without a struggle, about 
three hours after receiving his wound. He had said, almost pro- 
phetically, when going into action, that he should be content with 
20 ships ; 19 of the enemy's line actually struck at Trafalgar, 
and one blew up. The prisoners, including the troops on board, 
amounted to 12,000. Four ships that had taken little part in 
the action were subsequently captured by Sir Eichard Strachan 
(November 4). By this glorious victory the French navy was 
nearly annihilated, and England rescued from all chance of an 
invasion. 

Nelson was honoured with a magnificent public funeral. The 
body lay in state in Greenwich Hospital, and was attended to St. 
Paul's by a procession by land and water. His brother, a clergyman , 
was made an earl ; 100,000?. were voted him to buy an estate, with 
a pension of 6000?. a year ; and 10,000?. were given to each of his 
sisters (November 9). 

§ 5. Pitt did not long survive England's greatest naval com- 
mander. The cares and anxieties of office, at a crisis so tremen- 
dously agitating, had undermined a constitution naturally feeble. 
He expired at the age of 46, January 23, 1806. Of his disin- 
terestedness no greater proof can be offered than that, in spite of his 
apparent opportunities of enriching himself, he died 40,000?. in debt. 
His debts were discharged by a vote of the Commons, and a funeral 
decreed for him, at the public expense, in Westminster Abbey : the 
latter was ungenerously opposed by Fox and his party. Pitt must 
be regarded as one of the greatest ministers this country ever saw. 
His councils chiefly enabled England to stem the overbearing in- 
solence and ambition of the French republic. To him the nation is 
indebted for the financial policy carried out by Peel and Gladstone. 
His measures for freedom of commerce with Ireland were rejected by 
the Irish parliament (1785), and his commercial treaty with France 
(1786) was nullified by the revolutionary movements in that 
country. He was, in fact, one of the very few statesmen who 
combined a thorough mastery of great principles, financial and 
legislative, with consummate practical tact and sagacity. 

Attempts were made to patch up the ministry, but failed, and 
the king was obliged to have recourse to lord Grenville and " All 
the Talents." This involved the readmission of Fox, who was now 
allied with that party, and the king was obliged to waive his per- 
sonal dislike of that statesman. Early in February a ministry was 
formed, with lord Grenville first lord of the treasury, Fox foreign 
secretary, lord Howick (afterwards earl Grey) first lord of the 
admiralty, and Erskine lord chancellor. 
30* 



G70 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxiii. 

It was naturally expected that Fox, who had so long denounced 
the war both as iniquitous and impolitic, would exert himself to 
terminate it; and he did, indeed, open communications with the 
French government through lord Yarmouth, afterwards marquess of 
Hertford, one of the detenus at Yerdun. But he soon discovered 
that Napoleon would never agree to terms which this country could 
accept with honour. The financial measures of the new govern- 
ment were universally complained of, and especially the increase of 
the obnoxious property-tax to 10 per cent. 

§ 6. Napoleon had now installed his brother Joseph as king of 
Naples, his brother Louis as king of Holland, and had bestowed 12 
Italian duchies upon as many of his most favoured generals. Fer- 
dinand IV. of Naples had been driven to take refuge in Sicily, 
as already related. At the request of his consort, Caroline of Aus- 
tria, sister of the unfortunate Marie Antoinette, sir John Stuart, who 
commanded the British forces in that island, was induced to pass 
over into Calabria with a small army of less than 5000 men, 
and to try his fortune against the French general Regnier, who 
occupied that province. On July 6, an engagement took place at 
Maida, in which the French, though considerably the stronger, were 
entirely defeated. Regnier fled across the Apennines, and Stuart 
cleared the whole of Lower Calabria of the French ; but his force 
was too small to hold it, and he was obliged to return to Sicily. 
It was one of the mistakes of the government to fritter away the 
strength of the nation in small expeditions of this fruitless kind. 
At the same time sir Sidney Smith's squadron harassed the French 
on the coast of Italy, from the Tiber to the bay of Naples. 

During his negociations with the new ministry, Napoleon had 
offered to restore Hanover. The desire of possessing that country 
had induced the court of Prussia to desert the cause of Germany. 
They had likewise found other causes of complaint against France 
in the Confederation of the Rhine, and in the depreciatory tone in 
which the Moniteur spoke of Prussia and her pretensions. On 
October 1, Prussia required the French to evacuate Germany ; on 
the 14th the battle of Jena laid her at the feet of Napoleon, a 
fitting reward of her perfidy and selfishness. On the 25th the 
French entered Berlin, and Mortier was sent forward to occupy 
Hamburg and seize all British property. On November 20 appeared 
the celebrated Berlin Decree, forbidding all intercourse with Eng- 
land, and all use of her manufactures or colonial products. 

§ 7. Fox did not live to see this event. He had been attacked 
with dropsy, and after July became too unwell to attend to busi- 
ness. On September 13, he expired, in his 59th year, at the duke of 
Devonshire's seat at Chiswick, whither he had proceeded on his 



ad 1606-1807. ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE TRADE. 671 

way to his own house at St. Ann's Hill. He received a public 
funeral, and was buried in Westminister Abbey (October 10), by the 
side of his great rival Pitt. Posterity will be rather at a loss to discover 
in his character any transcendent merits as a statesman, or to point 
out any great benefits that he achieved for his country. His in- 
fluence during his lifetime seems to have been principally acquired 
by his powerful and fervid oratory, and by his engaging qualities, 
which attached to him a host of personal friends. His death did 
not break up the ministry ; lord Howick succeeded to the place of 
foreign secretary, and Mr. Thomas Grenville became first lord of the 
admiralty. 

Lord Grenville had made no compact with the sovereign on the 
subject of catholic emancipation, but early in March, 1807, lord 
Howick brought in a bill to enable Roman catholic officers to serve 
in the army and navy in England as well as in Ireland. In the 
latter country a Roman catholic officer could attain any rank, 
except commander-in-chief, master general of the ordnance, or 
general on the staff. The bill was opposed by Spencer Perceval 
and others ; and, as the king had a great repugnance to the measure, 
it was not difficult to persuade him to dismiss his ministers. Be- 
fore the end of the month a new administration was formed, with 
the duke of Portland as first lord of the treasury, George Canning 
foreign secretary, lord Castlereagh secretary at war and for the 
colonies, Spencer Perceval chancellor of the exchequer, and lord 
Eldon chancellor in place of Erskine. A " No Popery " cry was 
raised, in which the majority of the country joined ; the ministers 
took advantage of it to dissolve the parliament, though it had 
been returned only a few months, and the elections secured them 
a large majority. 

A little before the dismissal of lord Grenville, the abolition of 
the slave-trade had been carried. That question had now been 20 
years in agitation. A society had been formed for its promotion, 
of which Mr. Granville Sharpe was chairman, and Wilberforce and 
Clarkson distinguished members. This inhuman traffic had been 
denounced by several writers, but it required all the zeal and 
enthusiasm of the evangelical party, which had sprung up of late 
years, in order to effect its abolition. The society adopted every 
means, by newspaper articles, pamphlets, speeches, and letters, to 
influence the public mind on the subject. Pitt approved the cause, 
and a board of the privy council had been formed to consider the 
state of the African trade ; but the commercial interests of the 
country offered a great impediment, and all that could be obtained 
at first was a mitigation of the horrors of the middle passage. 

§ 8. The military plans arranged by lord Grenville's ministry 



672 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxiii. 

turned out unfortunate in all quarters. Two expeditions had been 
despatched early in 1807 against Constantinople and Egypt. 
French intrigues, ably conducted by general Sebastiani, had in- 
duced the Turks to declare war against Kussia, and had thus 
diverted a great part of the force which might have been used 
against Napoleon. Sir John Duckworth was despatched with a 
squadron to bring the Turks to reason : he succeeded in passing 
the Dardanelles, and appeared before Constantinople in February. 
But the Turks amused him with negociations, till they had put the 
Dardanelles in a formidable posture of defence; and Duckworth 
made a disgraceful retreat, for which he was subsequently brought 
to a court-martial. At the same time the expedition to Egypt 
under major-general Frazer proved equally unfortunate ; the new 
ministry declined to support it ; and, in September, the remnant 
of the British force was obliged to return to Sicily. The only 
effect of these proceedings was that the Turks declared war against 
Great Britain, and confiscated all British property. 

§ 9. Meanwhile Russia, exhausted by the well-contested fields 
of Eylau and Friedland, and receiving no assistance either in men 
or money from England, concluded with France the peace of Tilsit 
(July 7, 1807), to which Prussia afterwards acceded. Both countries 
agreed to shut their ports against the English ; and, indeed, the 
French were in possession of those of Prussia. When it was too 
late, Canning despatched lord Leveson-Gower to conciliate the 
emperor Alexander. He could not even obtain an audience, and 
returned with the conviction that Alexander, by a secret article 
of the treaty of Tilsit, had placed not only his own fleet, but also 
those of Sweden and Denmark, at the disposal of Napoleon. He 
had been drawn into this engagement by the fascination of the 
French emperor, who had dazzled the young czar with a vision of 
empire, in which Europe and Asia were to be partitioned into west 
and east under two great heads. For the accomplishing of this object 
the destruction of Great Britain was a necessary preliminary. There 
was no time for hesitation. Denmark commanded the entrance 
to the Baltic ; a large fleet was lying in her harbours ; the north of 
Germany was full of French troops ; and, however friendly might 
be the disposition of the Danes, it was evident that their move- 
ments would depend on the will of Napoleon. A powerful arma- 
ment, consisting of 17 sail of the line, 21 frigates and other small 
vessels, and 377 transports carrying 27,000 troops, was secretly 
and promptly fitted out, and sailed from Yarmouth Roads, under 
the command of admiral Gambier (July 26). Lord Cathcart was 
at the head of the land forces, and under him served sir Arthur 
Wellesley, an officer who had greatly distinguished himself in 



a.d. 1807- CAPTURE OF THE DANISH FLEET. 673 

India. On August 9, the expedition was safely anchored in the roads 
of Elsinore, and the fleet was strengthened by the arrival of eight sail 
of the line and 19 frigates. Negociations were opened for the delivery 
of the Danish fleet, under the solemn promise that it should be 
restored on the conclusion of a peace with France. The proposal 
being indignantly rejected by the crown prince, preparations were 
made to enforce it. The fleet proceeded to Copenhagen, the troops 
were landed, and batteries constructed ; and on September 2 a 
bombardment commenced both by sea and land. On the evening 
of the 5th the Danish commander surrendered, and on the 8th 
Gambier took possession of Copenhagen. Our whole loss did not 
much exceed 200 men. By October 20 the whole of the Danish 
fleet was prepared for sea, to be carried off to England, together 
with an immense quantity of naval stores, and between 2000 and 
3000 pieces of artillery. But of the 17 line-of-battle ships four only 
proved to be fit for service. The island of Heligoland was also 
captured (September 5), and served as a depot for English goods to 
be smuggled into the continent. The rage of Bonaparte at this 
intelligence was terrific. The entry of the French into Stralsund 
(September 1) showed the wisdom of our rapid and decisive move- 
ment. The Danes declared war against us, the consequence of 
which was the capture of the Danish West India islands of St. 
Thomas, St. John's, and Santa Croce, in December. 

§ 10. The king of Portugal having refused to enforce the Berlin 
Decree against England, Napoleon determined to attack that 
country. For that purpose he entered into a treaty with Spain 
(October 27), which was to have a portion of Portugal ; and before 
the treaty was signed he despatched an army of 30,000 men under 
Junot across the Bidassoa, and proclaimed that the house of Bra- 
ganza had ceased to reign. Junot entered Lisbon (November 30). 
Don John, the regent, afterwards John VI., with many of his 
nobility and 18,000 of his subjects, had sailed the day previously 
for Brazil. Towards winter Napoleon visited Italy, and issued, 
in the capital of Lombardy (December 27), his celebrated Milan 
Decree, declaring all vessels, of whatsoever nation, that should 
submit to the British orders in council, lawful prizes. These orders 
had been issued in retaliation for the Berlin Decree. They de- 
clared the whole French coast in a state of blockade, thus render- 
ing neutral vessels with French goods on board liable to seizure, 
a proceeding which formed the principal ground of quarrel with 
the Americans. But, in fact, both the Berlin Decree and the orders 
in council were in great degree inoperative. (Sup. N. XXX.) 

No sooner was Bonaparte in possession of Portugal than, with 
the help of Godoy, the Prince of the Peace, the prime minister of 



674 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxm. 

Spain and paramour of the queen, lie treacherously turned his arms 
against that country. Murat occupied Madrid with a French divi- 
sion. The imhecile Charles IV., and his son Ferdinand, who was 
not much better, together with Godoy and the queen, were decoyed 
to Bayonne, where a renunciation of the Spanish throne in favour 
of Napoleon was extorted from them, in consideration of the palace 
and domains of Navarre and a pension of 400,000 francs ! (May 8, 
1808). It was declared that the Spanish Bourbons had ceased to 
reign. Joseph Bonaparte, much against his will, was compelled 
to exchange the crown of Naples for that of Spain, while the 
former was bestowed upon Napoleon's brother-in-law, Murat. King 
Joseph entered Madrid (July 20) ; but by this time the Spaniards, 
who had risen in insurrection, had established at Seville a "Supreme 
Junta of Spain and the Indies," and had declared Ferdinand king, 
with the title of Ferdinand VII., though he was now residing in 
Talleyrand's house at Valencay. In this struggle the Spaniards 
displayed the greatest animosity towards the French, and murdered 
all the stragglers they could lay hands on. 

These revolutions were destined again to bring the English into 
contact with the French on land as well as sea. General Castahos, 
who commanded the Spanish army of Andalusia, applied to sir 
Hew Dalrymple, commandant of Gibraltar, with a view to obtain 
the assistance of England. The merchants of that place supplied 
the junta of Seville with money ; Collingwood carried his fleet into 
Cadiz and lent the Spaniards what assistance he could in ammu- 
nition and stores; and the English government at length under- 
took to aid the Spanish. loyalists with troops. On July 10 sir 
Arthur Wellesley sailed from Cork for the Peninsula with about 
10,000 men. Preceding the fleet in a fast vessel, he landed at 
Corunna in order to consult the junta of Galicia as to his proceed- 
ings. By their advice, with which his own views entirely coin- 
cided, he determined to land near Oporto. Portugal at this time, 
like Spain, was in full insurrection against the French. In the 
latter country, Joseph had been driven out of his new capital before 
he had been a fortnight in it. He had taken up his abode at Vittoria 
in order to be nearer the French frontier, and Madrid had been 
occupied by Castahos. The British army landed near the town of 
Figueira (August 1), and, being reinforced by some troops from 
Cadiz, numbered in all about 14,000 men. Junot had 17,000 or 
18,000 men in Portugal ; but, as many of these were in garrison, 
his disposable force was not much larger than the British ; and the 
success of the loyalists in Spain had cut him off from all commu- 
nication with his countrymen in that kingdom. Such was the 
beginning of the Peninsular war. 



A.D. 1808. BATTLE OF VIMTERA. G75 

§ 11. Wellesley began his march upon Lisbon (August 9). In 
about a week he came upon a French division of 5000 men, under 
Delaborde, occupying a strong position at Rolica, which was carried 
after a struggle of two hours (August 17). On the 19th he reached 
Vimiera, where he was reinforced by two British brigades, under 
generals Anstruther and Acland, making his whole force about 
17,000 men, besides 1600 Portuguese. On the 21st was fought the 
battle of Vimiera, where in two hours the French were com- 
pletely defeated, with the loss of 14 guns and many prisoners. But 
Wellesley was superseded the same day by sir Harry Burrard. 
The government had determined to raise the army in the Peninsula 
to 30,000, under sir Hew Dalrymple, with sir Harry Burrard as 
second in command, while sir Arthur Wellesley, sir John Moore, 
and others were to be generals of division. Sir H. Burrard by 
suspending the pursuit lost the fruits of the victory, and the 
French, to their own great astonishment, got safe to Torres Vedras. 
Next day sir Hew Dalrymple arrived, the command being thus 
twice changed in 24 hours. On August 30 a convention was 
signed, by which Junot agreed to evacuate Portugal.* The French 
were deprived of the spoils of the royal museum and library, church 
plate, and other plunder, which they were preparing to carry off. A 
Russian fleet blockaded in the Tagus was surrendered. Early in 
September the British army entered Lisbon. The three generals 
were recalled ; Sir H. Dalrymple was censured (December 22) ; 
but sir A. Wellesley was marked out for high command. 

Sir John Moore, who had remained with the army in Portugal, 
■was reinforced; and, with 20,000 men, was directed to co-operate with 
the Spaniards in driving the French from the north of Spain. On 
November 11 he crossed the frontier into Leon, and advanced by 
Ciudad Rodrigo to Salamanca. Meanwhile Napoleon himself had 
entered Spain at the head of some chosen troops ; and, having 
replaced his brother at Madrid (December 4), he proceeded to seek 
sir John Moore. Moore had discovered that there was no Spanish 
force on which he could rely for support, and he had been contem- 
plating a retreat ; but in consequence of wrong intelligence received 
from Mr. Frere, formerly our minister at Madrid, he determined to 
advance, and, before Napoleon could come up, strike a blow at 
Soult, who was on the banks of the Carion with about 18,000 men. 
But Soult had withdrawn ; and Moore, apprehensive of being sur- 

* This treaty is often erroneously called 
the " Convention of Cintra," because sir 
H. Dalrymple's despatches announcing it 
were dated from that place : but in fact 



Cintra lies between Torres Vedras and 
Lisbon ; and consequently, had the con- 



vention been m:ide there, the British must 
have been already in possession of the 
former strong position, which, on the con- 
trary, fell into their hands through the 
convention. 



676 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxiii. 

rounded, commenced a retreat. Napoleon was close at his heels. 
On January 1, 1809, he was at Astorga with 70,000 infantry, 
10,000 cavalry, and 200 guns ; and from this place he could descry 
the British rear. But he was now called away by news from 
Austria, and left the pursuit to Soult. The weather was bad, the 
roads miserable, provisions scanty, and the British had often to face 
about and repulse the enemy. At last, on January 13, Moore reached 
Corunna ; but the transports did not arrive till the following day. 
Soult had got possession of the hills round the town, and it was 
necessary to fight a battle to cover the embarkation. This took place 
on the 16th. Moore had between 15,000 and 16,000 infantry in line, 
Soult about 20,000, — the ground was not good for cavalry. In de- 
fending the village of Elvina, against which the French were making 
a concentrated attack, Moore was struck in the breast by a spent 
cannon-ball, and was carried to Corunna in a blanket, often stopping 
to look back on the progress of the battle. The French were beaten 
off along the whole line, but night coming on prevented all pursuit ; 
and, as the remainder of Soult's forces might be expected every hour, 
it was determined to hasten the embarkation. Sir John Moore died 
that evening, and was buried at midnight on the ramparts " with 
his martial cloak around him." The embarkation, being covered 
by some line-of-battle ships, was completed in safety by the 18th. 
During the whole campaign Moore received no assistance from the 
Spaniards, who, on the contrary, were a positive hindrance to him 
by crossing his line of retreat at Astorga. 

§ 12. The English ministry, however, were determined to pursue 
the war in the Peninsula, in which they were encouraged by the 
distraction caused to the French arms by the renewal of the war 
with Austria ; and Mr. Canning executed a treaty of alliance with 
the Spanish insurgents, or rather royalists (January 14). The 
English nation, in spite of the long struggle it had already main- 
tained, was so little crippled in its resources, that a loan of eleven 
millions was raised at a lower interest than had ever before been 
known. Many abuses were at this time discovered in the bestowal 
of military and naval patronage, in some of which the duke of York 
himself, the commander-in-chief, was implicated. It appeared, from 
some charges brought against him in the House of Commons by 
Mr. Wardle, a Welsh colonel of militia, that the duke, abandoning 
himself to the influence of Mrs. Clarke, had bestowed commissions 
in the army on several unworthy persons, such as Mrs. Clarke's 
brother, and even her footman. Before the termination of the 
proceedings the duke resigned his office, and the investigation 
was dropped. About the same time the commissioners of naval 
and those of military enquiry brought to light a great many 



A.D. 1809. BATTLE OF TALAVERA. 677 

abuses and frauds in the method of conducting the business of 
those departments. 

The chief command in the Peninsula was now given to sir Arthur 
Wellesley, who advised that in the first instance our exertions 
should be confined to Portugal. On April 22 he arrived at Lisbon, 
where he found himself at the head of about 25,000 men, including a 
body of Portuguese under general Beresford. On the 9th of May he 
directed his march upon Oporto, now occupied by Soult, who, after 
the battle of Corunna, had invaded Portugal. In a few days the 
Douro was crossed by a daring manoeuvre, and the French were 
driven out in precipitate flight. "Wellesley now entered Spain, 
and formed a junction with the Spanish general Cuesta at Oropesa in 
Estremadura. Cuesta's army, however, amounting to about 30,000 
men, was in very bad condition. On July 26, and the two fol- 
lowing days, marshals Victor and Sebastiani attacked the position of 
the allied armies before Talavera. The attack was mainly directed 
against the allied left, held by the British, and especially against 
a height occupied by general Rowland Hill: the Spaniards on ithe 
right were comparatively safe, from the nature of the ground. At 
one time the British centre was broken, the guards, after repulsing 
the French, having got into disorder by pursuing them too far ; but 
the advance of the enemy was arrested by the 48th regiment. On 
the evening of the 28th all firing ceased, both armies retaining their 
original position ; but in the night the French retreated over the 
Alberche. This was one of the most bloody and best contested 
battles in the Peninsular war. The French lost 7000 men killed 
and wounded ; the British upwards of 5000. This victory gained 
Wellesley the title of viscount Wellington of Talavera. The British, 
however, were not in a condition to penetrate further. The French, 
who had 200,000 men dispersed in Spain, were gathering round them 
from all sides, and early in August, besides Victor and Sebastiani, 
marshals Soult, Ney, Mortier, Kellermann, and king Joseph himself, 
were in Estremadura. The English general retired into Portugal 
by Truxillo and Badajoz ; and sir Robert Wilson, who at the head of 
a light corps of Spanish and Portuguese had pushed on as far as 
Madrid, also returned. Before the end of the year the French had 
virtually annihilated the Spanish forces, and lord Wellington now 
concentrated his attention on the defence of Portugal, fixing his 
head-quarters at Viseu, with advanced posts towards Ciudad Rodrigo. 

§ 13. We have adverted before to Napoleon's sudden abandonment 
of the pursuit of sir John Moore, which was occasioned by a breach 
with Austria. In March, 1809, the emperor Francis declared war 
against him. But Napoleon, after inflicting a severe defeat upon the 
archduke Charles at Eckmuhl, marched rapidly to Vienna, which he 



678 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxiii, 

entered with little resistance (May 13). He had still, however, to 
fight the battle of Aspern, near Vienna, in which he may be said 
to have been defeated. But the French army was allowed time to 
recover from the shock, and the bloody battle of Wagram followed, 
which laid Austria at Napoleon's feet (July 5). This was succeeded 
by the disgraceful peace of Schonbrunn (October 14), which sub- 
sequently led to the marriage of Napoleon with the arch-duchess 
Maria Louisa (April 2, 1810). In the same year Napoleon annexed 
the States of the Church to France, and, having been excom- 
municated by Pius VII., he caused that pontiff to be carried off to 
Savona. 

In order to support the Austrian struggle, the English ministry 
resolved to divert the French arms by an expedition to the Scheldt ; 
especially as Napoleon was attempting to convert Antwerp and 
Flushing into great naval depots. Before the end of July, 37 sail of 
the line and an army of 40,000 men were despatched, under a 
most incompetent leader — the earl of Chatham, Pitt's elder brother, 
assisted by rear-admiral sir Eichard Strachan. The opinion of the 
most experienced officers was for a coup-de-main on Antwerp ; 
instead of which, a fortnight was spent in reducing Flushing, 
during which time the Scheldt had been strongly fortified, and 
40,000 men thrown into Antwerp. The enterprise was then 
abandoned as impracticable, and the expedition returned home, 
leaving about 16,000 men in possession of the isle of Walcheren. 
These, however, began rapidly to disappear, from the effects of the 
fever and ague common on that unhealthy coast, and in a short 
time half the force were in hospital. After the treaty of Schon- 
brunn, the occupation of Walcheren was deemed of no advantage 
and towards the middle of November it was evacuated, the harbour, 
arsenal, and magazines of Flushing having been destroyed as far 
as possible. Such was the end of an expedition said to have cost 
20 millions. 

Another diversion was attempted- in Calabria, where the news of 
Napoleon's excommunication had excited a great sensation among 
the people. In June sir J. Stuart again crossed over from Sicily, 
with 15,000 men, while sir William Hoste's squadron and flotillas 
of gunboats and small armed vessels operated upon the coast. The 
French retired before sir J. Stuart, but little was effected besides 
the dismantling of the castles of Ischia and Procida. In the 
autumn five of the seven Ionian islands, then held by the French, 
were captured. Santa Maura held out till the following spring ; 
and Corfu, the most important of the whole, was not obtained till 
1814, when it was ceded to the Ionian republic, under an English 
protectorate, by Louis XVIII. 



A.D. 1809-1810. MINISTERIAL CHANGES. G70 

§ 14. A feeling of jealousy had long existed between Mr. Canning 
and lord Castlereagh, which being heightened by mutual recrimina- 
tions after the failure of the Walcheren expedition, a duel ensued, 
in which Canning was wounded (September 21). Both had 
previously resigned ; and, the duke of Portland dying soon after, 
the ministry seemed tottering to its fall. Mr. Perceval, however, 
accepted the office of first lord of the treasury, retaining also the 
exchequer ; the marquess Wellesley, our representative with the 
Spanish junta, was sent for and became foreign secretary in place 
of Canning ; lord Liverpool was transferred from the home office to 
lord Castlereagh's place, with lord Palmerston as secretary at war ; 
the right honourable Richard Ryder took the home department. 

In the spring of 1810 serious riots occurred in London. John 
Gale Jones being brought to the bar of the House of Commons, 
charged with the publication of a placard reflecting on the proceed- 
ings of the house, was committed to Newgate (February 21). In 
defending Jones sir Francis Burdett contended that by his com- 
mittal the House of Commons had infringed the laws of the land. 
Defeated on this motion, sir Francis pursued the same argument in 
CobbeWs Register. For this violation of the privileges of the house 
(March 26), he was committed to the Tower. On his way thither 
the mob were very riotous ; the windows of several unpopular noble- 
men and gentlemen were broken, and some lives were lost. On the 
prorogation of parliament sir Francis was of course liberated ; but 
he disappointed the populace of an expected ovation by returning 
home by water. 

In the Peninsula the Spaniards had been beaten at every point, 
and the junta itself was obliged to take refuge in Cadiz, which in 
February, 1810, was invested by a French army. A British force of 
about 6000 men had been thrown into that place to assist in the 
defence, and the English fleet kept open the communication by sea ; 
but the blockade was not raised till August, 1812. After the peace 
with Austria, Napoleon was enabled to throw large reinforcements 
into Spain, including some of his best troops. The " Army of 
Portugal," comprising 90,000 men under Massena, was cantoned in 
Old Castile and Leon. Massena promised to drive the English 
out of Portugal in three months, for which purpose he advanced 
with a force of more than 60,000 men. Lord Wellington had 
24,000 British troops, and more than double that number of Portu- 
guese, who made much better soldiers than the Spaniards; but 
part of his force was detached south of the Tagus, to watch Soult's 
Army of Andalusia. The French advanced by Ciudad Rodrigo and 
Almeida, which they took ; and Wellington fell back upon a strong 
position at the Sierra de Busaco, near Coimbra. The British line, ex- 



680 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxiii. 

tending neai'ly eight miles, but with, considerable gaps, was attacked 
by the French with great vigour on the morning of September 27. 
They were repulsed, however, with the loss of 5000 men ; and 
Massena, instead of renewing the attempt, seized the pass of 
Boialva, thus opening the road to Coimbra by turning the British 
left. Wellington now retired upon the famous lines of Torres 
Vedras, nearly 30 miles north of Lisbon, a position which his eagle 
eye had marked out in the preceding year. These lines were three- 
fold : the first or outermost ran from Alhandra on the Tagus to the 
heights of Torres Vedras, and thence along the little river Zizambre 
to the sea ; the second began at Quintilla, lower down the Tagus, 
and ran, at a distance varying from six to ten miles from the 
former, by Bucellas and Montachique to the mouth of the little 
river San Lorenzo ; the third or innermost was merely intended, in 
case of need, to cover the embarkation of the army on board the 
fleet in the Tagus. The streams were dammed up and reservoirs 
formed, so that the ground could be inundated if necessary. The 
right of the lines was covered by the fleet and gunboats in the 
Tagus. The lines were fortified with breast- works, abattis, etc., and 
nearly 100 redoubts or forts, mounting upwards of 600 guns. Some 
of them were capable of holding several hundred men, and one 
required a garrison of 3000. Wellington entered these lines 
on October 10. Massena came up three days afterwards, and was 
filled with despair at the sight. After viewing them about a month, 
he retired in the middle of November into winter quarters, without 
having attempted anything. 

Our general operations this year were not unattended with 
success. An attempt of the French upon Sicily was repulsed with 
great loss. By the end of the year they had been deprived of all 
their possessions in both Indies. The Dutch had also lost most of 
their East Indian settlements, and in the following year the re- 
mainder were reduced. On the continent, however, the French 
empire was extended. Napoleon, having deposed his intractable 
brother Louis, annexed Holland to France ; and, the German coast 
up to Hamburg being afterwards added, the French empire might be 
said to reach from Naples to the frontiers of Denmark, embracing a 
population of 80 millions. Nearly all the rest of Europe were 
Napoleon's allies ; and Bernadotte, one of his marshals, had been 
elected crown prince of Sweden. Between him and Napoleon, how- 
ever, there was a great antipathy ; and when the former came next 
year to the Swedish crown, he adopted Swedish views, conciliated 
the friendship of England, and ultimately declared against his 
former patron. 



a.d. 1810-1811. OPERATIONS IN THE PENINSULA. 681 



THE KEGENCY. 

§ 15. At home the scene was clouded by a return of the king's 
malady, brought on perhaps by the death of his beloved daughter, 
the princess Amelia (November 2, 1810), at the age of 28. Mr. 
Perceval now proposed the prince of Wales as regent, under the 
same restrictions with regard to the creation of peers, and the 
granting of offices, as those laid down by Pitt in 1788. The 
arrangements were not finally completed till January, 1811. 
George III. never recovered, and the regency consequently lasted 
till his death in 1820. At first it was anticipated that there would 
be a change of ministry, and lords Grey and Grenville were actually 
employed to draw up answers to the addresses of parliament ; but, 
being disgusted by some alterations suggested by Sheridan, they 
declined any further interference, and the old ministry was re- 
tained. Shortly after, the duke of York was reinstated as com- 
mander-in-chief. 

Early in 1811, Soult invaded Portugal from Andalusia, in order 
to co-operate with Massena. He took Olivenza and Badajoz 
(March 10) ; but by this time Massena's army was in a state of 
sickness and disorganization, and he was obliged to commence a 
retreat, closely followed by the English. His march was first 
directed on Coimbra and Oporto ; but his attempt to pass the Mon- 
dego at the former place being repulsed, he retreated up the left 
bank of that river, much harassed by the British. The French 
committed the most horrible cruelties and devastations in their 
retreat. The absence of several general officers, who had returned 
to England on pretence of private business, was bitterly reflected 
on in the English newspapers, and occasioned no small concern to 
Wellington. 

The draughts made by Soult for Portugal having reduced the 
French army blockading Cadiz to 16,000 men, general Graham 
(afterwards lord Lynedoch), with about 4000 men, partly Portu- 
guese, proceeded by sea to Algeciras, in the bay of Gibraltar ; and, 
having been joined at Tarifa by 7000 Spaniards, marched by way 
of Medina Sidonia towards the French position, with the view of 
taking them in the rear. Graham had expected that the Spaniards 
would have held the heights of Barrosa ; but when he arrived there, 
he found them occupied by marshal Victor with 8000 men and a 
formidable artillery. With his small division Graham carried them 
at the point of the bayonet in little more than an hour, with great 
loss, indeed, though almost twice as great on the side of the French. 
But, failing of support from the Spaniards, he was unable to follow 
up his victory, and the whole enterprise led to no result (March 
5, 1811). 



682 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxih. 

Towards the end of April, Massena, who had received reinforce- 
ments which swelled his army to 40,000 foot and 5000 horse, re- 
entered Portugal with the view of relieving the fortress of Almeida. 
Wellington marched to oppose him with 32,000 foot and 1200 
horse. They met at Fuentes de Ofioro, on the evening of May 3 : 
a fierce struggle ensued for the possession of the place, and ulti- 
mately the French were driven out. Early on the morning of the 
5th, Massena vigorously renewed the attack, which was kept up till 
evening, when the French retired with great loss. A few days 
after they evacuated Almeida. Napoleon was so dissatisfied with 
Massena, that he superseded him in the command by general Mar- 
mont. Marmont, however, could do no better than his predecessor, 
and retired to Salamanca. 

On May 16, a memorable battle was fought at Albuera between 
marshal Beresford, who was besieging Badajoz, and Soult, who had 
marched to its relief. Soult had about 23,000 men and 50 guns ; 
Beresford had 27,000; but of these more than a third were Span- 
iards, who fled at the first attack, and left the centre, where the 
British were posted, exposed to all the fury of the French assault. 
The victory fell to Beresford after six hours of desperate fighting ; 
but of 6000 British who contended with the French columns for 
the ridge of Albuera, only about 1500 were left unwounded. The 
French lost 9000 men. As Beresford was reinforced a day or two 
after with 1500 English, Soult did not think fit to renew the attack, 
but retreated towards Seville. On the 19th, Wellington arrived 
with two fresh divisions, and the siege of Badajoz was resumed 
(May 25). But a large French force approaching, the siege was 
abandoned after two unsuccessful assaults, and Wellington fell back 
on Campo Mayor (June 10). A little after, the successes of general 
Hill obliged the French to evacuate the greater part of Estremadura. 
But in the eastern provinces of Spain they were everywhere 
triumphant. 

§ 16. The beginning of 1812 was marked by ministerial changes. 
The marquess Wellesley resigned, objecting to serve under Mr. 
Perceval, and lord Castlereagh occupied his place as foreign secre- 
tary. Shortly afterwards Perceval was shot in the lobby of the 
House of Commons, about five o'clock in the afternoon of May 11, 
by one Bellingham, a Liverpool broker, whose petitions had been 
rejected. The assassin was convicted and hanged within a week. 
Upon this event all the ministers tendered their resignations. A 
fruitless attempt was made to construct a whig cabinet. Lord 
Liverpool now became premier, with Mr. Vansittart as chancellor 
of the exchequer. The financial measures of Perceval were adopted, 
and it was resolved to push the war with vigour. 



a.d. 1812. BATTLE OF SALAMANCA. 683 

Wellington had opened the campaign in the Peninsula with the 
capture of Ciudad Eodrigo, after less than a fortnight's siege 
(January 19, 1812). The Spaniards now first began to appreciate 
his genius : the Cortes voted him their thanks, and the title of duke 
of Ciudad Eodrigo. The English parliament granted him an 
annuity of 2000Z., to be annexed to the earldom to which he was 
now raised. Shortly after Badajoz was again invested (March 16), 
and was carried (April 6) with a terrible slaughter. Soult, who was 
advancing to its relief, now again retreated towards Seville, pursued 
by the British, who overtook and routed his rear-guard at Villa 
Garcia. General Hill having by a masterly movement cut off the 
communication between Soult and Marmont, by seizing Almarez 
(May 19), which covered the passage of the Tagus, Wellington, no 
longer reduced to the defensive, prepared to advance into Spain. 
He had now 40,000 men, but one division consisted of Spaniards. 
Marmont had about 50,000, and was much superior in cavalry and 
artillery, yet he evacuated Salamanca when Wellington appeared 
before it (June 16). As an instance of the barbarous manner in 
which the French conducted the war in Spain, it may be mentioned 
that during their occupation of this celebrated university town they 
had destroyed 22 out of its 25 colleges. In July both armies were 
facing each other on the banks of the Guareha. On the 20th, 
Marmont, who had been reinforced, put his army in motion to 
regain the banks of the Tormes, and cut off Wellington's communi- 
cation with Salamanca. Wellington immediately started after him, 
the two armies moving in parallel columns within sight of each 
other, yet refraining from all hostilities, except the occasional 
exchange of a cannon-shot. It was a sort of race which should 
arrive first at the Tormes. The armies crossed that river, the 
British at the bridge of Salamanca, the French at the fords higher 
up ; and both took up positions on the south bank. On the 22nd, 
Marmont having too much extended and weakened his left, Wel- 
lington took advantage of the error and completely defeated him. 
Wellington in his despatch calculates the French loss at from 
17,000 to 20,000 men, and says it was admitted that their whole 
army would have been in his hands had there been an hour more 
daylight. Marmont himself was wounded by a shell. The French, 
now under general Clausel, fled precipitately to Valladolid, which 
they abandoned on the approach of the British. Hearing that king 
Joseph, with 20,000 men, was threatening his flank and rear, Wel- 
lington, leaving a force on the Duero to watch Clausel, turned upon 
him, pursued him on the road to Madrid through San Ildefonso, and 
entered the Spanish capital (August 14), the French and their 
Spanish partisans hurrying from it in the greatest haste. On the 



684 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxiu 

14th the French garrison in the Retire- palace surrendered, when 180 
guns, 20,000 stand of arms, and an immense quantity of warlike 
stores, were captured. 

One of the first results of the fall of the capital was that Soult 
abandoned the blockade of Cadiz and retired to Granada ; but Wel- 
lington soon found that it would be impossible with his small force 
to hold an open town like Madrid in the presence of the large and 
well-disciplined French armies both in the north and south of 
Spain, and he retired on Salamanca, and subsequently went into 
winter quarters at Ciudad Rodrigo. 

§ 17. During our arduous struggle with the French, the Americans 
had displayed an unfriendly disposition towards this country. They 
were incensed at our exercise of the right of search, which had been 
forced upon us by the Berlin Decree, and they insisted on the doctrine 
that the neutral flag makes free goods. In 1811 Napoleon released 
the Americans from the observance of the Berlin and Milan decrees ; 
and in the same year the Americans passed against us a non-inter- 
course act, by which all British goods arriving in America were to 
be seized, unless we recalled the obnoxious orders in council before 
alluded to. These were revoked in favour of America in June, 1812, 
although we had been already subjected to many insults from the 
Americans, which we had disregarded. But the concession came 
too late : the Americans had declared war a few days previously. 
They had long been making preparations for a struggle which 
promised to be profitable to them ; and they immediately despatched 
to Canada a body of 2500 men under general Hull. Proclamations 
were issued inviting the Canadians to throw off the British yoke ; 
but they remained faithful, and the military measures adopted by 
general Brock were so judicious that in less than two months Hull 
was obliged to capitulate. A second attempt under general Wads- 
worth was repulsed with great loss. At sea the Americans succeeded 
in capturing some of our frigates, owing to their own being much 
more heavily armed. 

Meanwhile that breach between France and Russia had occurred, 
which ultimately proved one of the chief causes of Napoleon's down- 
fall. Both Russia and Sweden had declined to carry out the Berlin 
Decree ; and in March, 1812, a treaty was concluded between those 
powers, in consequence of which Napoleon made active preparations 
for war. Before entering on it, he was willing to patch up a peace 
with England, and was ready to make large concessions ; but, as he 
still demanded Spain for his brother Joseph, his proposals were not 
entertained. Napoleon then undertook his disastrous expedition into 
Russia. The burning of Moscow, which he entered on September 
15, forced him to a retreat, during which the greater part of Ms vast 



A.D. 1813. BATTLE OF VITTOR1A. 685 

host was annihilated either by the inclemency of the weather or the 
sword of the enemy. Napoleon, abandoning his army to its fate, 
travelled post-haste to Paris, wbere he arrived (December 18) 
thoroughly beaten and discomfited. During the summer a treaty 
was concluded between England and Sweden, and subsequently 
between England and Eussia ; and when the British parliament 
assembled in November, a grant of 200,000Z. was voted for the relief 
of the sufferers in Russia, in addition to a large amount raised by 
private subscription. The parliament also voted 100,000Z. to lord 
Wellington. 

§ 18. The French reverses not only prevented Napoleon from 
sending reinforcements into Spain, but obliged him to recal marshal 
Soult and 20,000 men from that country, to oppose the advance 
of the Eussians. Thus a brighter prospect was opened to the 
British arms in the Peninsula. The Spanish provisional govern- 
ment, throwing aside its ridiculous pride, made Wellington 
commander-in-chief of the Spanish forces, which were little better 
than an undisciplined rabble. Their greatest service was in guerrilla 
warfare. The whole force on which Wellington could rely was 
under 70,000 British and Portuguese, of which about 6000 were 
cavalry. On May 6, 1813, he entered Spain in three divisions, the 
centre being led by himself, the right by sir Rowland Hill, the left 
by sir Thomas Graham. The advance was made by Valladolid, 
the French retreating before him, till they took up a strong position 
in front of Vittoria. Vittoria was attacked (June 21), and carried 
after an obstinate resistance, the French being driven through the 
town, and pursued till it grew dark. The whole of the French 
artillery, baggage, and ammunition, together with property valued 
at a million sterling, was captured on this occasion ; and king 
Joseph himself was nearly seized by a party of the 10th hussars. 
The French army fled in the greatest disorder to Pampluna ; but, 
as that place would evidently have to sustain a siege or blockade, 
the garrison would admit none of their countrymen except king 
Joseph. The remainder of the fugitives pursued their flight, and 
did not rally till they reached the Pyrenees. Pampluna and San 
Sebastian were soon invested by the allies, and the passes of the 
Pyrenees were occupied from Eoncesvalles to Irun, at the mouth of 
the Bidassoa. 

Napoleon now sent Soult, with the title of " lieutenant of the 
emperor," to reorganize the defeated army and defend the frontiers 
of France. The former commission he executed with great promp- 
titude and skill at St. Jean Pied de Port ; the latter was beyond 
his power, though he made desperate attempts, and even succeeded 
in regaining two of the mountain passes. These operations ex- 
31 



686 GEORGE 111. Chap, xxxih. 

tended from July 24 to August 2, the last six days of which were 
one continual combat. These engagements are known as the 
" Battles of the Pyrenees." Soult would have been fairly entangled 
and surrounded at San Estevan, but for the imprudence of three 
drunken English soldiers who were surprised near his quarters. 
His army suffered severe losses in that terrible pass. He now 
retired behind the Bidassoa, and Wellington halted to besiege San 
Sebastian. 

On August 31, San Sebastian was carried by assault, but with 
terri ble loss ; and the castle surrendered a few days after. Pamp- 
luna held out till October 31 ; but Wellington, leaving that fortress 
invested, crossed the Bidassoa early in that month with his left 
wing, and Soult retreated to the Nivelle. Before the middle of 
November all the allied army was on French ground. Wellington 
had issued a proclamation, containing the strictest injunctions not 
to molest the peaceable inhabitants, which the Spaniards could not 
be brought to obey, and at last he was obliged to send most of 
them back over the frontier. The peasants of the south of Prance, 
oppressed by the conscription, welcomed the English as deliverers. 
On November 10, the French position on the Nivelle was forced. 
Soult then retired to his entrenched camp at Bayonne, from which 
he attacked the English posts, but without success. The allies 
then went for a few weeks into winter quarters. 

§ 19. The whole continent had now risen in arms against 
Napoleon. During his disastrous retreat from Bussia, the emperor 
Alexander had hung upon his rear ; and, as the forces of Russia 
approached the west, they were joined by the Poles, and then by the 
Prussians. A sentiment of revenge for national degradation had at 
length aroused the latter. The news of Wellington's glorious 
campaign in the Peninsula also stimulated the Germans to resist- 
ance. Frederick William III., king of Prussia, and the Czar con- 
tracted an alliance offensive and defensive (March 1, 1813), which 
was ratified at Kalisch. This coalition, being the sixth against 
France, was joined by Great Britain (June 14). Napoleon, how- 
ever, was still superior in force to the allies. By the most un- 
sparing conscription he had raised 300,000 men, half of whom were 
despatched into Germany ; but they were raw recruits, necessarily 
much inferior to those by whom he had won his early victories. 
He gained in May the battles of Lutzen and Bautzen ; but they 
were bloody, and led to little result. The French reoccupied 
Leipsic and Dresden, and an armistice was agreed upon, from 
June 4 to August 10, to give time for negociations mediated by 
Austria. Napoleon refused to give up his conquests beyond the 
Bhine ; and at the conclusion of the armistice Austria joined the 



ad. 1813. ABDICATION OF NAPOLEON. 687 

coalition against him, although the emperor's daughter had been 
left regent of France. England supplied the Prussians, Hanoverians, 
and Swedes, with money and stores. Then followed the battles of 
Gross Beeren, Katzbach, Dresden, and Dennewitz, in all which the 
French were defeated, and finally the crowning battle of Leipsic 
(October 16-18), called by the Germans the Volkerschlacht, or 
battle of the nations, from the numbers engaged. Napoleon was 
completely overthrown, and compelled to a retreat as disastrous as 
that from Moscow, recrossing the Rhine with less than a quarter of 
the enormous army he had collected in Germany. He reached 
Paris (November 9), still self-confident and presumptuous, though 
beaten. On the 21st of December, 1813, the vanguard of the 
allied armies crossed the Rhine, and the war was carried into 
France. 

On February 21, 1814, Wellington again took the field, and Soult 
retired before him across the Gave d'Oleron. On the 27th, he was 
defeated at Orthez with great loss, and Wellington pushed on to 
the Adour, directing sir John Hope to invest Bayonne, and marshal 
Beresford to occupy Bordeaux. On his arrival the mayor and 
citizens proclaimed Louis XVIII. of their own accord, for Welling- 
ton studiously avoided all interference in favour of the Bourbons. 
Soult now retreated upon Toulouse ; and Wellington, who reached 
that city on March 27, found him posted on the right bank of the 
broad and rapid Garonne. It was the 9th of April before the 
British army could be conveyed to the other side, and on the 10th, 
Easter Sunday, was fought the bloody battle which takes its name 
from the town. The force of Wellington was a little superior, but 
Soult was much stronger in artillery. His position was carried, but 
with considerable loss, and on the night of the 11th he evacuated 
Toulouse and retreated towards Carcassone. In that night he 
marched 21 miles : yet some French writers have claimed the battle 
of Toulouse as one of their victories ! Wellington entered Toulouse 
on the 12th, and in the afternoon he received intelligence that 
Napoleon had abdicated at Fontainebleau six days before the battle. 
Soult at first refused to acknowledge the provisional government 
established in the name of Louis XVIII. ; but on his receiving 
further intelligence, a convention was signed on the 18th. On the 
14th, general Thouvenot, though apprized of the state of affairs at 
Paris, wantonly made a night sally from Bayonne, in which a 
great number of men were killed and wounded on both sides. 

§ 20. All February and March, 1814, Napoleon had obstinately 
contested with far inferior forces the advance of the allies from the 
Rhine, displaying all his great qualities as a general. During this 
campaign a congress of the ministers of the allied powers and of 



688 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxiii. 

France was held at Chatillon-sur-Seine, England being represented 
by lord Castlereagh. They offered those boundaries which France 
pretended to claim as her natural limits — the Pyrenees, the Alps, 
and the Rhine ; but to these proposals Napoleon refused to accede 
till too late. Of this campaign it will suffice to say, that after 
several battles the emperor Alexander and the king of Prussia 
entered Paris (March .31). The allied sovereigns now refused to 
treat with Napoleon, who had retired to Fontainebleau. He was 
compelled to abdicate (April 4), and a provisional government was 
formed to effect the restoration of the Bourbons. At the instance 
of the emperor Alexander, Napoleon was allowed to retain his 
imperial title, the isle of Elba was assigned as his dominion, 
and he was to receive from France a pension of six million francs. 
England was no party to this treaty, but afterwards assented to it. 
Louis XVIII., who during his exile had resided in England, entered 
Paris in state (May 3), and on the 30th he signed with Great 
Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia, a treaty of peace and alliance, 
by which the French boundaries, with some additions, were deter- 
mined and secured as they existed in 1792. The possession of 
Malta and its dependencies was confirmed to England : the Cape of 
Good Hope had been secured by a previous treaty with Holland ; 
but all the Dutch East India colonies, except Ceylon, were restored. 
All the colonies possessed by France in 1792 were also restored, 
except Tobago, St. Lucie, and the Isle of France ; and several 
islands and colonies were likewise given back to Spain. Hanover 
was raised to the dignity of a kingdom, with the succession in the 
male line only. In June the allied armies evacuated Paris. The 
emperor Alexander, the king of Prussia, and many of their most 
distinguished generals and nobility, then visited England, when 
there was a solemn thanksgiving in St. Paul's, and a series of grand 
fetes and entertainments. 

Contemporaneously with the advance of the allies upon Paris, an 
English force under sir Thomas Graham, which was afterwards 
joined by Bernadotte and his Swedes, had been engaged in reducing 
Holland, and the English suffered severely in attempting to storm 
the formidable fortress of Bergen-op-Zoom (March 10). By the 
peace of Paris, Belgium was incorporated with Holland, and formed 
the kingdom of the Netherlands. Lord William Bentinck, with an 
Anglo-Sicilian force, assisted by a squadron under sir Edward 
Pellew, succeeded in reducing Genoa, which was annexed to the 
kingdom of Sardinia. Pius VII. was restored to the papal throne ; 
and Lombardy, with the addition of Venice and several other 
places, was made over to Austria, after the expulsion of the viceroy, 
Eugene Beanharnais. Bentinck appears to have exceeded his powers 



a.d. 1813-1815. THE WAR WITH AMERICA. 089 

in proclaiming the independence of Genoa, and thus exciting 
hopes which could not he realized. Ferdinand VII. had already- 
been restored to the throne of Spain by Napoleon, without the 
exaction of any pledge. Soon after, the duke of Wellington, for 
such he had now been created, arrived at Madrid to mediate be- 
tween the contending parties ; and he advised Ferdinand to grant 
the Spaniards a constitution, and to rule with liberality and modera- 
tion. On his return home the duke received the thanks of both 
houses, and a sum of 500,000Z. was voted to him for an estate. 

§ 21. Our war with America during this period presented 
features of little interest. Instructed by the events of 1812, the 
English government sent out a more powerful class of frigates, and 
henceforward the engagements terminated for the most part in 
favour of the British. One of the most remarkable was that be- 
tween the Shannon and Chesapeake, a British and an American 
frigate, of which the latter was considerably superior in weight of 
metal. Captain Broke of the Shannon sent a challenge to the 
Chesapeake in Boston harbour, and a battle was fought (June 1, 
1813), when, after an action of fifteen minutes, captain Broke 
boarded the Chesapeake, and carried her off in sight of the dis- 
appointed Americans. (Supplement, Note XXXI.) 

In 1813 and 1814 the Americans renewed their attempts upon 
Canada, but without success, and it is calculated that their three 
invasions cost them 50,000 men. Meanwhile our squadrons 
ravaged the American coast, the lighter vessels penetrating up the 
rivers and inflicting considerable damage. In 1814 the British in 
America were reinforced with some of the veterans of the Peninsula. 
On August 24 general Boss, with only 1600 men, dispersed in half 
an hour about 8000 Americans posted on some heights near the 
river Potomac, entered Washington, the capital of the Union, and 
burnt the Senate-house, the House of Bepresentatives, the Capitol, 
the president's residence, the arsenal, dockyards, and other public 
buildings. Several other American towns were taken ; but an 
attack upon Baltimore was repulsed with great loss, including the 
death of general Ross (September 13) ; and an attempt upon New 
Orleans (January, 1815) was still more unfortunate. After the abdi- 
cation of Napoleon the Americans began to think of peace, and a 
treaty was signed at Ghent (December 24, 1814). Both parties 
agreed to use their endeavours to suppress the slave-trade. 

§ 22. In January, 1815, a congress of eight of the principal Euro- 
pean powers assembled at Vienna to regulate the affairs of Europe ; 
but they had not proceeded far in their labours when they were 
astounded with the intelligence that Bonaparte had escaped from 
Elba. He landed at Cannes (March 1) with 1000 men, and the 



690 GEORGE III. Chap. xxxm. 

troops sent against him joined his standard as he advanced. On 
the night of- March 19 Louis XVIII. fled to Lille, and on the 
following night Napoleon entered the palace of the Tuileries. The 
congress at Vienna declared him an outlaw and violator of the 
common peace, devoted him to public vengeance, and agreed to 
unite for the maintenance of the treaty of Paris. The duke of 
Wellington, who was present at the congress, was consulted as to 
the conduct of the war. The duke impressed upon the English 
ministry the necessity, even on the ground of economy, of making 
a grand effort to crush the enemy at once. Both the ministry and 
the parliament were impressed with the soundness of this advice. 
The budget of the year was raised to the enormous sum of ninety 
millions, a considerable part of which went to subsidize the con- 
tinental nations ; and the duke proceeded to Belgium to prepare for 
the expected campaign. 

Napoleon crossed the Belgian frontier (June 14) with about 
100,000 infantry, 25,000 cavalry, and 350 pieces of artillery; 
and advanced by Charleroi. Wellington lay at Brussels with about 
76,000 men, not half of whom were British, and some 84 guns ; 
Bliicher being at some distance on his left, with 80,000 Prussians and 
200 guns ; and when Wellington had ascertained the real point of 
attack, he made the proper dispositions to meet it. On the 15th 
marshal Ney advanced beyond Charleroi on the road to Brussels, 
driving back from Quatre Bras an advanced brigade of the Army of 
the Netherlands under the prince of Weimar. The position was, 
however, recovered by the prince of Orange ; and on the next day, 
general Picton having arrived with the 5th division and some 
Germans under the duke of Brunswick, Ney was repulsed from 
Quatre Bras, though his force was nearly double that of the allies. 
Meanwhile, on the same day, Napoleon with his main body had 
attacked the Prussians at Ligny and St. Amand, in front of their 
head-quarters at Sombref, had driven Bliicher back with great loss, 
and compelled him to retreat to Wavre. But so little aware was he of 
his victory, that it was not till noon on the 17th that he despatched 
Grouchy, with a corps of 32,000 men, in pursuit of the Prussians. 

Bliicher's retrograde movement necessitated a similar one on the 
part of Wellington, In order to keep up the communication between 
the allied armies. On the 17th he made a leisurely retreat, undis- 
turbed except by a few cavalry skirmishes, to the position of Mont 
St. Jean, two miles in front of Waterloo, which he had previously 
selected for a battle-field. In the course of the same day Napoleon 
formed a junction with Ney, when their united forces amounted to 
about 78,000 men. The night was stormy, with thunder, rain, and 
wind; the following morning (Sunday, June 18) opened heavily, 



a.d. 1815. BATTLE OF WATERLOO. 691 

but the rain had ceased. Wellington occupied a position extending 
from a ravine near Merke Braine on the right to the hamlet of Ter 
la Haye on the left ; on which side the communication was open with 
Blucher at Wavre, through Ohain. In front of his right centre was 
the chateau of Hougoumont, in front of his left centre the farm- 
house of La Haye Sainte, both occupied by our troops. In the rear 
of the British centre was the farmhouse of Mont St. Jean, and 
still further back the village of the same name. The French occu- 
pied some heights in front of Wellington's position, and about a 
mile distant ; their right being before the village of Planchenois, 
and occupying the farm of La Belle Alliance, whilst their left rested 
on the Genappe road. It was the first time that Napoleon had 
come into contact with British troops. He was full of confidence, 
and is said to have exclaimed, "Enfin je vais me mesurer avec ce 
Vilainton." About ten o'clock the French line was observed to be 
in motion, and soon a violent attack was made on Hougoumont, 
defended by a brigade of the guards, who held it throughout the day. 
The French succeeded better at La Haye Sainte, though it was 
bravely defended by some of the German Legion, who were all slain ; 
but the post was afterwards recovered. In other parts of the line 
repeated attacks were made by heavy columns of French infantry, 
but without success, and Napoleon then had recourse to some despe- 
rate charges of cavalry, which were repulsed by the British infantry 
formed in squares. To put an eud to this, Wellington ordered an 
advance of the brigade of heavy cavalry under lord Edward Somerset, 
consisting of the life guards, horse guards, and 1st dragoon guards, 
who completely rode down and dispersed the French cuirassiers, 
2000 of them being made prisoners in this charge. At seven o'clock 
in the evening the British line retained its original position ; when 
Bulow's corps of Prussians, which had arrived at Planchenois and 
La Belle Alliance, began to engage the French right. Napoleon's 
chances were now growing desperate, and as a last effort he ordered 
the advance of his magnificent Old Guard against the British 
position. He led the advance some way himself, and then took 
shelter behind some rising ground, leaving Ney, " the bravest of 
the brave," to head the charge. The guard advanced up the gently 
sloping ridge in two dark and threatening columns, galled by a 
flank fire from the British light division. At the top ot that ridge 
the British guards were lying down to avoid the fire of the French 
artillery ; but, as the French columns approached, they sprang up 
and, at the distance of about 50 yards, delivered a terrible volley 
into the French ranks, as they were attempting to deploy into 
line. Their columns shook and wavered, a charge was ordered, and 
the Old Guard was hurled down the hill in one mingled mass with 



692 GEORGE HI. Chap, xxxiii. 

their conquerors. The sight of this repulse threw the whole French 
line into confusion and dismay : Napoleon gallopped to the rear, and 
Wellington, availing himself of the auspicious moment, ordered a 
general advance. The French army was now in complete rout ; 
Wellington and Bliicher met at a house called La Maison Eouge, 
not far from La Belle Alliance ; and the pursuit of the enemy was 
left to the Prussians, who were comparatively fresh. Many pri- 
soners were made, and 150 guns fell into the hands of the allies. 
Napoleon himself narrowly escaped capture. It was computed that 
in the three days' engagements and in the retreat the French lost 
30,000 men; and when the remaining fugitives reached the French 
frontier, the greater part dispersed, never to meet again. But the 
loss of the allies was also enormous. It is estimated that nearly 
half the men actually engaged were either killed or wounded. 
Among the killed were general Picton and general sir William 
Ponsonhy ; among the wounded, the earl of Uxhridge (afterwards 
marquess of Anglesey), general Cooke, general Halkett, colonel 
Fitzroy Somerset (afterwards Lord Raglan), and others. The prince 
of Orange was also wounded. The duke of Brunswick had fallen 
at Quatre Bras, at the head of his black hussars. 

§ 23. The allies now advanced upon Paris, which the remains of 
the grand army evacuated (July 6), and the allies took possession. 
Bliicher wished to pull down the column in the Place Vendome, 
blow up the bridge of Jena, and levy 100 million francs on the 
city; but on all these points he ultimately yielded to the more 
moderate counsels of Wellington. Napoleon had abdicated (June 
22) in favour of his young son, Napoleon II. ; but the allies would 
be content with nothing less than the restoration of the Bourbons, 
and Louis XVIIL, who had re-entered Paris with the allies, quietly 
resumed the government. 

Meanwhile Napoleon, distracted by uncertainty, now thinking of 
joining the remains of his army beyond the Loire, and now of flying 
to America, arrived at Rochefort (July 3). But finding all hope of 
escape cut off by the numerous British cruisers, he surrendered 
himself to captain Maitland, on board the Bellerophon, an English 
ship of the line, which happened to be in the roads. He had 
previously written to the piince regent, claiming the protection of 
the British people, and comparing himself to Themistocles when he 
sought the hospitality of Admetus. Captain Maitland gave him 
to understand that he could make no promises as to his recep- 
tion, and could only undertake to convey him safely to England. 
Maitland was ordered to proceed to Plymouth Sound, and allow 
no communication with the shore. The resolution of the allies 
was communicated to Napoleon (July 31), and on August 7 



a.d. 1815-1816. DISTRESS AND DISCONTENT. 693 

he was put on board the Northumberland, the flag-ship of admiral 
sir G. Cockburn, and conveyed to the island of St. Helena. Here 
he lingered till his death (May 5, 1821). He was incontestably 
the greatest general of modern times, and had taken every capital of 
importance in Europe, except London : yet he was deficient in the 
qualities which make a great man, and especially in dignity and 
fortitude in the endurance of misfortune. 

The second peace of Paris, or definitive treaty between France and 
the allied powers, was signed in that capital on November 20. The 
settlement of Europe was arranged by the congress at Vienna. 
The emperor of Kussia, the emperor of Austria, and the king of 
Prussia had also signed what they called the " Holy Alliance " — 
an agreement to govern on Christian principles ; which the duke 
of Wellington wisely declined to sign, on the ground that it was 
too vague (September 26). 

At the commencement of the war with France in 1793, the 
English funded debt had been a little under 240 millions. In 
February, 1816, the unredeemed debt, funded and unfunded, 
amounted to nearly 900 millions, entailing an annual charge of 
more than 28 millions. The last three years of the war alone had 
cost the country very nearly 200 millions. 

§ 24. The triumph of the nation was succeeded by a reaction of 
internal distress and discontent. During the war, the excitement 
of national feeling and the natural exultation of victory had 
prevented the people from complaining, and it was not till the 
struggle was over that they began to feel the burthens occasioned 
by it. Trade languished from the exhaustion of the continental 
nations, and their consequent inability to purchase our goods ; 
while through unfavourable seasons the price of wheat rose before 
the end of 1816 from 52s. to upwards of 100s. a quarter ; and the 
distress was augmented by the corn-law of 1815, which closed the 
ports to the importation of foreign grain till the price of wheat 
reached 80s. A multitude of persons were thrown out of employ- 
ment through the depressed state of trade, and their numbers were 
swelled by the soldiers and sailors discharged at the termination of 
the war. Thus seditions and tumults arose, marked in the agri- 
cultural districts by incendiary fires, in the manufacturing towns 
by the breaking of those ingenious machines by which human 
labour has been to a great extent superseded. The subject of 
parliamentary reform, previously little more than a speculative 
question, now began to be agitated among the great mass of the 
I eople. A ramification of clubs, called Hampden clubs, was estab- 
lished throughout the country, that of London being presided over 
by sir Francis Burdett. Other leading members were major Cart- 
31* 



694 GEORGE III. Chap, xxxiii. 

wright and the demagogue orator Henry Hunt. Their demand for 
reform embraced aonual parliaments and universal suffrage ; and a 
report of a secret committee of the House of Commons in February, 
1817, represented these clubs as meditating nothing short of a 
revolution. In the preceding December dangerous riots had taken 
place in Spa Fields, which were with difficulty put down through 
the firmness and courage of sir James Shaw and of the lord mayor. 

One result of the peace was the suppression of the Algerine pirates. 
During the war these nests of robbers had been connived at ; but 
in 1816 sir Edward Pellew (lord Exmouth) proceeded to Algiers 
with 25 men-of-war, besides gunboats. Being joined by a small 
Dutch squadron under admiral Van Capellan, he almost com- 
pletely destroyed, after a few hours' bombardment, the formidable 
fortifications of Algiers (August 27), together with nine Algerine 
frigates. A loss, however, of 818 officers and men was sustained 
by the British. The dey of Algiers now accepted the terms dictated, 
and 1083 Christian slaves, principally Italians, were liberated. 

§ 25. The general feeling of discontent among the lower classes, 
and an outrage committed upon the prince regent, the windows of 
whose carriage were broken as he was returning from opening the 
parliament (January 28, 1817), led to the suspension of the Habeas 
Corpus Act (February 28). At the same time the execution of the 
law of libel was severely pressed, and numerous ex officio informa- 
tions were filed against political writers. One of the most remark- 
able of these prosecutions was that against William Hone, a 
bookseller in the Old Bailey, for a profane libel, consisting of 
parodies on the Catechism,>he Lord's Prayer, and the Creed. Hone 
conducted his own defence with considerable ability, and was 
acquitted by the jury, who seem to have felt that it was the 
political rather than the profane character of the libels that had 
excited the indignation of the government (December 18). 

The princess Charlotte, only child of the regent, died in child- 
birth this year (November 6). The infant was still-born. She 
had espoused (May 16, 1816) prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg, the 
late king of the Belgians. 

In 18 1 8 the prospects of the country seemed improving. Trade 
was more active, employment more constant, and sedition conse- 
quently less rampant. In September a congress of the allies was 
held at Aix-la-Chapelle in order to settle the withdrawal of the 
army of occupation from France, of which the duke of Wellington 
was generalissimo. The duke took leave of the troops by an order 
of the day dated at Cambray, November 7. On his return to 
England he was appointed master-general of the ordnance, with a 
seat in the cabinet. 



\.v. 1816-1820 HIS DEATH. 695 

§ 26. In 1819 was passed the act, commonly known as Mr. Peel's 
Act, to remove the Bank restriction passed in 1797, and to provide 
for the gradual resumption of cash payments. May 1, 1823, was 
assigned as the period for the payment of all notes on demand in 
the current gold coin of the realm ; but the Bank anticipated this 
period by two years, and began to pay in specie on May 1, 1821. 

In August, 1819, Henry Hunt, the demagogue, collected a great 
meeting in St. Peter's Fields, Manchester, on the subject of parlia- 
mentary reform. The attempt to apprehend him produced a dis- 
turbance, in which about half a dozen persons were killed and a 
score or two wounded. This affair obtained among the " Radicals," 
as the extreme reform party were now called, the name of the 
Manchester Massacre, or " Peterloo." Hunt and eight or ten of his 
friends were captured, and, being tried and convicted of a mis- 
demeanour in the following spring, were sentenced to various terms 
of imprisonment. Such was the alarm occasioned in the public 
mind by these disturbances, that parliament was opened in 
November, when the ministers brought in and passed six acts : 
namely, for the more speedy execution of justice in cases of mis- 
demeanour ; to prevent military training ; to prevent and punish 
blasphemous and seditious libels; an act for seizing arms; a stamp 
act, with the view of repressing libels ; and an act to prevent 
seditious meetings and assemblies. But more effectual means of 
repression were found in the amendment of the criminal law, the 
extension of education, the establishment of savings banks, and 
other measures of a similar philanthropic character. 

On January 23, 1820, died the duke of Kent, aged 52, leaving an 
only daughter, her present majesty, born May 24, 1819. In less 
than a week afterwards, George III. expired (January 29), at the 
age of 82, and in the 60th year of his reign, a longer period than 
any king had ever sat on the English throne. His private conduct 
had been always unexceptionable ; and his plain and unostentatious 
manner, his warmth of feeling, and his attachment to rural pursuits, 
had endeared him to a large portion of his subjects. As a sovereign 
he undoubtedly had the honour and welfare of the nation at heart. 
Though occasionally somewhat narrow and contracted in his views, 
these defects are rather to be attributed to his early training than 
to any want of natural good sense. To the opinions be had once 
adopted he was apt to cling with a firmness nothing could shake. 
Unpopular at the outset of his reign, and surrounded by those who 
either were unable to advise, or unwilling to conciliate, he succeeded, 
long before his death, in gaining the affection and esteem of his 
subjects. Queen Chnrlotte had died in November, 1818. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

GEORGE IV., AND WILLIAM IV. A.D. 1820-1837. 

§ 1. Accession of George IV. Cato-street conspiracy. Prosecution and 
death of queen Caroline. § 2. Ministerial changes. Commercial panic. 
§ 3. The catholic question. O'Connell and the Catholic Association. 
Canning's ministry and death. § 4. Battle of Navarino. Kingdom of 
Greece. The duke of Wellington premier. Repeal of the Test and 
Corporation Acts. § 5. Catholic emancipation. § 6. Death and cha- 
racter of George IV. § 7. Accession of WiLLTAM IV. Earl Grey 
premier. § 8. Parliamentary Reform Bill. Rejected by the lords. 
Riots at Bristol, etc. § 9. Proposed creation of peers. Reform Bill 
carried. Irish Coercion Bill. § 10. Abolition of slavery. Lord Mel- 
bourne prime minister. Sir Robert Peel prime minister. Lord Mel- 
bourne's second administration. § 11. Municipal Reform Bill. Death 
of William IV. 

GEORGE IV., I. 1762; r. 1820-1830. 

§ 1. George, prince of Wales, now ascended the throne, with the 
title of George IV., at the age of 58. As he had been regent during 
the last ten years, while his father was in seclusion, his accession 
produced little or no change in the state of affairs. 

The excitement of " Peterloo " was followed by the Cato-street 
conspiracy, so called because the conspirators were captured in a 
room over a stable in Cato-street, Edgeware-road (February 23). 
They consisted of some twenty or thirty persons, headed by one 
Thistlewood, a man of desperate character ; and their design was to 
murder all the cabinet ministers when they should be assembled at 
dinner at lord Harrowby's. But they were betrayed by one of 
their own gang : nine of them were captured, and Thistlewood and 
four more of the ringleaders were executed (May 1). 

One of the first steps of George IV. after his accession was to 
attempt to procure a divorce from his consort, Caroline of Brunswick. 
The marriage had never been a happy one. It had been in a 
manner forced upon the prince as a condition of having his debts 
paid. The princess's person and manners were distasteful to him, 
and she soon became the object of his aversion. Though she bore 
him a daughter, they separated shortly after their marriage ; and 
Caroline went to live abroad in 1814. Her conduct in England had 
already excited some scandal, and in 1818 a commission was ap- 
pointed to watch her conduct and collect evidence. Our ambassa- 
dors abroad were instructed not to recognize her; and when the 
king came to the throne her name was omitted from the liturgy. 



a.d. 1820-1822. PROSECUTION OF QUEEN CAROLINE. 697 

She determined on returning to England, and arrived (June 6, 1820) 
the very day on which lord Liverpool had opened an inquiry into 
her conduct in the House of Lords. In July a bill of pains and 
penalties was brought in, to deprive her of her rights and privileges 
as queen, and to dissolve the marriage. In the trial which ensued 
Mr. Brougham and Mr. Denman acted as her attorney and solicitor 
general. She was charged in particular with adultery with one 
Bergami, a menial servant. Several Italian witnesses were examined, 
and it cannot be doubted that her conduct in Italy had gone far 
beyond the bounds of discretion ; but the witnesses were of a low 
class, and frequently equivocated : and there was naturally a popu- 
lar feeling in favour of a woman whose case assumed somewhat the 
aspect of persecution. At the third reading of the bill, the majority 
in its favour in the House of Lords had fallen to nine ; and, as the 
bill had still to pass the commons, the ministers determined to 
abandon it. The popular feeling was expressed by a general illumi- 
nation. In the following session the commons voted the queen an 
annuity of 50,000?. 

The king's coronation having been fixed for July 19, 1821, queen 
Caroline insisted on being crowned with him, and on having her 
name inserted in the liturgy. This was refused; and when she 
repaired to the abbey to view the coronation as a spectator, she 
was turned back from the door. This disappointment, added to 
the excitement she had already undergone, was her deathblow. 
She expired of internal inflammation (August 7), at the age of 52. 
Her funeral was attended with riots. The mob compelled the pro- 
cession to pass through the city, and two persons were shot by the 
military. Her remains were then taken to Harwich to be conveyed 
to Brunswick. 

§ 2. In 1822 lord Sidmouth retired from the home office, and was 
succeeded by Mr. Peel. In August the suicide of lord Londonderry 
(formerly lord Castlereagh) created another vacancy in the ministry. 
Mr. Canning was now the leading man in the House of Commons, 
but he had incurred the king's displeasure by refusing to take any 
part in the proceedings against queen Caroline, and had therefore 
been passed over on the preceding occasion. His great talents, 
however, could not be entirely overlooked, and the East India Com- 
pany had offered him the governor-generalship of India, for which 
he was preparing to depart. But, as his services in England were 
indispensable, the king was forced to waive his antipathy, and 
Canning became foreign secretary and leader of the House of Com- 
mons. His discharge of that office was marked by a more liberal 
policy than had prevailed under his predecessor. 

As the disciple of Pitt Canning followed Pitt's principles of 



698 GEORGE IV. Chap, xxxiv. 

commercial freedom and financial reform. These were adopted in 
practice by Huskisson, who became president of the Board of Trade 
in 1823, and taxation was rapidly reduced. The prosperity of the 
country went on increasing ; but towards the end of 1825 the reck- 
less spirit of speculation produced a panic, which was followed by 
much distress and alarm. Upwards of 60 banks stopped payment 
in December, 1825, and the following month. The evil was attri- 
buted in a great degree to the over-issue of paper money, and 
measures were taken to restrict the issue of small notes by country 
bankers, as well as by the Bank of England ; and branches of the 
latter were established in several of the larger trading towns. Joint 
stock banks were legalized the next year. An extensive system of 
emigration was adopted to relieve the distress of the nation, and its 
superintendence was intrusted to the colonial office. 

§ 3. About this time Daniel O'Connell began to make himself 
conspicuous as the advocate of the claims of the Irish Boman catho- 
lics. George III. had declared that he would never consent to the 
admission of catholics to parliament, and his illness has been attri- 
buted to the subject having been forced upon his attention by Mr. 
Bitt. During the life of that sovereign, therefore, the catholics had 
abandoned all hope of relief; but the case was different on the 
accession of George IV. After the death of Mr. Berceval, in 1812, 
the catholic question became an open one in the cabinet. Canning 
distinguished himself as an advocate of relief, and the subject was 
frequently debated in parliament, but nothing was done. In this 
state of things O'Connell, supported by a rent levied in Ireland, 
organized the Catholic Association in the beginning of 1824. In 
1825 a relief bill, introduced by sir Francis Burdett, passed the 
commons ; upon which the duke of York went down to the House 
of Lords, and took a solemn oath that in case he should succeed to 
the crown he would permit no change. The bill was rejected by 
the lords ; but the duke died soon afterwards (January 5, 1827). 

In February, 1 827, lord Liverpool was seized with paralysis ; and, 
as it was evident that he would never again be able to attend to 
business, the king was reluctantly compelled to send for Mr. 
Canning (April 11), who became first lord of the treasury and 
chancellor of the exchequer. The duke of Wellington, Mr. Beel, 
lord Eldon. and some others resigned ; and sir John Copley, now 
created lord Lyndhurst, became lord chancellor. Nothing of im- 
portance, however, was done in Mr. Canning's short administration. 
By many of the aristocracy he was regarded as an adventurer. He 
had to endure various personal attacks ; and anxiety and vexation 
of mind, added to a violent illness contracted at the duke of York's 
funeral, brought him to the grave (August 8). He was privately 



a.d. 1827-1828. MINISTERIAL CHANGES. 699 

buried in Westminster Abbey, and a peerage was conferred by the 
king on his widow. Viscount Goderich* (Mr. Robinson) succeeded 
Canning as premier. 

§ 4. The new administration, like the preceding, lasted only a few 
months, and the sole important event that occurred while it held 
office was the battle of Navarino, followed by the establishment of 
Greek independence. The cause of Greece was supported, from 
different motives, by Russia, France, and England. These powers 
had their squadrons in the Levant, the English being under the com- 
mand of sir Edward Codrington. War had not yet been declared : 
the Turkish and Egyptian fleet, under Ibrahim Pasha, lay in the bay 
of Navarino ; and there was an understanding that it should remain 
there till the affairs of Greece were arranged. As the Turks at- 
tempted to violate this agreement, a general engagement ensued, 
and the Turkish and Egyptian fleets were completely destroyed 
in the course of a few hours (October 20, 1827). By this impolitic 
act England and Prance played into the hands of Russia, who 
was anxious to weaken the power of Turkey ; and thus they gave 
some help towards the long-cherished object of her ambition — the 
possession of Constantinople. Next year a Russian army marched 
into Turkey and dictated peace at Adriauople. By this treaty the 
freedom of Greece was recognized by the sultan (September 14 
1829). The three powers decided that Greece should be erected 
into a separate kingdom ; and the crown, after having been declined 
by prince John of Saxony and prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, was 
eventually conferred, in 1832, on prince Otho, a younger son of the 
king of Bavaria. Otho was deposed in 1862 ; the people soon after 
elected a Danish prince, brother of the princess of Wales, as 
" George I. king of the Hellenes ; " and England gave up the Ionian 
islands to Greece (June, 1864). 

In January, 1828, another change of ministry occurred. Lord 
Goderich having resigned, the duke of Wellington became premier ; 
when Mr. Goulburn was made chancellor of the exchequer, Mr. 
Peel home secretary, and lord Palmerston secretary at war. Most 
of the other ministers retained their offices. In this session was 
passed the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts established in 
the reign of Charles II. It was moved by lord John Russell, and 
opposed at first by Mr. Peel ; but the ministers, having been left in a 
minority, subsequently withdrew their opposition. For the sacra- 
mental test there was now substituted a declaration, if required by 
the crown, by which the person entering upon any office pledged 
himself not to use its influence as a means for subverting the estab- 
lished church. On the motion of the bishop of Llandaff the words 
* He was created earl of Ripon in 1833; his son was made marquess of Pipon in 1871. 



700 GEORGE IV. Chaf. xxxiv. 

" on the true faith of a Christian" were inserted in the declaration : 
a clause which, though not so designed, had the effect of excluding 
the Jews from parliament till the year 1858. This measure was 
naturally regarded as the forerunner of catholic emancipation. 

§ 5. It was evident that the duke of Wellington was prepared, 
with characteristic good sense, to yield to public opinion. He had, 
indeed, announced his intention at the same time of opposing the 
catholic claims, but with the qualification, unless he saw some 
great change ; and this contingency soon afterwards occurred. 

In the course of the year Mr. Huskisson resigned office in con- 
sequence of being opposed to his colleagues on an election question. 
He was followed by lord Palmerston, lord Dudley, Mr. Lamb, and 
Mr. Grant, the "Canning" portion of the cabinet. Mr. Vezey 
Fitzgerald, who sat for the county of Clare, having become one of 
the new ministers, was now of course obliged to vacate his seat 
and appear again before his constituents, and, being an advocate 
of catholic emancipation, he considered his re-election sure. But 
O'Connell presented himself, and was returned, affirming that he 
should be able to take his seat, which, however, he did not attempt 
to do during the remainder of the session. This event brought 
matters to a crisis. The ministers perceived that it would be impos- 
sible any longer to withhold emancipation, without creating great 
disturbances, and in the king's speech on opening the session of 1829 
a measure of relief was announced. The Catholic Association was 
first of all to be dissolved ; but while a bill for that purpose was in 
progress the association dissolved itself. Mr. Peel had for many 
years been the ablest opponent of the admission of catholics to 
parliament. Session after session, he had distinguished himself 
by his eloquent speeches against the measure, and had gained the 
affection and confidence of the high church and tory party. Great 
was their indignation on finding that their favourite leader was now 
prepared suddenly to desert them, and to propose in the commons 
the very measure which he had so frequently denounced as fraught 
with ruin to the best interests of the empire. Having felt himself 
bound in honour to vacate his seat for the University of Oxford, 
upon again presenting himself as a candidate, he was beaten by sir 
Robert Inglis. He was, however, returned for Westbury, and intro- 
duced the Catholic Belief Bill. By this measure a different form 
of oath was substituted for the oath of supremacy, and there were 
no offices from which Roman catholics were now excluded except 
those of regent, of .lord chancellor of England and of Ireland, and 
of viceroy of Ireland.* By way of security the franchise in 

* The special oath for catholics was superseded by a general oath of allegiance 
in 1858, which was further simplified in 1868. 



ad. 1828-1830. CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION. 701 

Ireland was raised from 40s. to 101., and certain regulations were 
made respecting the exercise of the Koman catholic religion. The 
bill was finally carried in the House of Lords (April 10), having 
passed through both houses with considerable majorities. 

This measure produced a schism in the tory party, the effects of 
which lasted for some years. One of its consequences was a duel 
between the duke of Wellington and the earl of Winchelsea, but 
without injury to either party. The Catholic Eelief Bill was not, 
however, attended with all the beneficial consequences anticipated by 
its supporters. It averted the immediate danger of a civil war in 
Ireland, but it failed to convert the Irish catholics into peaceable 
subjects, and they soon proceeded to use the new political power 
which they had obtained more for the interests of their own religion 
than for the good of the empire. 

§ 6. The Eoman Catholic Eelief Bill was the last act of George IV. 
He had been for some time in a declining state of health, and had 
become so nervous and irritable that he almost entirely secluded 
himself from public view. There had been considerable difficulty 
in obtaining his consent to the bill, and after he had given it he 
was filled with alarm for the consequences. He died on June 26, 
1830, in the 68th year of his age and the 11th year of his 
reign. Though his manners were elegant and his taste refined, 
he had not the qualities calculated to win popularity. With 
George IV. expired the habits and prejudices of the preceding 
century, and a new era now set in of rapid popular improvement. 
Eailways had come into use at Stockton and Darlington in 1825 ; 
but their effectiveness for locomotion was not fully recognized until 
the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester line in 1830. 

WILLIAM IV., b. 1765 ; r. 1830-1837. 

§ 7. On the death of George IV., the duke of Clarence, his 
next surviving brother, then in his 65th year, was proclaimed 
king, by the title of William IV. His political opinions were 
supposed to be more liberal than those of his predecessor, but no 
change was made in the ministry. The march of events, however, 
the repeal of the Test Act, the carrying of catholic emancipation 
by a tory ministry, and in this summer the revolution which 
occurred in France — by which Charles X. was hurled from his 
throne in consequence of his attempts on the constitution and on 
the liberty of the press, and Louis Philippe became king of the 
French — prepared the minds of men for further progress, and 
especially for some measure of parliamentary reform, a subject that 
had long occupied the attention and excited the passions of the 



702 WILLIAM IV. Chap, xxxiv. 

nation. The result of these feelings was manifested in the new 
parliament, which contained a great proportion of liberal members. 
But the state of disturbance which prevailed, both on the continent 
and at home, where there had been many incendiary fires in the 
rural districts, instead of inclining the duke and his ministry to 
concession, had determined them not to yield anything to popular 
clamour. The king's opening speech was firm and uncompromising, 
and in the debates which ensued the duke of Wellington expressed 
his determination to oppose any measure of parliamentary reform 
(November 2, 1830). The unpopularity excited by this declaration 
was increased by the ministers advising the king to decline an 
invitation to dine with the lord mayor on November 9. This step 
was taken in consequence of a communication from alderman Key, 
the lord mayor elect, who had warned the duke to come with 
a strong escort. London was in consequence struck with a panic ; 
the country was thought to be on the eve of a revolution ; and the 
Funds fell three per cent. The ministers, however, were soon released 
from responsibility. Sir H. Parnell having, in the debate on the 
civil list, carried a motion for a committee of enquiry (November 
15), the ministers resigned the following morning. The king now 
sent for earl Grey, the leader of the whig party, under whose auspices 
as prime minister a new ministry was formed, on the avowed principle 
of parliamentary reform. It comprehended lord Brougham, now 
raised to the peerage, as lord chancellor, lord Althorp chancellor of the 
exchequer, lord Lansdowne president of the council, lord Palmerston 
foreign secretary, lord Melbourne home secretary, lord Groderich 
colonial secretary, and, among others, lord John Kussell as pay- 
master of the forces, and Mr. Stanley, grandson of the earl of Derby, 
as secretary for Ireland. 

§ 8. On March 1, 1831, a bill for parliamentary reform was 
introduced into the House of Commons by lord John Kussell. The 
alterations proposed were much more extensive than had been an- 
ticipated, and were received by the house with shouts of derision. 
The second reading was carried by a majority of one ; but ministers, 
having been twice defeated in committee, resolved on summoning 
a new parliament, though the present one had existed only a few 
months. The elections were attended with great excitement. The 
tories were denounced as enemies of both king and people. In 
some places, especially in Scotland, serious riots occurred, and 
lives were even lost ; and in most of the considerable towns only 
those candidates dared to show themselves who would engage to 
vote for " the bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the bill." The 
populace had been led by demagogues to regard the measure as an 
immediate panacea for all their ills ; and thus a great and neces- 



A.D. 1830-1832. REFORM BILL. 703 

sary constitutional reform was carried by popular heat and clamour, 
and with the excitement of expectations that could never be 
realized. The House of Commons, which assembled June 14, con- 
tained a large majority of reformers. The bill was again intro- 
duced by lord John Eussell (June 24), and was carried by decisive 
majorities. It was still, however, violently opposed by a powerful 
party, who regarded it as an attack upon property ; for it was 
notorious that estates commanding the nomination of a member of 
parliament fetched a price very far above their intrinsic value. 
When the bill was brought up to the House of Lords, it was re- 
jected, after five nights' debate, by a majority of 41 (October 7). 
This step was followed by disgraceful riots. In London the popu- 
lace, controlled by the admirable organization of the new police, 
established by sir Eobert Peel, contented themselves with breaking 
the windows of obnoxious anti-reformers ;' but in several of the 
provincial towns fearful disturbances ensued. At Nottingham the 
ancient castle, the residence of the duke of Newcastle, was burnt ; 
at Derby the jail was forced and the prisoners liberated ; at Bristol, 
where the riots lasted several days, many of the public buildings 
and a great part of Queen's-square were destroyed, and about 100 
persons were killed or wounded. Ireland also was in a most dis- 
turbed state. After the emancipation of the catholics, O'Connell 
had raised the cry for the repeal of the Union, and the most 
frightful nocturnal disorders, and even mid-day murders, became 
frequent. To add to the misery and confusion, England was 
visited this autumn for the first time by the Asiatic cholera. 

§ 9. The parliament, after its prorogation (October 20), reassem- 
bled in December, and in March, 1832, the Keform Bill, introduced 
by lord John Eussell, again passed the commons. The peers now 
displayed more disposition to yield ; but, as it was evident that the 
bill would be mutilated in committee, lord Grey proposed to the 
king the creation of a sufficient number of peers to insure its 
success. As the king demurred, the ministers resigned ; but, the 
duke of Wellington and lord Lyndhurst having failed to construct 
a tory administration, the king was obliged to yield at discretion, 
and recal his former ministers. The extreme measure of a large 
creation was avoided by the good sense of the peers. The duke of 
Wellington, and about 100 others, agreed to absent themselves; 
whereupon the bill was carried and received the royal assent 
(June 1, 1832). 

It was the main principle of the Reform Bill, that boroughs having 
a less population than 2000 should cease to return members, 
and that those having a less population than 4000 should not 
return more than one member. By this arrangement 56 boroughs 



704 WILLIAM IV. Chap, xxxiv. 

were totally disfranchised, and 31 more lost one of their members. 
Thus, 143 seats were transferred to several large towns, such as 
Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds, which had grown into im- 
portance during the last century. Between 40 and 50 new boroughs 
were created, including the four metropolitan boroughs of Maryle- 
bone, Finsbury, the Tower Hamlets, and Lambeth ; each of the last 
returning two members. An aristocratic counterpoise seemed in 
some degree to be established by the additions to the county mem- 
bers. The larger counties were divided into districts ; and while pre- 
viously there had been 52 constituencies, returning 94 members, 
there were now 82 constituencies, returning 159 members. On the 
other hand, both the county and borough franchises were extended. 
In the counties the old 40s. freeholders were retained, and three 
new classes of voters were introduced : — 1. copyholders of 101. per 
annum ; 2. leaseholders of the annual value of 101. for a term of 60 
years, or of the annual value of 501. for a term of 20 years; and 3. 
occupying tenants paying an annual rental of 501. In boroughs 
the franchise was given to all 101. resident householders, subject 
to certain conditions. Such were the main features of the bill, 
which undoubtedly involved the greatest revolution the country 
had experienced since 1688. 

There were also important provisions for regulating and shorten- 
ing elections, and for the registration of voters. Similar bills were 
passed for Scotland and Ireland, but with some difference in their 
details, especially as to the amount of the Irish franchise. The 
parliamentary constitution thus created lasted 36 years, till the new 
Reform Acts of 1867 and 1 868 (see p. 726). The chief alterations 
meanwhile were the extension of the Irish franchise, and the aboli- 
tion of the " property qualification " for members. The two 
boroughs of Sudbury and St. Albans were disfranchised for corrup- 
tion ; and their four seats were given, in 1861, one to Birkenhead, 
one to South Lancashire, and two to the southern division of the 
West Riding of Yorkshire, making the composition of the last 
reformed parliament, that elected in 1865, as follows : — 





England. 


Wales. 


Ireland. 


Scotland. 


Counties 


147 


15 


64 


30 


Universities 


4 





2 





Cities and Boroughs 


320 


14 


39 


23 



Totals ... 471 29 105 53 

The disturbances in Ireland had now reached a frightful pitch. 
It had become impossible to collect tithe : the collectors were mur- 
dered or mutilated ; there were regular engagements between the 



A.D. 1832-1834. ABOLITION OF SLAVERY. 705 

police and the peasantry ; and the protestant clergy were reduced 
to starvation. To put a stop to this state of things the government 
carried a Coercion Bill (April 2), which, while it provided a remedy 
for many of the grievances complained of, enabled the lord-lieu- 
tenant to prevent all public meetings of a dangerous character, and 
to place disturbed districts under martial law. 

§ 10. Parliament was dissolved on December 3, and the first reformed 
House of Commons assembled on February 5, 1833. The reformers 
had an overwhelming majority, and fears began to be entertained 
that the church, the aristocracy, and all the older institutions 
would be swept away. But a strong conservative spirit still existed 
in the nation. Sir Bobert Peel, whom the tories had now forgiven, 
and again treated as their leader, revived their desponding spirits. 
He introduced an admirable organization into the party, and 
pointed out that a return to political power was still far from 
impossible. Dropping the name of Tory, they now called them- 
selves Conservatives. 

The abolition of slavery and the amendment of the poor-law were 
two of the principal questions which occupied the attention of par- 
liament. While the question of negro freedom was agitated in 
public meetings in England a dangerous insurrection had broken 
out among the slaves in Jamaica, which was with difficulty 
suppressed. A rising had also occurred in the Mauritius. Under 
these circumstances, ministers brought in and carried a bill fur the 
total abolition of slavery, which had been so long advocated by 
Wilberforce, Fowell Buxton, and their party. The sum of 
20,000,000?. was voted as compensation to the slave-owners. But 
as a great part of this sum was in reality never applied, and the 
rate of compensation was in some islands about 2.QI. per negro — 
not a quarter of what they had cost the proprietor — the owner of 
an estate with 100 negroes received about 2000Z., but found his 
property utterly ruined from the unwillingness of the emancipated 
negro to work. In this session (1833) an act was passed for re- 
distributing the property of the Irish church, and reducing the 
number of its bishops from 22 to 12. The charter of the Bank of 
England was renewed, as was also that of the East India Company, 
on condition of its giving up its commercial monopoly, and the 
trade with China was consequently thrown open. The poor-law 
question was reserved for another administration. 

As a considerable portion of his cabinet had resigned, principally 
on account of a proposed extension of the Irish Coercion Bill, lord 
Grey was obliged to retire (July 9, 1834). Lord Melbourne now 
became prime minister, and lord Althorp resumed his former post 
of chancellor of the exchequer. A new poor-law was passed, the 



706 



WILLIAM IV. 



Chap, xxxiv. 



main feature of which was to abolish local boards and to establish 
a central board of commissioners. Poor-law unions were formed, and 
the system of outdoor relief was diminished in a considerable 
degree. 

§ 11. The conservative reaction had, within the last two years, 
become so marked, that the king, in the autumn of 1834, availed 
himself of the death of earl Spencer and the consequent elevation 
to the House of Lords of his son lord Althorp, the chancellor of the 
exchequer, to dismiss lord Melbourne and his colleagues, and intrusted 
sir Robert Peel with the formation of a conservative administration 
(November 14). But the country was not yet ripe for the change. 
Upon the dissolution of parliament, the conservatives obtained a 
great accession to their numbers in the House of Commons, but they 
were still left in a minority. Accordingly, sir Robert Peel, after 
holding office for a few months, was obliged to retire, and the Mel- 
bourne administration resumed office in April, 1835, with a few 
changes, the most remarkable being that lord Brougham was passed 
over and the great seal placed in commission, till lord Cottenham 
(Pepys) was made chancellor. The new ministers were dependent 
on the support of O'Connell, with whom they had now allied 
themselves. The chief measure which they carried this session 
was the reform of municipal corporations on the principle of popular 
election. In the next year (1836) they passed a bill to allow 
dissenters to marry in their own chapels, and another for a 
"general registration of births, deaths, and marriages." In this 
year also the Tithe Commutation Act was passed, and also an act 
incorporating the ecclesiastical commission issued the year before, 
for the management of episcopal and cathedral revenues. It made 
an arrangement by which two old sees were consolidated into one, 
Gloucester being united with Bristol, and two new ones were 
created — Ripon (1830) and Manchester (1847).* 

In May, 1837, the king was seized with a dangerous illness, and 
expired on June 20. 



* The episcopate has been further in- 
creased by acts of the reign of Victoria. 
New sees have been founded at St. 
Albans (1876) and Truro (1877), and an 
act of 1878 authorizes the endowment of 
four new bishoprics at Liverpool, New- 
castle, Wakefield, and Southwell. But 



under all these extensions no increase is 
made to the number of bishops in the 
House of Lords ; the junior bishops (ex- 
cept of London, Winchester, and Durham) 
having to wait for vacancies in rotation. 
The office of suffragan bishop has also 
been revived. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

QUEEN VICTORIA, b. 1819. A.D. 1837-1878. 

§ 1. Accession of queen Victoria. Insurrection in Canada. Chartists. 
Anti-Corn-Law League. § 2. The queen's marriage. Sir Robert Peel 
prime minister. Graduated corn-law. Agitation in Ireland. Conviction 
and fall of O'Connell. § 3. Irish famine, and abolition of the corn-laws. 
Fall of the ministry. Lord John Russell premier. § 4. O'Brien's re- 
bellion. French revolution. Death of sir R. Peel. § 5. Fall of lord 
John Russell's ministry. Lord Derby premier. Death of the duke of 
Wellington. Napoleon III. emperor of the French. Lord Aberdeen's 
ministry. § 6. War with Russia. Campaign in the Crimea, and siege 
of Sevastopol. § 7. Lord Palmerston prime minister. Sevastopol taken. 
Peace of Paris. § 8. War with China. New parliament. Review of 
Indian history from the time of Warren Hastings. The first Afghan 
war. § 9. Occupation of Scinde. Annexation of Oude. Mutiny of the 
Bengal army. § 10. Fall of lord Palmerston's ministry. Lord Derby 
prime minister a second time. Transfer of India to the crown. §11. 
Jewish emancipation. Fall of lord Derby's second ministry. War be- 
tween France, Italy, and Austria. Establishment of the new kingdom of 
Italy. § 12. Lord Palmerston's second ministry. End of the Chinese war. 
Capture of Pekin. § 13. Death of the prince consort. § 14. Civil 
war in America. § 15. Affairs in Italy. Danish war about Schleswig- 
Holstein. § 16. Death of lord Palmerston. Review of his second 
administration. § 17. Second ministry of earl Russell. The Reform 
Bill. Third premiership of lord Derby. § 18. War between Austria 
and Prussia. Battle of Sadowa. § 19. Second Reform Acts. Abyssinian 
expedition. The Irish Fenians. § 20. Resignation of lord Derby and 
first premiership of Mr. Disraeli. Ministry of Mr. Gladstone. Dis- 
establishment of the Irish church. Irish Land Act. § 21. War between 
France and Germany. Deposition of Napoleon III. The " Alabama " 
arbitration. § 22. The ballot. Judicature Act. Ashantee war. 
§ 23. Second premiership of Mr. Disraeli (lord Beaconsfield.) § 24. 
The prince of Wales visits India. The queen proclaimed Empress of 
India. § 25. War between Turkey and Russia. Treaty of Berlin. 
Anglo-Turkish treaty. Occupation of Cyprus. Second Afghan war. 
§ 26. Review of the period from the Revolution. Progress of the con- 
stitution. Growth of England as a European power. Colonial and Indian 
empire. § 27. Progress of English manufactures, trade, population, etc. 
National debt. § 28. View of the moral condition of the people. 
Religion and missions. § 29. Criminal law, education, etc. § 30. 
Literature and art. 

§ 1. Upon the death of her uncle William IV., our present 
gracious sovereign, queen Victoria, the only child of the duke of 
Kent, succeeded to the throne. She had just completed her 
eighteenth year, which had been fixed as her legal majority. As 
the succession to the crown of Hanover had been settled only in 
the male line, that country was now separated from the crown of 



708 VICTOEIA. Chap, xxxv 

Great Britain, and became the inheritance of Ernest, duke of 
Cumberland, the eldest surviving son of George III. 

The first year of queen Victoria's reign was marked by insurrec- 
tions in Canada, which, though assisted by bodies of adventurers 
from the United States, were put down without much trouble. 
This led to the union of Upper and Lower Canada (1840). At a 
later period the British provinces in North America, from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific, were united, as " The Dominion of Canada," 
under a viceroy and a free parliament (1867). As the harvests of 
1837 and 1838 proved unfavourable, much distress occurred among 
the lower classes, and the opportunity was seized by the seditious 
to excite riots and disorders. There had now arisen a considerable 
body, who called themselves Chartists ; that is, they demanded 
what they called a new charter, or thorough reorganization of the 
lower house of parliament on the following five principles, styled 
the five points of " the people's charter," — namely, universal suf- 
frage, vote by ballot, annual parliaments, the remuneration of mem- 
bers, and the abolition of the property qualification. In the autumn 
of 1838 many large meetings of chartists were held in the northern 
counties, and as winter approached they assembled by torchlight. 
At one of these, held at Kersal Moor, near Manchester, it was com- 
puted that 200,000 persons were present. In 1839 a National 
Convention was formed in London of delegates from the working 
classes, and a petition, as large in diameter as a coach-wheel, 
had to be rolled into the House of Commons. A motion for a 
committee to consider it having been lost by a large majority, 
chartist riots ensued in several of the principal provincial towns, 
and especially at Newport, Monmouthshire, where one Frost, a 
magistrate of the borough, played a principal part. The disturb- 
ance was put down, with the loss of about twenty lives, by the 
energetic proceedings of sir Thomas Phillipps, and Frost, Jones, and 
Williams, the ringleaders, were convicted and transported. At the 
same time a more orderly and intelligent agitation was proceeding 
to remove the chief cause of these disturbances. This was the Anti- 
Corn-Law League, formed at Manchester in September, 1838, to 
procure the abolition of the corn-laws, and for the promotion of free- 
trade principles. The most distinguished advocate of the league 
was Mr. Bichard Cobden, who rapidly acqiiired great influence in 
the country. 

§ 2. On February 10, 1840, her majesty was united in marriage 
to her cousin Albert, prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who was 
about three months her junior. The parliament voted the prince 
(afterwards, in 1857, styled prince consort) an annuity of 30,000Z. 
for life, and passed a bill for his naturalization. 



a.d. 1841-1844. MINISTRY OF SIR ROBERT PEEL. 709 

The commencement of the queen's reign was distinguished by 
measures of signal importance ; among others, a committee of the 
privy council was appointed to superintend the education of the 
country, and the penny postage was brought into operation. The 
Melbourne ministry had never been very strong, and their close 
alliance with O'Gonnell and his " tail," as his score or two of 
adherents in parliament were called, had degraded them in the eyes 
of the nation. They had also failed in their financial measures, 
having every year a deficient revenue. In the spring of 1841 sir 
Robert Peel carried against them a vote of want of confidence, upon 
which they dissolved parliament. The ministry intimated their 
intention of proposing a repeal of the corn-laws, and substituting a 
fixed duty of 8s. a quarter upon corn ; but they did not meet with 
a popular response. The landed interest strained every nerve to 
defeat their candidates, and when the new parliament met the con- 
servative majority was estimated at nearly 80. An amendment was 
carried on the address ; ministers resigned, and sir Robert Peel be- 
came premier fur the second time. The other principal members of 
the government were lord Lyndhurst chancellor, Mr. Groulburn chan- 
cellor of the exchequer ; sir James Graham held the home office, lord 
Aberdeen the foreign, lord Stanley war and the colonies, lord Ellen- 
borough the board of control. The duke of Wellington accepted 
a seat in the cabinet without office. In the session of 1842 sir 
Robert Peel introduced and carried a new corn-law on the principle 
of a graduated scale ; and, in order at once to supply the constantly 
deficient revenue and to effect great fiscal reforms, a property and 
income tax of sevenpence in the pound was imposed on all incomes 
above 150Z. A customs act was passed, either repealing, or con- 
siderably reducing, such duties as pressed most heavily on manu- 
facturing industry ; thus approximating to free trade, and adopting 
Pitt's policy. 

The influence of O'Connell was now at its height in Ireland. 
Weekly meetings were held in a building called Conciliation Hall, 
and large sums were collected for the "agitator." Other expedients 
of sedition were the " monster meetings " held at Tara and other 
places ; but tkat at Clontarf proved a trap for the agitator himself. 
In consequence of the regulations issued for the meeting, as well as 
some seditious expressions used at an assembling of the Repeal Asso- 
ciation, O'Connell was arrested (October 14, 1843), and condemned, 
together with some of his coadjutors, to imprisonment for conspiracy 
and sedition, by the Court of Queen's Bench in Dublin (February 12, 
1844). The judgment was afterwards reversed by the House of Lords 
(September 4). Peel, in the mean time, had attempted to con- 
ciliate the Irish by endowing their college at Maynooth, and estab- 
32 



710 VICTOBIA. Chap. xxxv. 

lishing the Queen's Colleges at Belfast, Cork, and Galway (1845). 
But the blow was irrecoverable ; and O'Connell never regained his 
former influence. His health began visibly to decline, and he died 
at Genoa (May 15, 1847), on his way to Eome with the double 
object of benefiting his health and asking the pope's blessing. 

§ 3. The question which now principally occupied the attention 
of the public was that of the corn-laws ; and this was now approach- 
ing its solution through an unexpected dispensation of Providence 
The summer of 1845 was wet and cold ; it was plain that the 
harvest would be deficient not only in England but throughout 
Europe. In addition to this calamity another appeared, hitherto 
unknown. Disease had invaded the potato-crops, and the root 
became unfit to eat. A famine in Ireland, where the potato formed 
the staple food, was now imminent. The Anti-Corn-Law League 
redoubled its agitation, and vast sums were subscribed in all 
quarters in aid of its objects. Lord Morpeth joined it ; lord John 
Ilussell addressed a letter to his constituents in London, in which, 
amid taunts directed against sir Robert Peel, he abandoned his 
scheme of a fixed duty on corn, and declared himself the advocate 
of free trade. Peel himself, however, had come to the conclusion 
that a duty on corn could no longer be upheld, and he had brought 
over the majority of the cabinet to the same opinion ; but he felt 
that he and his colleagues were not the persons to carry a measure 
which they had always opposed. On December 11 the ministers 
resigned ; and Peel announced to the queen his intention to 
support, in his private capacity, any minister she might appoint 
who should propose to repeal the corn- laws. Lord John Russell 
was now sent for by the queen ; but he failed in forming a ministry, 
a. id the previous one was restored. In January, 1846, Peel brought 
iu a bill by which the duty on wheat was entirely abolished at 
the end of three years, while in the interval it was reduced to 4s. 
per quarter when the price was at and above 53s., and buck- 
wheat and Indian corn were immediately admitted duty free. By 
another bill the customs duties on silk, cotton manufactures, foreign 
spirits, and other articles, were reduced, and those on animal food, 
live animals, vegetables, and the like, were abolished. JThe measures 
were carried through both houses by considerable majorities. 

The repeal of the corn-laws broke up the powerful conservative 
party. A large section not only refused to follow sir Robert Peel in 
his recent change of opinion, but regarded him as an apostate and 
a traitor. Sir Robert Peel had changed his opinions from honest 
conviction ; but it was unfortunate for his reputation that a second 
time in his political career his sense of duty compelled him to desert 
the party which had raised him to power. This party, which was 



a.d. 1846-1850. MINISTRY OF LORD JOHN RUSSELL. 711 

now known by the name of " protectionists," looked up to lord 
Stanley as their leader — the only distinguished member of sir 
Eobert Peel's administration who had opposed the repeal of the 
corn-laws ; and Mr. Disraeli was its chief champion in the commons. 
As Ireland was still in a very disturbed state, sir Robert Peel 
brought in a bill for the better protection of life in that country, 
whereupon the protectionists joined the whigs in defeating it. The 
ministry resigned, and lord John Russell became premier (July 6, 
1846). 

§ 4. The year 1847 was also marked by great distress both in 
England and Ireland. The potato-crop again failed ; there was a 
famine in Ireland ; and, though the British parliament voted several 
millions to buy food for the starving Irish, they nevertheless rose in 
rebellion. O'Connell had now vanished from the scene ; and Mr. 
Smith O'Brien had not the requisite qualities for leading the 
"young Ireland" party, which aimed at a revolution by open force. 
His attempt to excite a rebellion in 1848 proved a ridiculous 
failure : he was captured in a cabbage-garden, convicted of high 
treason, and sentenced to death, but transported. The Irish, being 
deprived of their principal agitators, by degrees settled down into a 
more tranquil state. Copious emigration, the introduction of a more 
extended corn cultivation, the sale of encumbered estates, and the 
investment of a large amount of English capital, have since then 
much improved the condition of the country ; and thus the potato- 
rot, which at first appeared a curse upon Ireland, eventually turned 
out a blessing. 

The revolution by which Louis Philippe was expelled from the 
French throne, in February, 1848, was felt throughout Europe. It 
had fostered rebellion in Ireland. It had also produced a slight 
effect in England, where, however, the materials of sedition were 
happily not very formidable. The London chartists took occasion 
to display their force by a procession (April 10), and mustered on 
Kennington Common to the number of about 20,000 ; but no fewer 
than 150,000 citizens had enrolled themselves as special constables, 
the duke of Wellington had taken the necessary military precautions, 
and this ridiculous display ended without any breach of the peace. 

In 1849 a further advance was made in the principles of free 
trade, by the partial repeal of the navigation laws.* The prosperity 
of the country went on rapidly increasing ; and sir Robert Peel was 
gratified with beholding the success of his measures, when his life 
was suddenly terminated by a fall from his horse (1850). Thus 
prematurely perished a great minister who understood the commercial 
interests of this country better than any man who had ever governed 

* See Notes and Illustrations (C). 



712 VICTORIA. Chai\ xxxv. 

it. If he lacked something of that original and commanding genius 
which forestals events and anticipates futurity, he was nevertheless 
well qualified to discern and provide for the exigencies of the time. 
His career throughout was noble and disinterested, no less honour- 
able to himself than beneficial to his country. 

Since the repeal of the catholic disabilities in 1829, the papal party 
had pursued an aggressive policy in this country, and the pope now 
ventured to divide the whole of England into Koman catholic sees, 
nominating cardinal Wiseman archbishop of Westminster, and 
designating other Roman catholic prelates by similar territorial 
titles (1850). To put a stop to these proceedings the ministers in- 
troduced the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, which was carried with some 
difficulty, was never enforced, and was afterwards repealed (1871). 

§ 5. The beginning of a new half-century, amidst renewed pro- 
sperity, was marked by the Great Exhibition of the Industry of All 
Nations in the " Crystal Palace" in Hyde Park, which was zealously 
promoted by prince Albert, and was opened by the queen (May 1, 
1851).* Enthusiastic believers in social progress were hailing the 
pledge of peace secured by commerce, when another change in 
France prepared a new series of troubles and wars. The republic 
proved a failure, and the popular veneration for Napoleon's memory 
secured the election as president of his reputed nephew, Charles 
Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, son of Hortense, the wife of Louis, 
king of Holland. By a sudden act of violence {coup d'etat), he 
overthrew the constitution (December 2, 1851), and was elected 
by universal suffrage as president for 10 years. Lord Palmerston, 
having recognized the change, without the consent of his col- 
leagues or the authority of the queen, was dismissed from the 
office of foreign secretary ; but he soon avenged the affront by 
defeating the government on the Militia Bill (March, 1852). 
Lord John Russell resigned, and was succeeded by the earl of 
Derby (formerly lord Stanley) as premier, with Mr. Disraeli as 
chancellor of the exchequer. In September the duke of Welling- 
ton expired somewhat suddenly at Walmer Castle, in his 84th 
y ear — a ma n who had filled a larger space in the history of 
his country than has perhaps been allotted to any subject. A 
magnificent funeral was conferred upon him at the public expense. 
On November 18, 1852, his mortal remains were carried to their 
resting-place in St. Paul's Cathedral, accompanied with military 
pomp, passing slowly through the streets, which were lined with 
myriads of his admiring and sorrowing countrymen. As if his 
departure had given the signal for restoring the Bonaparte dynasty 
in France, Louis Napoleon, elected emperor by universal suffrage, 
* The site is marked by the memorial to prince Albert. 



a.d. 1853-1854. MINISTRY OF LORD ABERDEEN. 713 

was proclaimed as Napoleon III., on the anniversary of Austerlitz 
and of his uncle's coronation (December 2, 1852), 

The same month saw the fall of the new ministry in England. 
Though lord 'Derby had dissolved parliament, and sacrificed the 
principles of protection, he was left in a minority in the new 
House of Commons ; and before the end of the year was com- 
pelled to resign. He was succeeded by a coalition ministry under 
lord Aberdeen, consisting of the more distinguished friends of 
sir Robert Peel, the great leaders of the whig party, and a few 
radicals. In the session of 1853 Mr. Gladstone, as chancellor of 
the exchequer, produced his memorable budget, on the principles 
of sir Robert Peel ; establishing a duty on the succession to real 
as well as personal property, and making large reductions of tax- 
ation ; but the pleasing prospect of the cessation of the income- 
tax in 1860, and of the gradual conversion of the national debt into 
a 2 J per cent, stock, was overclouded by a series of new wars in 
every quarter of the world. The Russian czars had long looked 
with a covetous eye on Constantinople, and had long waited for 
a favourable opportunity to seize it. Religion, so often the pretext 
of secular ambition, was made the ground of strife ; and an 
obscure quarrel of some Greek and Latin monks about the holy 
places of Palestine, with which the Turks had not meddled, served 
to excuse the attempt to appropriate an empire. The emperor 
Nicholas demanded on this ground the control over all members 
of the Greek church residing in the Turkish dominions — a de- 
mand that was naturally rejected by the Porte. In consequence of 
this refusal, Russian troops crossed the Pruth in July, and took 
possession of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, but 
were defeated by Omar Pasha at the battle of Oltenitza ; whilst in 
November, 1853, their fleet, sallying from Sevastopol, utterly 
destroyed the Turkish navy at Sinope. 

§ 6. War was now fairly kindled between Russia and the Porte. 
For the success of his plans the emperor Nicholas calculated on the 
subservience of Germany, the disturbed state of France, and the 
connivance of England, to which he offered Egypt as her share of 
" the sick man's " inheritance. But England was not ambitious of 
further acquisitions, and least of all by such means ; Turkey claimed 
her assistance on the faith of treaties ; and Napoleon III. hoped to 
establish his new throne by cordially uniting with Great Britain 
to repress the ambition of Russia. Austria and Prussia stood 
aloof, but a combined English and French fleet proceeded to the 
Black Sea, and shut up the Russians in the harbour of Sevastopol. 

As negociations with Russia during the winter proved ineffectual, 
war was declared against her by England and France in the spring 



714 VICTORIA. Chap. xxxv. 

(1854). A French army under marshal St. Arnaud, and an Eng- 
lish one under lord Raglan (Fitzroy Somerset), assemhled at Varna 
in Turkey, whilst an English fleet under sir Charles Napier was 
despatched to the Baltic. This force kept the ' Eussian fleet 
shut up behind the guns of Kronstadt, and, being reinforced by 
a French squadron, captured the fortress of Bomarsund. The 
English and French, who had been so often arrayed against 
each other, were now seen fighting side by side against a 
common enemy. The gallant defence of the Turks on the banks 
of the Danube having dissipated all alarm in that quarter, it 
was determined, towards the end of summer, to transport the 
allied army from Varna to the Crimea, and to attack Sevastopol. 
They landed without opposition (September 14) at Eupatoria, on 
the west coast of the Crimea. Prince Menschikoff, the commandant 
of Sevastopol, had taken post with a force of about 60,000 men on the 
heights which crown the left bank of the little river Alma, in order 
to oppose their advance on that fortress. As he had fortified this 
naturally strong position with great care, he confidently reckoned 
on holding it at least three weeks ; but it was carried after a few 
hours' fighting by the allied armies, though with considerable loss 
(September 20). The Russians flung away their arms and fled ; 
many of their guns were captured, together with Menschikoff's 
carriage and despatches ; and nothing saved their army from anni- 
hilation but the want of cavalry to pursue it. Had the allies been 
in a condition to move forward immediately, it is probable that they 
might have entered Sevastopol along with the flying enemy ; but 
the care of the wounded and the interment of the dead occasioned 
delay. The march was then directed towards the harbour of Bala- 
klava, the ancient Portus Symbolon, to the south of Sevastopol, 
which enabled the army to derive its supplies from the sea. The 
heights south of Sevastopol were occupied, and preparations were 
made for commencing a siege. This was rendered difficult by the 
rocky nature of the soil, and it was not till October 17 that the 
allies were able to open their fire upon the place. The Russians 
had availed themselves of the interval to fortify it with great skill, 
and the large fleet shut up in the harbour assisted them with the 
means of defence. 

This siege lasted nearly a twelvemonth, and became one of the 
most memorable in history. Soon after its commencement, a Rus- 
sian army of 30,000 men, under Liprandi, endeavoured to raise it 
by an attack upon our position at Balaklava (October 25), but after 
a severe struggle they were repulsed. This battle is chiefly memo- 
rable for the charge of the light cavalry brigade under the earl of 
Cardigan, when, by some confusion in the orders, a body of 600 or 



A.l>. 1854-1855. SIEGE OF SEVASTOPOL. 715 

700 men charged the whole Eussian army, got possession for a little 
while of their artillery, and cut their way back through a body of 
5000 horse, leaving however more than two-thirds of their number 
dead upon the field ! 

On November 5 the Russians, having been reinforced, again 
atterhpted our position at Inkermann. Advancing early in the 
morning under cover of a fog, they took our men somewhat by 
surprise ; but, though outnumbered by ten to one, the British troopr 
held their ground with unflinching heroism, till general Canrobert, 
who had succeeded to the command of the French army after the 
death of general St. Arnaud, sent a division to their assistance. 
The Russians were now hurled down the heights, while the artillery 
made terrible havoc in their serried ranks. Their loss is said to 
have been as many as the whole number of allies with whom they 
were engaged. General Pennefather's division, and the brigade of 
guards under the duke of Cambridge, were the troops principally 
engaged upon this occasion. After this terrible lesson the Russians 
were cautious of venturing on another battle; but the defence of 
the town was carried on with skill and obstinacy, and many 
desperate sorties took place. Attempts were made by the fleet 
under admirals Dundas and Lyons upon the seaward batteries, but 
they were found to be impregnable. During the winter the army 
suffered more from excessive fatigue and the weather on those 
exposed and stormy heights, than from the enemy ; and their 
sufferings were increased by the defective and disorganized state of 
the commissariat department. An English lady, named Florence 
Nightingale, devoted herself, during the siege, to the alleviation 
of these sufferings ; and, proceeding with a staff of nurses to the 
army hospitals at Scutari, undertook the most repulsive offices in 
tending the sick and wounded. 

§ 7. The ministry had become unpopular in consequence of the 
sufferings of the army, and a motion carried in the commons for an 
inquiry into their management of the war (January, 1855) caused 
the resignation of lord Aberdeen, who was succeeded by lord 
Palmerston. The remaining " Peelites," Mr. Gladstone, sir James 
Graham, and Mr. Sidney Herbert, soon left the ministry. It was 
expected that the death of the emperor Nicholas, which took place 
suddenly (March 2), would have led to the re-establishment of 
peace ; but the war was continued under his son and successor 
Alexander II. Its interest was principally concentrated on Sevas- 
topol. In the Baltic, admiral Dundas was able to do little more 
than his predecessor, but the Black Sea fleet was more successful. 
A squadron under sir Edmund Lyons proceeded into the Sea of 
Azov, captured Kertch, Yenikale, and other towns, destroying vast 



716 VICTORIA. Chap. xxxv. 

granaries whence the Russians chiefly derived their supplies, and 
thus hastened the fall of Sevastopol. 

While Prussia stood selfishly aloof, Austria joined the allies, but 
took little part in the war. Her occupation of the principalities, 
however, set free the Turkish army to act in the Crimea. The 
Sardinians, with British aid, despatched to the scene of action 
a well-equipped little army, under general de la Marmora, which 
proved of considerable service. In June lord Raglan was carried 
off by cholera, and was succeeded in the command by general 
Simpson. Marshal St. Arnaud had died some time before, and 
now the French commander, general Canrobert, was superseded by 
general Pelissier. Soon after the arrival of the latter, the French 
took an outwork called the Mamelon ; and on the 5th September 
the general and final bombardment took place. On the 8th an 
assault was deemed practicable, and the French effected a lodg- 
ment in the fort or tower called the Malakoff. The English 
storming party also succeeded in gaining possession of the fort 
called the Eedan ; but were obliged ultimately to retire, from want 
of proper support. The possession of the Malakoff, however, which 
commanded the town, decided its fate, and in the course of the 
night the Russians evacuated the town, and retired to the forts on 
the north side of the harbour (September 10). 

After the fall of Sevastopol the war was virtually at an end ; 
but the heroic defence of Kars, in Asiatic Turkey, by general 
Williams, who commanded the Turkish garrison, deserves to be 
noticed. Time after time the Russians, who rushed to the assault 
with vastly superior numbers, were driven back with terrible loss ; 
and when at length a capitulation became necessary, the conqueror, 
Mouraviev, dismissed general Williams with all the honours of 
war, and expressions of the highest admiration for his bravery 
(November 28, 1855). 

The allied armies established their winter quarters amidst the 
ruins of Sevastopol, and, had the war continued, there can be little 
question that the whole of the Crimea would have fallen into their 
hands ; but negociations for peace, begun under the mediation of 
Austria, were brought to a successful but somewhat premature 
conclusion in January, 1856. The Russian protectorate in the 
Danubian principalities was abolished, the freedom of the Danube 
and its mouths was established, both Russian and Turkish ships of 
war were banished from the Black Sea,* except a few small vessels 
necessary as a maritime police, and the Christian subjects of the 
Porte were placed under the protection of the contracting powers. 

* This stipulation was annulled in I Eastern question was made by the Treaty 
1871 ; and a new settlement of the whole | of Berlin in 1878 (see page 735). 



A.D. 1792-1803. REVIEW OF AFFAIRS IN INDIA. 717 

On these bases a definitive treaty of peace was signed at Paris by 
England, France, Austria, Prussia, Eussia, Sardinia, and Turkey 
(March 30, 1856). A separate treaty was made between England, 
France, and Austria, for the defence of the independence and 
integrity of the Turkish empire. The congress did not separate 
without coming to an agreement on the long-disputed questions of 
maritime warfare, by which the rights of neutrals were enlarged and 
privateering was henceforth to be abolished ; but America refused 
to accede to this arrangement. An omen of the next European 
question to be brought to the arbitrament of war was given by the 
presence of count Cavour as plenipotentiary for Sardinia at the 
congress of Paris. 

§ 8. Meanwhile commercial relations had been established with 
Japan ; and now a new war with China gave occasion for the defeat 
of lord Palmerston by the combined vote of the old whigs, under lord 
John Russell, the Peelites, and the " peace party," with the con- 
servatives (1857). An appeal to the country returned a new par- 
liament devoted to lord Palmerston, whose name became henceforth 
the watchword of the moderate liberals. Amidst the enthusiasm 
of foreign and political victory, the blessings of peace and a glorious 
summer, it was remembered that our Indian empire had reached 
its hundredth year ; and a proposal had been made to celebrate the 
centenary of Plassey, when the news came of a mutiny of the sepoys, 
threatening our expulsion from the peninsula. 

"We followed the history of our Indian empire to the governor- 
generalship of lord Cornwallis (p. 641), who reduced Tippoo Sahib, 
sultan of Mysore, to obedience (1792). Under the weak govern- 
ment of his successor, sir John Shore, Tippoo again rose and endea- 
voured to form an alliance against us with the French. The 
attempt was put down under the vigorous administration of lord 
Mornington (marquess Wellesley), when, under the conduct of 
general Harris, Tippoo's capital, Seringapatam, was captured by 
general Baird, and Tippoo was slain (May, 1799). Soon after- 
wards Arthur Wellesley, brother of the governor-general, began 
to distinguish himself in India. Three Mahratta chieftains — 
Holkar, Scindiah, and the rajah of Berar— encouraged by French 
intrigues, having combined against their sovereign the Peishwah, 
residing at Poonah, in the Deccan, the governor-general despatched 
two armies against them, one commanded by his brother, the other 
by general Lake. The former invaded the territories of the rajah of 
Berar, took Ahmednuggur, and defeated the rajah and Scindiah at 
Assaye, although they had 30,000 men and a numerous artillery, 
commanded by French officers, whilst Wellesley's force was not 
above a sixth of that number (September 23, 1803). The Mahratta 
32* 



718 VICTORIA. Chap. xxxv. 

chiefs were again defeated at Argaum (November 29), and compelled 
to sue for peace and to cede large tracts of valuable territory. Lake 
was equally successful in northern India. He defeated a large native 
force under the French general Perron, stormed and took Alighur, 
and then advanced against Delhi, where the cause of Scindiah was 
supported by another French officer named Bourguien. After his 
defeat on the banks of the Jumna, Delhi, the capital of Hindostan, 
and the residence of Shah Alum, the last Mogul emperor, easily fell 
into Lake's hands. Soon afterwards the capture of Agra, and the final 
defeat of the remnant of Scindiah's forces at Laswari, annihilated 
his power in that district. By these victories French influence in 
India was abolished, and a great accession of power and territory 
accrued to the company. 

In 1805 the marquess Wellesley returned home, and lord Corn- 
wallis again assumed the government. He was soon succeeded by 
lord Minto, but neither of them effected much for our Indian domi- 
nion. In 18 13 lord Moira (afterwards marquess of Hastings) became 
governor-general ; and under his auspices, and chiefly by the courage 
and abilities of sir John Malcolm, the Mahrattas, and their allies the 
Pindarees, were reduced to obedience. Hastings held the government 
till 1822, and was succeeded by lord William Bentinck. A war 
with the Burmese, who had annoyed Bengal, ended in their cession 
of Arracan (1826). In January of that year lord Combermere 
reduced Bhurtpore, which had resisted the arms of Lake, and was 
esteemed the strongest fortress in India. During the administration 
of lord Auckland, Soojah, the expelled usurper of Cabul, was replaced 
on the throne by the English arms, led by sir John Keane (1839) ; 
but in November, 1841, the Afghan insurrection broke out in that 
'city, and the English were obliged to evacuate the country. They 
endured the most dreadful sufferings in their winter retreat, both 
from the inclemency of the weather and the attacks of the Afghans. 
In the Kurd Cabul Pass alone, no fewer than 3000 men are said to 
have fallen ; and ultimately, of the whole retreating army of 4500 
men (with no less than 12,000 camp-followers), a few only survived. 
It was the greatest disaster that the English arms had ever ex- 
perienced in India. Lord Auckland was superseded in 1841 by lord 
Ellenborough, who took vigorous measures to avenge the disaster. 
General Sale was still holding out at Jellalabad. He was relieved by 
general Pollock, who then, in conjunction with general Nott, 
advanced against Cabul, and recovered that city (September, 1842). 
Cabul was again evacuated, after this signal proof that it was not 
done as a matter of necessity. 

§ 9. This first Afghan war was followed by the occupation of 
Scinde, the region on the lower Indus, where our disasters at Cabul 



A.D. 1857. THE INDIAN MUTINY - . • 719 

had encouraged a confederacy of the Ameers, or princes, against us. 
The conquest was effected by sir Charles Napier, a Peninsular 
veteran, who in this war displayed feats of the most daring bold- 
ness. In the battle of Meeanee (February 17, 1843) he defeated 
between 30,000 and 40,000 men with a force of only about 2000. 
He next took Hyderabad, the capital of Scinde ; and by another 
victory near that town reduced the whole country, which was 
annexed by lord Ellenborough to the company's dominions. In 
the same year the district of Gwalior was reduced by generals 
Gough and Grey. 

In 1844 lord Ellenborough was succeeded by sir Henry Hardinge. 
In December, 1845, the Sikhs of the Punjab, or Lahore territory, 
declared war upon us, and, crossing the Sutlej, advanced on Feroze- 
pore. They were the most warlike enemies we had yet encountered 
in India. The governor-general himself, an experienced officer, and 
sir Hugh Gough, the commander-in-chief, advanced against them. 
Several obstinate engagements followed, till at length the victories 
of Aliwal and Sobraon (1846) put an end to the campaign, and 
secured our influence in that country. In 1848, however, the city 
of Mooltan rose in revolt ; and, though the courage of lieutenant 
Edwardes prevented any serious consequences, it held out for some 
months. Thus encouraged, other Sikh princes made a stand against 
lord Gough at Chillianwallah, inflicting upon us great loss (January 
13, 1849); but in the following month they were defeated and 
subdued at Goojerat, when lord Dalhousie, now g'overnor-general, 
annexed the Punjab to the British possessions. 

The whole of the Indian peninsula was now subject to our. 
empire, from Cape Comorin to the Himalaya mountains and the 
Indus. Not indeed that all the states were annexed, yet even 
those that remained under their native princes owed us allegiance, 
and were subject to our superintendence. The last great acquisi- 
tion was made by the annexation of Oude in 1856. Our empire 
seemed too firmly established to be shaken, yet already for some 
years the elements of mutiny had been fermenting in the Bengal 
army. Symptoms of discontent had been observed as early as 1824, 
and many other instances subsequently occurred, which were treated 
with too much leniency and forbearance. At length the intro- 
duction of the Enfield rifle necessitated the use of greased car- 
tridges. The grease was mutton fat and wax, but it was whispered 
among the discontented that it consisted of the fat of swine and 
cows, abominations both to the Hindoo and the Mahomedan ; 
and it was asserted that the intention was to deprive the Brahmin 
sepoys of their caste. Symptoms of insubordination and violence 
began to appear early in 1857. In May many regiments of the 



720 VICTORIA. Chap. xxxv. 

Bengal army were in open mutiny. In that month Delhi, the 
ancient capital of India, and still the residence of the representa- 
tive of the Moguls, was seized by the insurgents, with all its 
immense military stores. Although it was the great arsenal of 
our artillery, it had been left without the protection of a British 
force : such was the blind confidence reposed in the sepoys. The 
capture of Delhi was followed by the revolt of the remaining 
Bengal regiments. Fortunately the Madras and Bombay armies, 
with a few exceptions, remained faithful ; but almost the whole 
of Bengal was lost for a time, and many, both in this country and 
on the continent of Europe, believed that the English would be 
driven entirely out of India. 

Into the horrors of this rebellion, and the determined energy and 
courage with which it was met, our space will not permit us to 
enter. It served to bring out British valour in high relief, and the 
names of Lawrence, of Havelock, and the other numerous officers 
who distinguished themselves at this trying and difficult conjunc- 
ture, will not soon be effaced from the memory of their countrymen. 
The rebellion received a decisive blow by the re-capture of Delhi 
by general Wilson on September 21, 1857 ; and the subsequent 
victories of sir Colin Campbell, afterwards lord Clyde, who went 
out to India as commander-in-chief, brought the contest to a close. 

§ 10. The mutiny of the Bengal army proved the death-blow 
of the East India Company. This celebrated company, originally 
an association of merchants for the purpose of trading to the East, 
had been deprived of its exclusive commercial privileges upon 
the renewal of its charter in 1833 ; but the Court of Directors, 
elected by the proprietors of East India Stock, still continued to' 
govern India, under the superintendence of the Board of Control, 
originally instituted by Mr. Pitt. Upon the meeting of parlia- 
ment at the beginning of 1858, the prime minister, lord Palmerston, 
introduced a bill for placing the government of India in the hands 
of the crown, and dissolving the East India Company. But before 
this bill passed into a law, the Palmerston ministry was overthrown. 

While count Cavour, who had become foreign minister of Sardinia 
on January 11, 1855, was maturing his schemes for Italian unity 
the conspiracy of Orsini to assassinate the emperor of the French 
led to unexpected results (January 14, 1858). The menaces of 
certain French officers against England, as the asylum of con- 
spirators, were answered by the revival of the volunteer movement 
of 1804 ; and a permanent reserve was thus added to our military 
forces. To assure France that this meant "not defiance but 
defence," lord Palmerston proposed to raise the crime of conspiring 
m England against the life of a foreign sovereign from a mis- 



a.d. 1859. LORD DERBY'S SECOND MINISTRY. 721 

demeanour to a felony. But the national jealousy for Britain 
as the sanctuary of political exiles took alarm, and the bill 
was rejected. Lord Palmerston thereupon resigned office, and 
lord Derby became prime minister a second time, with Mr. Dis- 
raeli as leader in the commons (February 20). The new ministry 
introduced another India bill, which passed through both houses 
of parliament and received the assent of the crown , and on September 
1, 1858, the East India Company, which had founded and governed 
a mighty empire with pre-eminent ability and success, ceased to rule 
India, and the company itself was dissolved on January 1, 1874. 
The queen was proclaimed in India on November 1, 1858, and the 
governor-general, lord Canning, became the first viceroy. India is 
now governed by a secretary of state,* assisted by a council of 14 
members ; and the millions of that vast country acknowledge queen 
Victoria as their only sovereign and empress (see p. 732). 

§ 11. The only other legislative measure of this session which 
requires notice is the admission of the Jews to parliament. In 
the following session a single oath was substituted for the oaths 
of allegiance, supremacy, and abjuration, required of members of 
parliament (April 8, 1859) ; and this form has since been further 
amended by the omission of the words objected to by Soman 
catholics, who are no longer required to take a separate oath 
(April 30, 1866). But the attempt of the government to settle the 
question of further reform in parliament, which had been agitated 
for several years, ended in their defeat by 330 votes against 291 
(March 31, 1859), and was followed by a dissolution (April 19). 
The sixth parliament of queen Victoria was opened on the 31st of 
May ; and, in reply to the speech from the throne, a vote of want 
of confidence was carried against the ministry by 323 to 310. 
Lord Derby resigned office, and lord Palmerston became prime 
minister a second time (June 18, 1859). 

The fall of lord Derby's second government was hastened by his 
supposed want of sympathy with the cause of Italy. A scheme for 
the liberation of Italy from the Austrian dominion in the north, 
and Austrian influence throughout the peninsula, had been con- 
certed between Napoleon III. and count Cavour, who secretly 
promised the cession of Savoy and Nice to France. An ominous 
speech of the emperor to the Austrian ambassador, at the usual 
diplomatic reception on New Year's Day, 1859, sounded the alarm 



* There are now five secretaries of 
state : one for home affairs, a second for 
foreign affairs, a third for the colonies, a 
fourth for war, and a fifth for India. 
Previously there had been only three 
secretaries : one for home, a second for 



foreign affairs, and a third for war and 
the colonies. The last office was divided 
at the time of the Crimean war, when 
the subordinate office of secretary at war 
was merged in the secretaryship for war. 



722 VICTORIA. Chap. xxxv. 

through Europe; and, after fruitless negociations, the signal for 
war was given by a summons from Austria to Sardinia to 
disarm (April 19), whereupon the French armies entered Italy. 
On the 29th of April the Austrians crossed the Ticino, but their 
defeats at Montebello (May 20) and Magenta (June 4) were 
followed on the 24th by the decisive victory of the French at 
Solferino ; and, at a personal interview at Villafranca (July 11), 
Napoleon and Francis Joseph agreed on the terms afterwards 
embodied in the treaty concluded at Zurich (November 11). Lom- 
bardy was ceded to France, in order to be handed over to Sardinia. 
The other arrangements were scattered to the winds by the action 
of the people, who, in Tuscany, Modena ; Parma, and the Roman 
Legations of Ferrara and Bologna (otherwise called the Romagna), 
annexed themselves by public votes to the kingdom of Sardinia, 
which thus included all the ancient territory of Cisalpine Gaul, 
excepting Venetia, but with Tuscany added. Nor did the move- 
ment stop here. Giuseppe Garibaldi — who, with Mazzini and 
Safri, had governed Rome and defended it against the French in 
1849 — landed with a body of volunteers at Marsala in Sicily 
(May 11, 1860), and won the island, except the citadel of Messina. 
Crossing the straits, Garibaldi entered Naples amidst the cheers 
both of soldiers and civilians (September 8). Francis II. had fled 
the day before to Gaeta, the defence of which was protracted, chiefly 
by the heroism of queen Caroline, to the 13th of February, 1861. 
The capitulation of Messina on that day month finished the re- 
duction of the kingdom of the two Sicilies, the people of which had 
meanwhile voted their union to the other liberated states. On the 
following day (March 14), Victor Emmanuel accepted the title of 
King of Italy, which was recognized by England, in spite of the 
protest of pope Pius IX., who was still maintained in Rome and 
in the patrimony of St. Peter by the French army of occupation. 

§ 12. Meanwhile, at home, lord Palmerston's second ministry, 
strengthened by a reconciliation with the Peelites and with lord 
John Russell, who accepted the office of foreign secretary, had a 
prosperous beginning. In the year 1860, about 2,000,000Z, were 
struck off the annual charge of the national debt by the falling in 
of the " long annuities ; " and now the recovery from the financial 
pressure of seven troubled years, and the vast expansion of our 
commerce in consequence of free trade and of the gold discoveries 
in California, Australia, and Columbia, enabled Mr. Gladstone to 
complete the work begun by sir Robert Peel. Richard Cobden, the 
advocate of free trade, fitly shared the work by negooiating a treaty 
of commerce with the emperor Napoleon. By this treaty the wines 
and other productions of France were admitted in exchange for our 



a.d. 1862. DEATH OF THE PRINCE CONSORT. 723 

manufactures, at the apparent cost of a mutual sacrifice of imposts. 
The year was further marked by the close of the wars with China, 
which had occurred at intervals during twenty years. The allied 
armies of England and France stormed Pekin (October 12, 1860), 
and lord Elgin negociated a treaty with a minister who seemed at 
length to have discovered some of the advantages of foreign 
commerce. 

§ 13. The second decennial Exhibition of Industry opened in 
London on May 1, 1862, but was deprived of .the presence of prince 
Albert, who has been carried off by fever at Windsor (Saturday, 
December 14, 1861). He had evinced great interest in all schemes 
for social improvement. His speeches on such occasions have been 
collected into a volume by her Majesty's command, and memorials 
of his life have been composed and published under her direction. 

§ 14. Among the most momentous events of the period was the 
civil war which raged in North America, from 1861 to 1865, 
between the Northern and Southern States of the Union, ending in 
the victory of the Northern States. The threatened paralysis of our 
most extensive branch of industry, through the dearth of cotton, 
produced great sufferings in the manufacturing districts, which 
were alleviated not less by the patient endurance of the sufferers 
themselves, than by the liberality of the rich. (Sup. N. XXXII.) 

§ 15. While the federal principle was subjected to so rude a test 
in the New World, the Old seemed to be mustering its forces for a 
contest not less great, upon the principle of " nationalities." The 
people of Germany awaited the revival of the hopes that had been 
crushed in 1849 ; while Italy avowedly held the attitude of an 
armed truce towards Austria till Venetia should be hers, and refused 
to gratify Napoleon by resigning her claims on Rome. The emperor 
generously chose the moment of count Cavour's death to recognize 
the new kingdom (June, 1861). The impatient enterprise of 
Garibaldi for the recovery of Rome was put down by the troops of 
Victor Emmanuel at Aspromonte, in Calabria (August 29, 1862). 
Two years later (September 15, 1864) a convention was made 
between Napoleon III. and the king of Italy, for the evacuation of 
Rome by the French trooops before the end of 1866. The capital 
of Italy was, by this treaty, transferred to Florence, and the further 
progress of Italian liberation was apparently suspended for two years. 
It could scarcely have been supposed that the peace concluded about 
the same time by Denmark with Austria and Prussia would be the 
prelude to another act of the same drama. 

Holstein was a purely German state, a member of the Germanic 
Confederation, and governed by the king of Denmark only as its 
duke. Schleswig had only a personal union with the kingdom ; 



724 VICTORIA. Chap. xxxt. 

but its population contained a large Danish element, and it did not 
belong to the Germanic Confederation. To avoid the dismemberment 
of the Danish monarchy, the great powers framed an agreement, 
securing the succession both of Denmark and the duchies to prince 
Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Gliicksberg-Sonderburg (May 8, 
1852). But a fresh crisis was prepared when Frederick VII., 
shortly before his death, promulgated a new constitution, which 
virtually incorporated Schleswig with the kingdom of Denmark 
(March 30, 1863). 

When Frederick VII. died, and was succeeded by Christian IX. 
as king of Denmark (November 15, 1863), the estates of Holstein 
at once refused to take the oath of allegiance ; and prince Frederick, 
son of the duke of Augustenburg, asserted his right to the duchies, 
in spite of his father's renunciation. His claim was allowed by 
the diet at Frankfort, and the troops of Saxony and Hanover 
marched into Altona to carry out the federal execution threatened 
against the late king (December 24). But when the diet rejected 
the joint proposal of Austria and Prussia to confine the federal 
occupation to Holstein, these two powers came forward as parties 
to the treaty of 1852, demanded of Denmark the revocation of 
the constitution of March 30, and followed up the demand by war 
(January 21, 1864). The gallant resistance of the Danes was 
of no avail against overwhelming force ; and a conference of the 
great powers at London having proved fruitless, Denmark yielded, 
and the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg, were ceded 
to Austria and Prussia (October 30, 1864). The victors made a 
provisional arrangement by the convention of Gastein for the 
occupation of Holstein by Austria, and of Schleswig by Prussia, the 
latter power receiving Lauenburg as her own, or rather (as Count 
Bismarck declared) as the king's domain (August 14, 1865). But it 
was now evident that the position of the two powers in the duchies, 
and their relations to the Frankfort diet, would bring to a crisis 
their long-suspended rivalry for supremacy in Germany. 

§ 16. It was during the brief period of suspense, that the English 
statesman, whose untiring devotion to foreign politics, from a time 
before the congress of Vienna, had made his name the admiration 
or terror of all Europe, closed his public career of threescore years. 
Henry Temple, viscount Palmerston in the Irish peerage, died at 
Brocket Hall, in Hertfordshire, at the age of 81, on the 18th of 
October, 1865, and was laid beside Pitt and Fox in Westminster 
Abbey on the 27th. Since his return to power in 1859, he had 
ruled in the character of a mediator between the two great parties 
of the state ; the whigs accepted him as their head, and the tories 
trusted his coneervatism. Amidst the changes in Italy, the French 



A.D. 1866. LORD DERBY'S THIRD MINISTRY. 725 

commercial treaty, and Mr. Gladstone's financial measures, the war 
with China, and a resolution to fortify our shores afresh, the House 
of Commons had turned a deaf ear to proposals for organic change. 
The new Keform Bill introduced hy lord John Eussell, in accord- 
ance with a vote hy which the late government fell, having heen 
encountered by repeated postponements and amendments, was with- 
drawn on the anniversary of lord Derby's resignation (June 11, 
1860). Next year, lord John was called to the House of Peers by 
the title of earl Eussell, still retaining the foreign secretaryship 
(July 30, 1861). The session of 1861 was not marked by any 
party struggles. The queen's bereavement, the sufferings of our 
industrial classes, the constant danger to peace from the great 
American war, followed by the troubles in Poland and Denmark, 
created a dislike for any change of administration. The prosperity 
of the country enabled Mr. Gladstone to carry out his financial 
policy by large remissions of taxation in the years 1861 to 1865. 
Meanwhile tlie government was personally weakened by the suc- 
cessive deaths of Mr. Sidney Herbert, shortly after his elevation to 
the peerage as lord Herbert of Lea (August 2, 1861), of sir George 
Cornewall Lewis (April 13, 1863), and of the duke of Newcastle 
(April 25, 1864) ; while the earl of Elgin, like his predecessors, 
the marquess of Dalhousie and earl Canning, only returned from his 
government of India to die (November 20, 1863). The parliament 
elected in 1859 was dissolved at the end of the session of 1865. 
in anticipation of its natural decease under the Septennial Act, 
which would have taken place in the middle of the ensuing session 
Besides the praise due to its commercial legislation, it had sanctioned 
works of public improvement, eminently conductive to public health 
and comfort. Chief among these were the drainage of London and 
the embanking of the Thames. 

§ 17. On the death of lord Palmerston, the premiership was 
intrusted, for the second time, to earl Russell, with Mr. Gladstone 
as leader in the House of Commons. The queen opened her seventh 
parliament (February 6, 1866) in person, for the first time since 
the prince consort's death. On Monday, the 12th of March, Mr. 
Gladstone brought forward the government scheme of reform, pro- 
posing to extend the franchise to occupiers of houses and land to 
the annual value of 14?. in counties, and 11. in boroughs. But the 
opposition of the moderate liberals proved fatal ; and, after a defeat 
in committee (Monday, June 18), the government of earl Russell 
resigned, and lord Derby became premier for the third time.* 

§ 18. At the same moment the questions of Schleswig-Holstein 
and of the supremacy in Germany were settled by the vigorous 

* Earl Russell died May 28, 1878, aged 86. 



726 VICTOEIA. Chap, xxxv 

policy of count Bismarck. Italy, seizing her opportunity, formed 
a secret alliance with Prussia against Austria. A campaign of a 
few weeks' duration ended in the decisive defeat of the Austrians 
by the Prussians at Sadowa (July 3, 1866). Its result, settled 
in the Treaty of Prague, was the exclusion of Austria from the 
German Confederation, the league of Northern Germany under 
Prussia (which annexed Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Nassau, 
Hesse-Cassel, and the city of Frankfort) ; besides the union of 
Venetia to the Italian kingdom, in the autumn of 1866. 

§ 19. The parliamentary session of 1867 opened with a decla- 
ration by the government of the necessity for a measure of reform, 
which ultimately took the shape of household suffrage in towns, 
conditional upon the payment of rates. Votes were also given to 
lodgers, and the county franchise was reduced to 12?.* The measures 
of reform were completed for the present, in the next session (1868), 
by the passing of Reform Bills for Scotland and Ireland, and an act 
for the better trial of controverted elections. 

At the close of 1867 an expedition was sent to Abyssinia to 
obtain the release of British and other captives detained by the 
tyrant Theodore. After storming the hill fortress of Magdala, 
where Theodore fell by his own hands (April 13, 1868), our troops 
retired without the loss of a single man in battle, and their 
commander, sir Robert Napier, was created lord Napier of Magdala. 

For some years past, Ireland had been subject to renewed agita- 
tion. A more determined opposition was shown to the connection 
with Great Britain by a party who assumed the name of Fenians. 
It found desperate leaders in men who had been engaged in the 
American civil war, and who held out hopes of aid from the Trans- 
atlantic republic. Their violence induced earl Russell to propose 
a bill for suspending the Habeas Corpus Act, which was passed 
through all its stages in one day (February 17, 1866). Various 
arrests ensued. In Manchester a police officer was shot. In 
London, to effect the escape of a Fenian prisoner, the wall of 
Clerkenwell prison was blown down by a barrel of powder in open 
day, with the destruction of many neighbouring houses and several 
lives (December 13, 1867). The execution of the one man convicted 
of this offence is memorable as the last public execution, an act 
having received the royal assent for carrying out capital sentences 
within the prison walls (May 29, 1868). 

§ 20. Scarcely had parliament reassembled in 1868, when the earl 
of Derby retired through ill health,f and was succeeded in the 
premiership by Mr. Disraeli. 

Meanwhile lord Stanley, the foreign secretary, had declared that 

*See Notes and Illustrations (E). f The 24th earl of Derby died in October, 1869. 



a.d. 1868-1870. MINISTRY OF MR. GLADSTONE. 727 

" Ireland was the question of the day ; " and the government 
announced to parliament a policy based on what was familiarly 
called the principle of " levelling up," that is, raising the Koman 
catholics and protestant dissenters, by educational (and perhaps 
religious) endowments, to something of the same position as that 
of the established church. In opposition to this policy, Mr. Glad- 
stone proclaimed that the time was come for the disestablishment 
and disendowment of the Irish church, and carried a series of 
resolutions to that effect in the commons (April 30, 1868). The 
elections in November, under the new Eeform Act, were virtually 
an appeal to the people on this question ; and the result was so 
decisive, that Mr. Disraeli resigned without waiting for the meeting 
of parliament (December 2), and Mr. Gladstone became prime 
minister (December 9). 

In the eighth parliament of queen Victoria (the 20th of the United 
Kingdom), which met next day, the ministry had a majority of 
more than 100. In July, 1869, an act was passed, dissolving the 
connection between the churches of England and Ireland from 
January 1, 1871. The latter was disestablished and disendowed, its 
temporalities being vested in three commissioners, with reservation 
of existing interests. A large sum was granted to the Eoman 
catholic college of Maynooth, and to such of the protestant dis- 
senters as were recipients of the regium donum. Any surplus was 
to be applied to education, and a part of the funds was thus 
appropriated under the Irish Education Act of 1877. In the same 
session of 1869, imprisonment for debt (except as a means of 
enforcing the judgments of county courts) was abolished in the 
United Kingdom ; and three years later in Ireland. 

In 1870 Mr. Gladstone took the second step in his Irish policy 
by the Land Act, which provided for the compensation of outgoing- 
tenants, and for loans both to landlords for improvements and to 
tenants desiring to purchase their holdings. Courts of arbitration 
were established for the settlement of all claims ; and the freedom 
of contract between landlord and tenant was so far limited as to 
nullify all agreements in contravention of the purpose of the act. 
The same session is memorable for the establishment of a system of 
national education, by means of elective school boards. In these 
schools all religious creeds were forbidden. A similar measure was 
passed for Scotland in 1872. In 1871 T all religious tests for degrees 
and offices (except those of an ecclesiastical nature) in the English 
universities were abolished. (Supplement, Note XXXIII.) 

§ 21. On July 19, 1870, the emperor Napoleon declared war against 
Prussia, and joined his army at Metz on the 28th. All Germany 
took part in the war on the side of Prussia. The young prince 



728 VICTORIA. Chap. xxxv. 

imperial was present at the first action at Saar'bruck on August 2 ;* 
and on the 18th, after the hattle of Gravelotte, the French Army 
of the Ehine, under marshal Bazaine, was shut up in Metz. 
The Army of Chalons, advancing to its relief along the Belgium 
frontier, under marshal MacMahon, was utterly defeated at Sedan 
(September 1), and 100,000 men became prisoners of war, with the 
emperor Napoleon himself (September 2). The immediate result was 
a revolution at Paris, in which the Second Empire was overthrown, 
and a provisional government was formed (September 4). On the 
20th of the month the German armies invested Paris ; Strassburg 
surrendered on the 28th, the anniversary of its treacherous seizure by 
Louis XIV. in 1681 ; and Bazaine capitulated at Metz, with 173,000 
men, including 3 marshals of France, 50 generals, and 6000 officers 
(October 28). At length a Government of National Defence was 
established in Paris, and, after a gallant resistance, an armistice was 
concluded (January 25, 1871), and a National Assembly was elected, 
which met at Versailles (February 13), in order to conclude a peace. 
On the last day of February, M. Thiers, the new " head of the 
executive power," signed the Peace of Versailles with king William, 
who had been elected German Emperor f by all the German 
states, and was inaugurated as the emperor Wlliiam I. in the hall of 
Louis XIV. at Versailles, on January 18, the anniversary of the day 
<in which his ancestor was proclaimed king of Prussia (1701). France 
surrendered the old German province of Alsace (treacherously seized 
by Louis XIV.) with part of Lorraine, including the old imperial 
fortress of Metz, and thus lost the portion she already possessed 
of the coveted frontier of the Rhine. She agreed to pay a war 
indemnity of five milliards of francs, or 200 millions sterling, within 
three years, a penalty as unprecedented in magnitude as was the 
promptitude with which it was discharged before the appointed 
time. The ex-emperor retired to Chiselhurst, in Kent, where he 
died on January 9, 1873. On May 24 of the same year the govern- 
ment of M. Thiers was overthrown by a vote of the National 
Assembly, and marshal MacMahon was chosen president for seven 
years. Attempts to restore the monarchy, under " Henry V.," 
based on an agreement between the Bourbon and Orleans families, 
failed through the obstinacy of the count of Chambord. In 1875 
the Assembly laid the bases of a definitive republical constitution, 



* Prince Louis Napoleon, son of Napo- 
leon III. and the Empress Eugenie, was 
born March 16, 1856, lived in England 
from 1870, studied the military profession 
at Woolwich, and went with the British 
army to South Africa, where he was killed 
by the Zulus (June 1, 1879). 



f This title must not be confounded 
with the old title of Emperor of the Holy 
Roman Empire. The new German em- 
pire is a federation of German states, 
quite distinct in nature from the ancient 
imperial union of western Christendom. 



A.D. 1870-1873. ILLNESS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. 720 

with an elective senate as well as a chamber of deputies ; and, at 
the close of 1878, the Republic was considered to be more firmly- 
settled by the return of a republican majority in the senate, 
followed by the resignation of marshal MacMahon, who was suc- 
ceeded by M. Grevy. 

The only part taken by England in the war was that of minis- 
tering, by voluntary efforts, to the sick and wounded, and to the 
starving population of besieged Paris. But the revelation of designs 
entertained against Belgium led to new treaties being made by 
England with France and Prussia severally, for the further security of 
her independence and neutrality (August, 1870). The interest taken 
in the war, and the extraordinary success of the German army, called 
attention to the reorganization of our army. The purchase of com- 
missions was abolished by a royal warrant, and the commons voted 
funds for compensation to officers (1871). Another consequence of 
the war was that Piussia, supported by prince Bismarck, denounced 
the clause of the treaty of 1856 which forbad her keeping a fleet in 
the Black Sea. A conference of the great powers at London, while 
releasing Russia from that engagement, placed on record, as an 
essential principle of the law of nations, that no power can liberate 
itself from the engagements of a treaty, nor modify its stipulations, 
without the consent of the contracting parties (January, 1871). A 
difference with the United States, about injuries caused by alleged 
breaches of neutrality during the civil war, was referred to the 
arbitration of a court which met at Geneva (1872), and awarded 
15^ millions of dollars (about 3,230,000Z.) to be paid by England 
on account of the " Alabama claims." * The general dissatisfaction 
with this result, and with the decision of the German emperor 
against England on the long-disputed question of the boundary 
of the two nations in the estuary of San Juan, tended to throw 
discredit on the principle of arbitration as a means of preventing war. 

§ 22. On February 27, 1872, a service of public thanksgiving was 
celebrated at St. Paul's, attended by the queen and royal family, 
for the recovery of the prince of Wales from a dangerous illness in 
December, 1871. The sympathy expressed by all classes on this 
occasion was so decided a proof in favour of hereditary monarchy, 
that it served as a timely check on some rash exhibitions of 
theoretical republicanism. The secret ballot, so long advocated by 
the radical party, in parliamentary elections, was adopted in the 
same year. On the reassembling of parliament in 1873, Mr. Glad- 



* So called because of the Injuries in- 
flicted on American commerce by the 
famous Confederate cruiser Alabama. 
The court was composed of five members, 



appointed respectively by England, th» 
United States, Italy, Brazil, and Switzer- 
land. 



730 VICTORIA. Chap. xxxv. 

stone introduced his measure for destroying the third branch of 
what he had called the upas tree that overshadowed Ireland. But 
his Irish University Bill failed to conciliate the catholics, and was 
defeated by 287 to 284 on the second reading (March 11). The 
Gladstone ministry resigned; but they returned to office on the 
20th, as Mr. Disraeli declined to undertake the government with 
the existing House of Commons. The attempt at Irish university 
reform was not renewed ; but religious tests were abolished in the 
Trinity College and University of Dublin (May). Mr. Lowe's last 
budget reduced the income-tax to threepence in the pound; but 
the great act of the session was the constitution of a Supreme 
Court of Judicature, which came into effect (with some subsequent 
alterations) on November 1, 1875. On that date the ancient Courts 
of Queen's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer, as well as those 
of Chancery, of Admiralty, of Probate and Divorce, and the ecclesi- 
astical Court of Arches, ceased to exist as separate tribunals, but 
their names were retained as those of divisions of the Supreme 
Court. One of the chief objects in view in this alteration was the 
fusion of the principles of law and equity. By a subsequent act, 
the House of Lords retained its ancient prerogative as the ultimate 
court of appeal, but in the new form of a court composed of the 
lord chancellor, two lords of appeal, created peers for life, and 
such peers as are or have been lawyers (1876). 

In the autumn of 1873 the country was engaged in a war with 
the Ashantees in West Africa, in consequence of misunderstandings 
resulting from the sale to England of the Dutch colonies on the 
Gold Coast. Under the skilful conduct of sir Garnet Wolseley, the 
king of Ashantee was defeated ; his capital, Coomassie, taken and 
burnt ; and he accepted peace, consenting to abolish human sacrifices 
(February 6, 1874). 

§ 23. During this session the ministry was greatly weakened, and 
there were manifest proofs of a conservative reaction. The proro- 
gation of parliament (August 7) was followed by important changes 
in the ministry, Mr. Gladstone resuming the chancellorship of 
the exchequer (September 9). On January 23, 1874, he suddenly 
decided on dissolving parliament ; and, in his address to his consti- 
tuents at Greenwich, he announced that, with the sure prospect of 
a surplus of five millions, and by certain readjustments of taxation, 
he should be in a position both to abolish the income-tax and remove 
part of the burthens of local taxation. But the elections, under the 
joint operation of the late Beform Act and vote by ballot, gave the 
conservatives a great majority. Following Mr. Disraeli's example 
in 1868, Mr. Gladstone's ministry resigned without waiting to 
meet parliament (February 17); and Mr. Disraeli formed a govern- 



a.d. 1875-1876. PRINCE OF WALES VISITS INDIA, 



731 



ment which included the marquess of Salisbury and the earl of 
Carnarvon, who had separated from him on the reform question 
in 1867 : the earl of Derby was again foreign secretary, and sir 
Stafford Northcote (a financial disciple of Mr. Gladstone) chancellor 
of the exchequer. The queen's ninth parliament met on March 5. 
The most important measures of the session were the budget, 
which abolished the sugar duties and reduced the income-tax 
to twopence in the pound,* and the act for the regulation of 
public worship, which provided simpler means of bringing disputes 
on ritual observances to a judicial decision. By this time it was 
apparent that the country desired a rest from organic changes, and 
the ensuing year was mainly occupied with measures of legal, 
social, and sanitary improvement. 

In September, 1874, the annexation of the Fiji Islands, by the 
desire of the inhabitants, secured a station in the Pacific of great 
importance for communication with Australia and New Zealand. 

§ 24. On January 15, 1875, Mr. Gladstone publicly announced his 
determination to retire from the leadership of the liberal party ; 
and at a meeting of the liberals (February 3), the marquess of 
Hartington was requested to accept the vacant post. Sir Stafford 
Northcote's budget was marked by an effort to reduce the national 
debt by means of a new sinking fund, providing for the regular 
annual appropriation of 28,000,000Z. to the charge of the debt, which 
was sanctioned by parliament (August 10). In the autumn 
the prince of Wales set out on a visit to India (October 11), 
towards the expenses of which the House of Commons had voted 
a grant of 60,000?. He arrived at Bombay (November 8), 
and was received with enthusiasm by the native princes. On the 
19th he proceeded on a visit to the Guicowar at Baroda. On 
December 2 he landed at Colombo, and on the 10th at Madias, 
arriving at Calcutta on the 23rd. Here he held a chapter of the 
Order of the Star of India (January 1, 1876), which was numerously 
attended by the native princes and their suites in the gorgeous 
equipage of their several provinces. On the 11th he visited 
Delhi ; and, after a tour in her majesty's Indian dominions, with 
a splendour and popularity unexampled in the history of any 



* This was the lowest scale of the in- 
come-tax during the period of one genera- 
tion (33 years) since its imposition by sir 
Robert Peel. Its growing produce in 
that time furnishes a remarkable measure 
of the increased wealth of the country. 
In the first complete year of its collection 
(1843-44) the tax of sevenpence in the 
pound yielded 5,191, 5911. ; in the year 



1874-75 the tax of twopence in the pound 
yielded 4,306,000?. The produce of each 
penny in 1844 was 471,656?. ; in 1878, 
1,900,000?. The estimated income of the 
country in 1875 was 74,921,872?. The 
scale of the tax has risen since the time 
in question; and the tendency to resort 
to it when fresh revenue is wanted is a 
question much discussed. 



732 VICTORIA. Chap. xxxv. 

European prince, lie returned to Bombay (March 11), and embarked 
for England. In the mean time lord Northbrook had resigned the 
office of viceroy, and he was succeeded by lord Lytton, son of the 
famous novelist (April 12). 

In commemoration of the prince's visit, and as a sign of the 
imperial relation of the British power to all India, parliament gave 
the queen authority to assume the title of Empress of India, 
which was proclaimed in London on April 28, 1876, and in India, 
with great solemnities, on January 1, 1877. 

In November, 1875, Mr. Disraeli had proposed to purchase the 
Khedive's share of the Suez Canal, at the price of four millions ; 
and the proposal was unanimously sanctioned by the House of 
Commons (February 21, 1876). At the close of this session, Mr. 
Disraeli, who was 70 years of age, and had borne for 30 years the 
strain: of leading his party in the commons, was removed to the 
House of Lords with the title of earl of Beaconsfield. 

§ 25. Meanwhile the attention of the nation had been drawn to the 
misgovernment of Turkey, and the atrocities perpetrated under its 
feeble and inefficient rule, in consequence of count Andrassy's note, 
presented to the Porte by the Austrian, Russian, and German 
ambassadors (January 31, 1876). The Turkish sultan, Abdul Aziz, 
was deposed (May 30), and committed suicide five days after. He 
was succeeded by Murad V. But the change of rulers produced 
no alteration in the sentiments of Europe. The odium into which 
the Turkish government had fallen was an encouragement for the 
neighbouring and dependent provinces to rebel. On July 1 and 2 
the Servians and Montenegrins declared war and crossed the 
Turkish frontier. A great battle ensued between the former and 
the Turks at Alexinatz (August 20), which resulted in the defeat 
of the Servians eight days after. On August 31, Murad was 
deposed and Abdul Hamid II. was proclaimed sultan. During 
the recess popular indignation was stirred to the uttermost by 
the Turkish atrocities in Bulgaria. The war with Servia still con- 
tinued, in spite of the friendly intervention of the great European 
powers, until the Servians were totally defeated (October 29), and 
Djunis captured. 

The embarrassment of Turkey was the opportunity of Russia, 
which now interfered, ostensibly in behalf of the Christian subjects 
living under the sultan. But her designs of self-aggrandizement 
were ill concealed under her professions of philanthropy, and were 
regarded with uneasiness by this country. On November 7, the 
marquess of Salisbury was appointed by her majesty as her special 
ambassador, to attend a conference of the great powers at Con- 
stantinople, in order to settle the Eastern question. The conference 



a.d. 1876-1877. WAR BETWEEN TURKEY AND RUSSIA. 733 

opened on December 23, but its proposals were rejected by the Porte, 
and counter terms were presented by the Turkish delegates in 
reference to the settlement of Servia and Montenegro. As the 
appointment of provisional governors for five years, for the three 
disaffected provinces, was entirely ignored by the Porte, the con- 
ference came to a standstill. In the declaration of the marquess of 
Salisbury that " no common basis for discussion remained," general 
Ignatiev concurred, and the conference ended (January 20, 1877). 

Dissatisfied on its own part with the failure of the conference, 
from which it had expected more favourable results, the Porte 
issued a manifesto, contesting the right of the powers to interfere 
with its subjects and its internal administration (February 5). 
Its remonstrances were met by a protocol, signed at London by 
the six European powers, asserting the necessity of reforms, and 
providing for mutual disarmament on certain conditions (March 31). 
On the determination of the Porte to listen to no such proposals 
(April 12), Russia prepared for war, whilst the other great powers 
determined to observe a strict neutrality. Russia concluded a treaty 
with Roumania, which not long after proclaimed its independence. 
It prompted Servia and Montenegro to avail themselves of the 
opportunity and secure their independence. An engagement took 
place near Batoum, a port on the south-east coast of the Black Sea, 
long coveted by Russia (April 26), when the Turks defeated their 
enemy and inflicted a loss of 800 men. This, and other unexpected 
successes of the Turks during the earlier part of the campaign, against 
a foe so vastly superior in numbers and the munitions of war, entirely 
obliterated the opinion previously entertained of their weakness 
and incompetence. The expectations of all parties were raised 
still more when, after various alternations of success, in which the 
Turks displayed great military capacity and courage, the Russians, 
in July, were repulsed with great loss before Plevna, which was 
occupied and defended by Osman Pasha. They made a second at- 
tempt (September 11), but with no better success. They now deter- 
mined to invest and starve the garrison to surrender. The works were 
completed, but Osman Pasha, though isolated from all help, still 
held his post with unflinching resolution. Finding that no aid was 
at hand, he resolved, on December 10, to force his way through 
the Russian entrenchments. But the attempt was unsuccessful. 
He was wounded and driven back, and compelled to surrender. 
This disastrous event cost the Turks 30,000 prisoners and 400 
guns. It was still more ruinous to their cause, as in the previous 
month the Russians had taken Kars by assault, inflicting on the 
Turks the loss of 12,000 men killed and wounded, and 300 guns 
(November 18). Meanwhile, the Russian advanced force crossed 
the Balkans, defeated the Turks, and took Sofia. 
33 



734 VICTORIA. Chap. xxxv. 

Such heavy losses following in rapid succession convinced the 
Porte that all further attempts at continuing the war were hopeless. 
In the last days of the year, the sultan requested the mediation of 
England ; but the request, which our government merely consented 
to forward, was refused by Russia (December 31, 1877). The Porte 
decided to sue for an armistice, while the Russian forces penetrated 
the Balkans by the Trojan Pass, and, surrounding the Turkish 
army, which had for many months clung to the Shipka Pass 
when its presence in Bulgaria might have turned the scale, forced 
about 32,000 men to lay down their arms (January 8-10, 1878). 
While the Turkish envoys set out for the camp of the grand-duke 
Nicholas, their last army in Roumelia, under Suleiman Pasha, was 
totally defeated by general Gourko, and driven off to the coast of 
the iEgean (January 16, 17), whence its remains were transported 
by sea for the defence of Constantinople, and Adrianople was 
yielded up without a blow (January 19, 20). 

In England the feeling roused by these events united the great 
majority of the people in the resolve to check what now seemed the 
manifest designs of Russia on Constantinople, and the threatened 
danger to our communications with India. After the failure of the 
attempt to settle the question by the influence of the European 
powers, Great Britain had announced her fixed policy of conditional 
neutrality, that is, so long as her interests were not endangered. 
But, when the Turkish defence was breaking down, parliament was 
summoned before the usual time, in the prospect (said the queen's 
speech) that " should hostilities be prolonged, some unexpected 
occurrence may render it incumbent on me to adopt measures of 
precaution " (January 17). The proposal to send up the British 
fleet within the Dardanelles was opposed in the cabinet by the earls 
of Carnarvon and Derby, and the former resigned the seals of the 
colonies (January 24). But when the news arrived that the 
Russians were threatening Gallipoli and the Dardanelles, and had 
advanced within 30 miles of Constantinople, the liberals withdrew 
their opposition to the vote of 6,000,000Z. demanded by government 
for military preparations, and lord Derby announced that the fleet 
had been ordered to enter the Sea of Marmora (February 8). On 
the same day, the severe terms exacted by Russia for an armistice 
became known, and the Turks yielded up the outer lines command- 
ing Constantinople. On the 24th the grand-duke Nicholas fixed 
his head-quarters at San Stefano on the Sea of Marmora, close to 
Constantinople ; and here a preliminary treaty was signed, by which 
Roumania, Servia, and Montenegro were to be independent states ; 
a tributary but self-governing principality of Bulgaria was to be 
erected, reaching from the Black Sea to the iEgean, and leaving to 



a.d. 1878. THE TREATY OF BERLIN. 735 

Turkey only a narrow territory about Constantinople, the Sea of 
Marmora, and the straits ; Eussia was to receive back the part of 
Bessarabia which had been taken from her in 1856 to cut her off 
from the Danube, her Roumanian allies being compensated for the 
spoliation by the Dobrudja (the marshy tract south of the delta of 
the Danube). In Asia, Russia was to gain most of Armenia, includ- 
ing Batoum, Ears, and Erzeroum ; and Turkey was to pay a huge 
indemnity, under the penalty of further territorial loss in case of 
default. The long-contested protectorate of Turkish Christians was 
to be yielded to Russia, and the opening of the straits was reserved 
for the decision of Europe (March 3). 

So manifest a reversal of the treaty of 1856 raised questions 
which concerned all Europe, and Russia did not deny that they ought 
to be settled in a congress ; but she held out against the firm demand 
of Great Britain, that the treaty as a tuliole should be laid before 
the congress. In the midst of preparations for the possibility of 
war, with the clear approval of the great majority of the British 
people, Lord Derby announced that he had resigned rather than take 
part in the measures of the cabinet (March 28). These proved to 
be the calling out of the army reserves, and the bringing a force of 
7000 Indian troops to be in readiness at Malta. The marquess of 
Salisbury, succeeding lord Derby at the foreign office, issued a 
circular despatch, vigorously criticizing the treaty of San Stefano. 
While acutely analyzing its terms, he proved that it would establish 
the complete supremacy of Russia over Turkey, not so much by any 
single article as by " the operation of the instrument as a whole." 
This remarkable state paper produced a most striking effect on the 
powers of Europe, who now saw for the first time that England 
was in earnest. Austria, cold and dubious before, now threw in her 
lot with England, and prince Bismarck advised Russia to listen to 
reason. Still, as is now well known, the two nations were on the 
brink of a war which would have become general ; and Russia was 
preparing an army in Central Asia to attack India through Afghan- 
istan, while her princes promoted subscriptions for fitting out 
American privateers. But the Russian ambassador, count Schou- 
valov, laboured earnestly in conjunction with our government for 
peace, and their secret negociations resulted in a written agreement 
(May 30) as to the chief points that should be yielded or insisted 
on at the congress, which prince Bismarck invited to meet at 
Berlin on June 13. England was represented by lords Beaconsfield 
and Salisbury, by whose ability and the proof of earnestness given 
by the presence of her prime minister (a very unusual step on such 
occasions), as well as by prince Bismarck's resolution, the congress 
was brought to a successful issue, and the Treaty of Berlin was 
signed (July 13, 1878). 



736 VICTORIA. Chap. xxxv. 

The independence of Roumania, Servia, and Montenegro was 
confirmed : the two latter states gained new frontiers, and Monte- 
negro the long-desired outlet to the sea in the port of Antivari ; 
while the brave Eoumanians, like the dwarf who fought beside the 
giant, had to give up the territory which brought Eussia back to 
the Danube, receiving the Dobrudja in exchange at the expense of 
the Bulgarians ; but new stipulations were made for the free naviga- 
tion of the Danube, and the fortresses on its banks were to be razed. 
The people of Bosnia and the Herzegovina, who had begun the war 
for liberation, were handed over to Austria, under the name of an 
occupation, which had to be enforced by a brief war. But the great 
modification of the treaty of San Stefano consisted in the division 
of general Ignatiev's huge Bulgaria. The old province known by 
that name, between the Danube and the Balkans, was placed on the 
same footing of virtual independence held hitherto by Servia and 
Roumania, as a principality tributary to the Porte, but self-governed 
(" autonomous "), under a prince to be elected by the people and 
approved by the sultan and the powers.* That part of Boumelia 
(the region south of the Balkans) in which a Bulgarian population 
predominated (though mingled with Turks and Greeks) was 
constituted the new province of Eastern Boumelia, under the direct 
political and military authority of the sultan, but with a certain 
degree of self-government (" administrative autonomy"), and under a 
Christian governor-general to be named by the Porte, with the assent 
of the powers, for five years : its internal order to be maintained by 
a native gendarmerie, but with the sultan's right to maintain mili- 
tary posts on the frontiers, by sea and land, including the Balkans. 
The Sublime Porte undertook to carry out reforms under the super- 
intendence of the powers, and to establish religious liberty, abolishing 
all civil and political disqualifications on religious grounds, Chris- 
tians being under the protection of the consular and diplomatic 
agents of the powers ; but no sanction was given to the special 
claim of Russia in this respect ; nor was any alteration made as to 
the navigation of the straits. The organic law granted to Crete was 
confirmed, and made an example for reforms to be introduced in 
other provinces. An article of the treaty reserved the right of the 
powers to mediate between Turkey and Greece, if they should be 
unable to agree on the rectification of the frontier, to the advantage 
of Greece, suggested by them to the Porte in a separate protocol. 
In Asia, Russia had to give back Erzeroum, retaining Kars and 

An Assembly of Notables held in the | nephew of the empress of Russia. About 



spring of 1879 settled the new constitu- 
tion of Bulgaria, and elected as their 
prince Alexander Battenberg of Hesse, a 



the same time the sultan appointed Aleko 
Pasha, a Bulgarian Christian, governor of 
Eastern Roumelia. 



a.d. 1878-1879. THE SECOND AFGHAN WAR. 737 

gaining Batoum, which the czar declaimed his intention of making a 
free port ; Turkey giving up also some frontier territory to Persia- 
The treaties of 1856 and 1871 were maintained in all points not 
abrogated or modified by the present treaty ; while the remaining 
points in the treaty of San Stefano (the most important being the 
war indemnity) were left to be settled between Bussia and Turkey, 
who concluded a new treaty early in 1879. Such was the settle- 
ment of the great Eastern question, which virtually replaced the 
treaty of Paris after a lapse of 22 years. 

But in assenting to those gains in Asia, which some who knew 
Bussia well believed to be her chief object in the war, England had 
resolved to take a new security against possible dangers to her 
interests in the far east, and especially to her communications with 
India. Ten days before the congress assembled, a convention of 
defensive alliance between Great Britain and Turkey had been 
signed at Constantinople (June 4, 1878), to take effect conditionally 
on Bussia's obtaining those very gains in Asia ; and accordingly the 
convention was laid before parliament on the same day on which 
the treaty of Berlin was signed. England engaged to join Turkey 
in defending the territories left to her in Asia against any future 
attempts at conquest by Bussia ; while, in return, the sultan promised 
to introduce reforms to be hereafter agreed on, and, as a provision 
for executing these engagements, he assigned the island of Cyprus 
to be occupied and administered by England. That " place of arms " 
was chosen as commanding the chief access from the Mediterranean 
to Syria and the Euphrates valley, and well placed for the defence 
of the Suez Canal. Without anticipating the verdict of history, 
it is but fair to place on record the claim of lord Beaconsfield that 
he had brought back to his country " peace with honour." 

The storm in Europe had an afterclap in further Asia, which 
revealed much more of the danger that had been narrowly averted. 
The continued conquests of Bussia in Central Asia had raised into 
a question of the first moment the position of Afghanistan, the 
mountain territory on the north-west of India, commanding the 
passes of the Hindu Kush and the Suleiman range, between Central 
Asia and the Punjab. Since the chequered events of the first 
Afghan war (1839-1842), it had been our settled policy to maintain 
a friendly influence with the independence of Afghanistan. But 
now the reigning ameer, Shere Ali (son of Dost Mohammed), had 
shown the resolution to place himself in the hands of Bussia, 
receiving her envoy at Cabul, while he turned back a British envoy 
on the frontier. To avenge an insult which threatened our whole 
influence in Asia, and to secure a new safe frontier by the posses- 
sion of the passes commanding the Punjab, a British army entered 



738 VICTOEIA. Chap. xxxv. 

Afghanistan (November, 1878), and speedily accomplished its 
military object, while Shere Ali fled, in the vain hope of help from 
Bussia, and died early in 1879. His son and successor, Yakub 
Khan, after some delay, sought an interview with the British 
general, and agreed to a treaty securing the new frontier required, 
and admitting a British resident at Cabul (May, 1879). 

For the present our history finds its resting-place at the close of 
the year 1878, darkened by a long and severe depression of trade, 
and under the cloud of the first gap made by death among the 
children of the queen. On the seventeenth anniversary of the 
prince consort's death, and the seventh since the recovery of the 
prince of Wales from death's door, the devoted daughter and sister 
who had lovingly tended both, princess Alice Maud Mart, grand- 
duchess of Hesse-Darmstadt, died at Darmstadt of diphtheria, 
received through " the kiss of death " while again tending her 
suffering children (December 14, 1878) ; but she left her memory 
as an undying honour to her mother's reign. 



§ 26. On casting a retrospective glance at the period comprised 
in this Book, our attention is chiefly arrested by the progress of the 
country in material wealth and power. The principal steps taken 
for the advance or security of our political rights may be summed 
up in a few words : they are — the passing of the Bill of Bights and 
Act of Settlement, and the securing of the independence of the 
judges and the liberty of the press, in the reign of William III. ; the 
abolition of general warrants in that of George III. ; the repeal 
of the Test and Corporation Acts, and the emancipation of the 
Boman catholics, under George IV. ; and the reform of parliament 
under William IV. and Victoria. The events under the Stuart 
dynasty had left little to be done for our constitutional freedom, 
but everything to be achieved for our national greatness. The 
union with Scotland, and subsequently that with Ireland, combined 
the three kingdoms into an imperial whole. The position of 
England as a European power was extended by the wars of 
William and Anne, and by the military genius of Marlborough. 
But it was in the wars with the French republic and empire 
that all the energy and resources of the nation were displayed, 
and Great Britain became the leading power in Europe. During 
the same period, owing to our maritime supremacy, our colonial 
, empire received a vast extension. Our colonies in North America 
were lost under George III., but were more than replaced by the 
subjugation of India, and the establishment of a new colonial empire 
in the South. The Canadas, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, with 



a.d. 1688-1878. PROGRESS OF THE NATION. 739 

several of our sugar colonies, were either retained or newly acquired. 
In Europe the acquisition of Gibraltar, Malta, and Cyprus, have 
secured us the command of the Mediterranean ; in Africa the Cape 
of Good Hope affords valuable assistance to our Indian commerce. 
In the other hemisphere, at our very antipodes, Australia and its' 
dependencies will form eventually a new British world; and an 
ever-increasing portion of the habitable world is peopled by a race 
of Anglo-Saxon origin. Compared with these results, the con- 
quests of the Romans shrink into insignificance. Their settle- 
ments were for the most part mere military occupations — provinces, 
not colonies. 

§ 27. During the period under review, the trade, wealth, and 
population of Great Britain have been rapidly augmented. They 
received a considerable impulse during the long and peaceful ad- 
ministration of sir Robert Walpole ; but the beginning of the 
reign of George III. is the epoch of the great increase of our 
trade and manufactures. The potteries began a new course of 
prosperity under Wedgwood (1762) ; t'he cotton manufactures 
were developed in Lancashire and Yorkshire. In 1775 James 
AVatt procured an act vesting in him " the sole use and property 
of certain steam-engines, commonly called fire.-eivjines, of his 
invention." About the same time Arkwright began to spin by 
rollers ; James Hargreaves, a poor weaver, invented the spinning- 
jenny ; Samuel Crompton introduced the mule in 1779. In 
consequence of these inventions the cotton manufactures of Man- 
chester and the North increased a hundredfold. In order to 
convey them, and to facilitate internal traffic, a network of 
canals was constructed, and highways were improved ; whilst 
ultimately both these means of conveyance have been in some 
degree superseded by the invention of railways. The origin of 
English canals may be dated from the act of 1755. The duke 
of Bridgewater obtained his first act in 1759. The length of the 
canals in England now exceeds 2200 miles. Even till towards the 
end of the last century the roads in many parts of England were 
impassable in bad weather. The best coaches on a long journey 
travelled no more than four or five miles an hour. After the peace, 
roads were improved by the use of broken stones and granite 
introduced by MacAdam, and the pace was in many instances 
accelerated to eight or ten miles an hour. Great as this seemed 
then, it is as nothing compared with the speed of modern railways. 
The first act for a public railway was passed in 1801. It was not 
intended for passengers. Even the Liverpool and Manchester line 
was principally constructed with a view to the conveyance of goods; 
and it was not anticipated that passengers would venture to avail 



740 PROGRESS OF THE NATION. Chap. xxxy. 

themselves of it to any great extent. But when it was opened 
in September, 1830, it was found that its greatest success would 
be derived from the number of persons conveyed by it. At the 
end of 1877 the United Kingdom bad above 17,000 miles of rail- 
way, with a capital of 674 millions sterling, and the net receipts 
exceeded 29 millions. One inestimable advantage derived from 
railways is the facility and cheapness of postal communication. 
Under the old system, and in the days of mail-coaches, a single 
letter conveyed 400 miles cost Is. People wrote no more than 
they could help, and stratagems of all sorts were used to evade 
the postage; so that between 1815 and 1835 it was found that 
the post-office revenue had actually decreased, although, in the 
ratio of the progress of trade and population, it ought to have 
been increased by half a million. To improve this state of things, 
sir Rowland Hill's scheme of postal reform, by which the postage 
of all single letters, to whatever distance carried, was reduced to 
Id., was adopted by the ministry, and came into operation in 
January, 1840. Steam-vessels did not come into general use 
till after the peace. They went on gradually increasing from 
eight English-owned steam-vessels in 1815, to 2496 in 1864, 
and 4564 in 1877. Other wonderful inventions have been brought 
into public use during the last half-century — such as gas and 
electric lighting, steam-printing, photography, the electric telegraph, 
with its recent marvellous developments in the telephone, etc. 

The progress in our home manufactures and trade was accom- 
panied with a corresponding increase in foreign commerce. The 
warehousing system, introduced by Mr. Pitt in 1803, by which the 
duties on goods, instead of being paid immediately on their landing, 
were collected on their delivery to the purchaser, proved of great 
service in extending trade by husbanding the capital of our mer- 
chants. But above all, the free-trade measures of sir Robert Peel 
have been attended with the greatest benefit, and promise to augment 
our commerce to an almost unlimited amount. 

The surprising increase in industry and wealth during the last 
century has naturally been attended with a corresponding increase 
of population. Before the establishment, in 1801, of a regular census 
to be taken every 10 years, there were no means of estimating very 
accurately the number of the people ; but, from the best calculation 
that can be made, it seems probable that the population of Eng- 
land and Wales at the time of the revolution of 1688 did not much 
exceed 5§ millions. The whole increase during the first four reigns 
of the Stuart dynasty was not perhaps more than half a million. 
During the 18th century, and especially in the latter half of that 
period, the population went on steadily increasing, and the first 



ad. 1688-1878. THE NATIONAL DEBT. 741 

census of 1801 showed a population in England and Wales of 
9,872,980. Since that time the increase has been still more rapid, 
the last census, in 1871, showing a population of 22,712,266. A 
corresponding increase has also taken place in Scotland ; while in 
Ireland an increase of from about 5,000,000, in 1801, to above 
8,000,000, in 1841, was followed, through the famine and emigra- 
tion, by a decrease to about 5i millions in 1871. The total 
population of the United Kingdom has almost doubled in the 70 
years, from about 16 millions in 1801 to nearly 32 millions in 1871. 
In England and Wales it has more than doubled itself. It is 
chiefly among the portion of the people employed in manufactures 
and trade that this increase has occurred ; for, while the persons 
engaged in these occupations have increased at the rate of upwards 
of 30 per cent., those employed in agriculture have increased at the 
rate of only 1\ per cent. 

The vast augmentation of the national debt daring this period 
is a remarkable feature in the history of the country. At the 
accession of the house of Hanover (1714) it did not much exceed 
36 millions, and it remained for some years at about that amount. 
Yet in 1736 we find it complained of in the Craftsman as the 
source of all the national distress ; and twenty years afterwards it 
was predicted, in the Letters of Samuel Hannay, that if it ever 
reached 100 millions the nation must become bankrupt. Yet a 
little afterwards, at the close of George II. 's reign, and chiefly 
through the wars of that monarch, it had reached upwards of 130 
millions without the occurrence of the anticipated catastrophe. 
Even Hume, in the third volume of his History of England, written 
in 1778, when the debt was about 150 millions, observed that it 
"threatened the very existence of the nation." In 1793, when 
the first war with revolutionary France broke out, the amount 
of the debt was little short of 240 millions ; at the peace of 
Amiens in 1802 it was nearly 500 millions. From that period 
till 1815, during the portentous struggle with Napoleon, it was 
increased, as we have already said, to 900 millions.* The 
history of the efforts to reduce the debt is interesting and in- 
structive. Under George I. and II., Walpole and Pelham set 
the example of making a decided impression on the annual charge 
(in which the hulk of the debt consists),^ by the reduction of interest 



* In many works the national debt 
is greatly understated by recording only 
the amount of the permanent funded debt, 
to which, however, must be added the 
floating unfunded debt, and the estimated 
value of terminable annuities. Including 
these items, the best estimate of the debt 
33* 



at the close of the great war. in 1815 reaches 
the total of 902,264,000^. 

f The student should clearly under- 
stand that the bargain with the holdei 
of stocks is to pay a certain annuity, 
not to discharge the nominal principal 
sum on which that annuity is reckoned. 



742 



PROGRESS OF THE NATION. 



Chap. xxxv 



in times of cheap money. But as to the capital, the sum of 
the story has been — slow and small reductions in times of peace 
swallowed up at once on the return of war. In the forty years 
(nearly) of peace (1816-1853) a reduction of 100 millions was 
effected, in spite of the Syrian, Chinese, Afghan, and other minor 
wars, and the new loans of 20 millions for the West Indian com- 
pensation, and 10 millions for the Irish famine. But in two years 
the Bussian war raised the debt again from about 800J to about 
831f millions. This increase was effaced in ten years of peace and 
prosperity, aided by the falling in of terminable annuities to the 
amount of above 2,000,000?. per annum in 1860 and 1867. The 
annual charge on the permanent debt has also been reduced to a 
uniform interest of three per cent, (with trifling exceptions) ; but, 
on the other hand, it has been partially increased by the policy, 
instituted by Mr. Gladstone and followed by Mr. Disraeli and Mr. 
Lowe, of converting sums of perpetual stock into terminable 
annuities, which is really a disguised process of paying off portions 
of the capital sum annually in the form of higher interest. The 
only other effective means of reduction has been by the automatic 
operation of an act of George IV., by which, a balance being 
struck every quarter of income and expenditure for the year then 
ending, if then a surplus is shown, one-fourth of that surplus is 
applied during the ensuing quarter to the reduction of debt by 
the purchase and cancelling of stock, — an operation most effective 
during the years of large surpluses which have prevailed since the 
Bussian war. By such means a reduction of more than 20 millions 
has been made in the last five years. On the 1st of April, 1875, 
the total amount of the national debt was 775,348,386?.* At 
the same date the annual charge for the debt was a little under 
27,360,000?. ; and sir Stafford Northcote proposed a plan for its 
reduction, by appropriating a fixed annual sum of 28,000,000?. 
to the payment of the annual charge and the cancelling of a 
portion of the principal. Meanwhile the country seems to carry 
this burthen with a lighter step than when it was seven times 
smaller. 

§ 28. We turn our view from the material to the moral condition 



* It is important to distinguish the 
heads : — 



Unredeemed funded deht . 
Unfunded debt 
Value of terminable an 
nuities 



£714,797,715 
5,239,000 



55,311,671 
£775,348,386 
On March 31, 1879, the permanent funded 



debt amounted to 709,402,000?., and the 
terminable annuities were estimated at 
42,776,000Z.,makingatotal of 752,179,0001., 
just 150 millions less than in 1816. The 
reduction of the funded debt is (1879) 
proceeding at the rate of five millions 
annually, under the joint operation of the 
terminable annuities and of sir Stafford 
Northcote's sinking fund (Budget speech, 
April 3, 1879). 



a.d. 1688-1878. CRIMINAL LAW AND EDUCATION. 743 

of the nation. With regard to religion, we may notice the 
societies that have sprung up with a view to the propagation of 
Christianity : such as the Society for Promoting Christian Know- 
ledge, founded in 1699 ; the Society for the Propagation of the 
Gospel in Foreign Parts, established in 1701; the London Missionary 
and Church Missionary Societies, and the British and Foreign Bible 
Society, all founded in 1804 ; besides numerous others. Several 
of these societies collect a revenue of upwards of 100,000?. The 
sect of the Methodists, founded by Wesley and Whitfield about 
the middle of last century, is likewise a remarkable growth of the 
age. Other sects have risen and enjoyed brief popularity. In 
1831 rose the followers of the celebrated Edward Irving, pro- 
fessing to be endowed with the gift of tongues. In the present 
times we have our Mormons, and other strange sectaries. 

§ 29. One great symptom of moral imnrovement has been the 
mitigation of the severity of the criminal law, introduced about the 
commencement of the present century by Samuel Romilly. Pre- 
vious to 1808 the offence of privately stealing 5s. from the 
person was punishable with death, as well as a great many other 
offences, such as sheep-stealing, shop-lifting, etc. ; and it was no 
uncommon thing to see several criminals executed together at 
Newgate on a Monday morning. At length the feeling of juries 
began to revolt against such exorbitant punishments. They re- 
fused to convict, and thus the laws became virtually inoperative. 
Yet some of the judges, as lord Ellenborough and lord Eldon, 
continued to support the old system. In 1833 a Eoyal Com- 
mission was appointed to examine the state of the criminal law. 
One of the first results of their report was the act passed in 
1836 for allowing counsel to prisoners indicted for criminal 
offences ; and in 1837 a bill was passed remitting the penalty of 
death in 21 out of 31 cases in which it was previously inflicted, 
while in the remaining 10 cases it was considerably restricted. 
Other ameliorations have subsequently taken place, and the 
penalty of death is now retained only for wilful murder and high 
treason. A commission has framed a Code of Criminal Law, which 
awaits the sanction of parliament. 

The present century has likewise witnessed a great advance in 
the education of the people, especially of the middle and lower 
orders. Lord Brougham's is the most conspicuous name at the head 
of this movement, and he has been ably seconded by a host of 
enlightened men. In 1823 the London Mechanics' Institute was 
founded, and was soon followed by others in different parts of the 
country. The establishment of the Society for the Diffusion of 
Useful Knowledge in 1826, and the opening of the University of 



744 PROGRESS OF THE NATION. Chap. xxxv. 

Loudon* in 1828, closely followed by King's Colli ge, tended still 
further to promote sound education, especially among the middle 
classes. To these may be added the establishment of Sunday 
schools, the foundation of the British and Foreign School Society 
and the National Society for diffusing education among the poorer 
classes, and the cheap and excellent publications of the Society for 
Promoting Christian Knowledge and the Eeligious Tract Society. 
More recent are the efforts of the nation to provide a system of 
national education, supported by the rates. 

§ 30. Literature underwent during this period a great revolution. 
During the early part of it the French taste introduced at the 
Restoration continued to prevail. Style became more popular and 
more polished in Anne's reign. In this respect the prose of Boling - 
broke, Addison, and Swift, and the versification of Pope, are ex- 
cellent. This continued to be regarded as the Augustan age of 
our literature till towards the close of last century. The con- 
ventional taste of the latter period is exhibited in the lectures of 
Blair and the criticisms of Dr. Johnson. The great writers of the 
Elizabethan age were almost ignored, and any poet before Waller 
was scarcely deemed worth reading. But a taste for our older 
literature was beginning to revive, and was fostered by the 
Percy ballads, and the editorial cares of Warton, Tyrwhitt, and 
others. Cowper introduced a new school of domestic poetry. The 
French Revolution shook the European world of thought to its 
centre, and opened up fresh veins of literature. The study of 
German literature introduced new elements of thought. The 
greatest names of the present century — we speak not of living 
writers — are those of Shelley, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Southey, 
Scott, Crabbe, Campbell, Byron, and Moore. One of the most 
marked features of the later period is the increase of periodical 
literature : our grandfathers were content with the Gentleman's 
Magazine, and one or two other reviews and periodicals ; at pre- 
sent they may be counted by the score. 

This period may be said to have witnessed the birth of a British 
school of art. In the last century we have sir Joshua Reynolds, 
Gainsborough, and Hogarth. The present age is illustrated by the 
names of Wilson, Wilkie, Turner, Lawrence, and a long list of 
eminent painters. In sculpture we may point with satisfaction to 
the names of Flaxman, Chantrey, Bailey, Westmacott, and others. 
Architecture has been less fortunate. The Italian style, which 
culminated in Wren's exquisite sense of proportion, degenerated 

* Now University College, London, i the Crown in 1836, with the power to 
The present University of London is a grant degrees in Arts, Law, and Medicine, 
different body, having been founded by j and subsequently in Science. 



Chap. xxxv. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



745 



under his followers, till the revived study of pure Greek architec- 
ture produced works of correct classic beauty (such as those of 
Smirke and Wilkins), but little suited to our climate and national 
taste. The ensuing Gothic revival has been chiefly indebted to 
the labours of Pugin, Barry, Gilbert Scott, and Street ; but its 
chief merit consists in reproducing the types of our genuine old 
English architecture rather than in any works of original genius. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



A. POOR LAWS. 

In the statute 11 Rich. II. (1388) we 
first find mention of the " impotent poor," 
who are directed to remain and abide in 
certain places ; either those in which they 
were at the time of the proclamation 
of the statute, or the places in which they 
were born. But no provision is made for 
their maintenance. Indeed, during the 
Roman catholic times, begging was al- 
lowed on the part of the impotent poor, 
who were chiefly supported by the abbeys, 
convents, and other religious establish- 
ments. Thus, even so late as 1530, just 
before the breach with Rome, the statute 
22 Hen. VIII. c. 10, which inflicts severe 
punishment on sturdy vagabonds and 
valiant beggars "being whole and mighty 
in body," allows the aged and impotent 
poor to beg and live off alms, provided 
they confined themselves to certain dis- 
tricts ; and they received a letter autho- 
rizing them to beg within those limits. 
The chief object in all the early enact- 
ments upon pauperism was to restrain 
vagrancy. The first act for the relief of 
the impotent poor was passed in 1536 (27 
Hen. VIII. c. 25), by which collections 
were ordered to be made in the parishes 
for their support. But by the same 
statute incorrigible vagrancy is, on a 
third conviction, made felony, with the 
penalty of death. The dissolution of the 
religious houses in that reign had the 
effect both of increasing the number of 
vagabonds and beggars, and of diminish- 
ing their means of support. The increase 
of pauperism is shown by several severe 
statutes on the subject passed in the short 
reign of Edward VI. But at the same 
time provision was made for the relief of 
the poor ; and the voluntary collections, 
such as had been first ordered under 27 
Hen. VIII. c. 25, were by a long series of 



statutes almost insensibly converted into 
compulsory assessments. 

At length, by the 43 Eliz. c. 2 (1601), 
compulsory assessment for the relief of 
the poor was fully established ; and this 
statute was till recent times the text-book 
of the English poor-law. The overseers 
of each parish were directed by this 
statute to raise by taxation the necessary 
sums " for providing a sufficient stock of 
flax, hemp, wool, and other ware or stuff, 
to set the poor on work, and also compe- 
tent sums for relief of lame, blind, old, 
and impotent persons, and for putting out 
children as apprentices." The justices 
were empowered to send to prison all 
persons who would not work, and to assess 
all persons of sufficient means for the 
relief of their children and parents. 
Power was given to the parish officers to 
build, at the expense of the parish, poor- 
houses for the reception of the impotent 
poor only. These are the chief provisions 
of this celebrated statute. Workhouses 
were first established in 1722 by 9 Geo. I. 
c. 7. They were not at first intended so 
much as a refuge for the poor, or as a test 
by which real destitution might be dis- 
cerned, but, as their name implies, with a 
view to derive profit from the labours of 
the poor. The workhouses were in fact 
a kind of manufactories carried on at the 
risk of the poor-rate ; and though they at 
first diminished the cost of relief, they 
ultimately increased it, by pauperizing 
the independent labourer. In the reign 
of George II. the amount expended in 
relief was under three-fourths of a million. 
In 1775 it amounted to 1,720,0002. From 
that period it went on rapidly increasing, 
and in 1818 it reached its maximum of 
nearly 8 millions. This large fund was 
subject to great abuses of administration, 
which begot habits of improvidence 
among the poor by encouraging early 



746 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. xxxv. 



marriages, etc. Labourers' wages were 
frequently paid in part from the rates ; and 
thus a portion of the farmer's labour was 
done at the expense of the parish. At 
length, in 1832, a commission was ap- 
pointed to inquire into the practical opera- 
tion of the poor-laws. In February, 1834, 
they made their report, and a bill founded 
upon it, the Poor-Law Amendment Act, 
was soon afterwards introduced by lord 
Althorp, and received the royal assent on 
August 14, 1834. By this act all bodies 
charged with the relief of the poor are 
placed under the control of a central 
board of three commissioners, who are to 
make rules and regulations, binding upon 
the local boards. One important power 
given to them is that of uniting several 
parishes for the purpose of a more eco- 
nomical administration. The system of 
paying wages out of the poor-rate is 
abolished ; and, except in extreme cases, 
to be determined by the commissioners, 
relief is only given to the able-bodied 
poor within the workhouse. After this 
period, in the face of a rapidly increasing 
population, the sums expended have 
rapidly diminished. In the administration 
of the law, the "workhouse test" has 
been greatly mitigated. The " Poor-Law 
Commissioners" have now been superseded 
by the " Local Government Board," with 
a president who is a member of the 
government. On this subject see sir G. 
Nicholls's Hist . of the English Poor-Law, 
2 vols. 8vo ; Porter's Progress of the 
Nation, sect. i. ch. 4 ; and the article 
Pauperism: in the Penny Cyclopaedia. 

B. CORN LAWS. 
The earliest enactments on this subject 
were to forbid the exportation of corn, 
while its importation was freely admitted ; 
but in later times the policy of the 
legislature was altogether different. The 
first statute extant on corn is the Dictum 
de Kenilworth (1266), and the next the 34 
Edw. III. c. 20 (1360), which forbids its 
exportation, except to certain places 
where it was necessary to the king's 
interest, and to be named by him. At a 
later period, in the reigns of Richard II. 
and Henry VI., we find this policy re- 
versed, and liberty given to export to any 
places ; though subject, iu the latter 
reign, to restriction in case the price of 
corn reached 6s. 8d. the quarter for wheat. 
Since no attempt was made to prevent 
the importation of corn, we may infer 



that it was produced in England as 
cheap, or cheaper than in neighbouring 
countries. In the reign of Edward IV. 
we find the first protective law in favour 
of the agriculturist, importation of corn 
being forbidden by 3 Edw. IV c. 2, unless 
the price of wheat exceeded 6s. Sd. the 
quarter. But agriculture seems to have 
much declined in England towards the 
end of the reign of Henry VIII. and in 
that of Edward VI., which was probably 
in some degree owing to the great change 
of property consequent on the dissolution 
of the abbeys and religious houses. Thus 
the statute, 25 Hen. VIII. c. 2, positively 
forbids the exportation of corn ; and the 
statute 5 and 6 Edw. VI. c. 5, entitled 
" An Act for the Maintenance and In- 
crease of Tillage and Corn," attempted to 
make the cultivation of corn compulsory, 
by exacting a fine of 5s. payable by each 
parish on every acre of land in each 
deficient in tillage when compared with 
the quantity that had been tilled at any 
period after the accession of Henry VIII. 

The act of Hen. VIII. forbidding the 
exportation of corn was repealed in the 
reign of Mary ; but the price at which 
exportation was allowed was gradually 
raised, till in 1670 it was enacted that 
wheat might always be exported as long 
as it was under 53s. id. per quarter. At 
the same time heavy import duties were 
imposed ; and the design of the legislature 
seems to have been to keep wheat at an 
average of about 53s. id. Nay, in 1689 
the landowners obtained the payment of 
a bounty of 5s. per quarter on the expor- 
tation of wheat when the price did not 
exceed 48s., and on other grain in propor- 
tion. These bounties were not repealed 
by law till 1815, though they had been for 
some time virtually inoperative. 

Regulations were also made respecting 
the home trade in corn ; and in the reign 
of Elizabeth it was made an offence, under 
the name of engrossing, and punishable 
with imprisonment or the pillory, to buy 
corn in one market in order to sell it in 
another. The act 15 Chas. II. c. 7, legal- 
ized engrossing when the price of wheat 
did not exceed 48s. Till a very recent 
period engrossing continued to be regarded 
by public opinion as a heinous offence, and 
even lord Kenyon violently denounced 
from the bench a corn-factor accused 
of it. 

By a bill of 1773 importation was al- 
lowed at the nominal duty of 6d. whenever 



Chap. xxxv. 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



747 



the price of wheat should be above 48s. 
Subsequently, in 1791 and 1S04, this price 
was raised to 54s. and 63s.; and in 1815 
the importation of wheat for home con- 
sumption was positively forbidden when 
the price was under 80s., and other corn in 
proportion. Various modifications were 
introduced between that time and 1829, 
when the principle of a graduated duty or 
sliding scale was introduced ; the duty, 
when the price was 62s., being 24s. 8d. 
and gradually diminishing as the price 
advanced, till at 73s. and upwards it fell 
to Is. The operation of this principle, 
however, was found to be inconvenient 
and unsalutary ; and at length, by Peel's 
bill of 1846, of which an account has been 
given in the text, the trade ill corn was 
ultimately left entirely free. The duty 
of Is. per bushel, retained by sir R. Peel 
for the registration of statistics, was abo- 
lished by Mr. Lowe in 1869. See the 
article Corn in the Penny Cyclopaedia. 

C. NAVIGATION LAWS. 
The first-Navigation Act was introduced 
by Whitelock in the time of the Common- 
wealth (1658), and was intended as a blow 
to Dutch commerce ; its main provisions 
were embodied in the act which till very 
recently formed the foundation of our 
commercial system in this respect (12 
Chas. II. c. 18). By this act it was pro- 
vided that no goods should be imported 
into England from Asia, Africa, or 
America, except in an English-built ship, 
navigated by an English master, and 
having at least three-fourths of its crew 
English. With regard to Europe, goods 
imported into England from any European 
state in a foreign ship were subject to a 
higher rate of duty than if imported in an 
English one. The first deviation from 
this act arose from the treaty of Ghent 
with the United States of America in 1815. 
The States, soon after the establishment 
of their independence, had retaliated on 
England by a navigation law similar to 
her own ; but this mutually restrictive 
system was found to be so inconvenient 
and unprofitable, that it was abandoned 
at the period mentioned, and the ships of 
the two countries were placed reciprocally 
on the same footing. With this exception, 
all the provisions of the act were main- 
tained till 1822, when Mr. Wallace, presi- 
dent of the Board of Trade, introduced 
five bills effecting various important 
relaxations. The provisions respecting 



Asia, Africa, and America, were repealed, 
and also that clause which forbad foreign 
goods to be brought into England from 
Europe in a foreign ship, except direct 
from the place of production, and in ships 
belonging to the country of production. 
Certain enumerated goods were also 
allowed to be brought from any port in 
Europe in ships belonging to the port of 
shipment ; and Dutch ships, which by the 
Navigation Act were forbidden to enter 
English ports with cargo, were placed on 
the same footing as those of other nations. 
Other relaxations were made in favour of 
our West India colonies. 

In the following year, the Prussians 
having notified that unless some relaxation 
were made in favour of their ships heavy 
retaliatory duties would be imposed on 
English ships entering on their ports, Mr. 
Huskisson, now at the head of the Board of 
Trade, introduced what are called the Reci- 
procityActs (4 Geo. IV. c. 77 and 5 Geo. IV, 
c. 1), by which the king was authorized to 
permit, by order in council, the importa- 
tion and exportation of goods in foreign 
vessels at the same duties as those im- 
ported in British vessels were liable to, in 
the case of those countries that should 
levy no discriminating duties on goods 
imported in British vessels; and the 
vessels themselves of such countries were 
to pay no higher tonnage duties than were 
chargeable on British vessels. On the 
other hand, power was given to impose 
additional duties on the goods and shipping 
of those countries which should levy 
higher duties on British vessels than on 
their own. Under these acts treaties of 
reciprocity were concluded with most of 
the principal nations of the world. But 
in 1849, in the ministry of lord John 
Russell, and on the motion of Mr. La- 
bouchere, the navigation laws were re- 
pealed, except as to the Britisli coasting 
trade, the provisions coming into force 
on January 1, 1850. — See Porter's Pro- 
gress of the Nation, sect. iii. ch. 9. 

D. AUTHORITIES FOR THE PERIOD 
COMPRISED IN BOOK VI. 

The principal authorities for the reigns 
of AVilliam III. and Anne are — Bishop 
Burnet's History of His Own Times; 
Evelyn's Diary; principal Carstairs's State 
Letters and Papers; Macpherson s Ori- 
ginal Papers (1688-1714); Macpherson's 
Hist of Great Britain from the Restora- 
tion to the. House of Hanover ; Dalrymple's' 



748 



NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chap. xxxv. 



Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland ; 
Grimblot's and Verne's Letters of 
William III. ; Lexington Papers ; Harris, 
Hist, of the Life and Reign of William 
III. ; Coxe, Correspondence of the Duke of 
Shrewsbury with King William ; Boling- 
hroke's Letters and Correspondence ; 
Somervi lie's Political Transactions from 
the Restoration to the end of William III. ; 
M&moires du Due de Berwick; Ker of 
Kersland's Memoirs of Secret Transac- 
tions ; Boyer's Annals of the Reign of 
Queen Anne; Lockhart's Memoirs and 
Commentaries on the Affairs of Scotland ; 
Coxe, Memoirs and Correspondence of the 
Duke of Marlborough; The Letters and 
Despatches of John Duke of Marlborough, 
1702-1712, edited by general sir 6. 
Murray ; Swift's Four Last Tears of the 
Reign of Queen Anne; Somerville's Hist, 
of Great Britain during the Reign of 
Queen Anne; earl Stanhope's Reign of 
Queen Anne ; Wyon, etc. 

It would be quite impossible within the 
limits of this work to recite all the works 
that might be used for the Georgian and 
Victorian era, and we shall therefore 
content ourselves with indicating a few 
of the principal ones : Coxe, Memoirs 
of Sir Rob. Walpole; idem. Memoirs of 
the Pelham Administration; Dr. Wits. 
King's Anecdotes of His Own Times (re- 
lating to the pretender Charles Edward) ; 
Bubb Dodington's Diary (1749-1761); 
Burke's Letters and Writings; Orford 
(H. Walpole), Mem. of Last Ten Years 
of George II. ; Mem. of Reign of King 
George III. ; Malmeshury's and colonel 
Chester's Journals; duke of Bucking- 
ham's Journals of George III., etc. ; the 
Annual Register (commencing 1758) ; 



Lord Mahon's Hist, of England, from the 
Peace of Utrecht to the Peace of Ver- 
sailles, 1783; Wellington's Despatches, 
both series ; Adolphus and Jesse's Hist . of 
George III. ; Craik and M'Farlane's Pic- 
torial History during Reign of George 
III. ; H. Martineau, Hist, of England 
during Thirty Tears' Peace; Charles 
Knight's Popular History of England ; 
the recent Lives and Memoirs of lord 
Shelburne, lord Althorp, lord Mel- 
bourne, lord Palmerston, lord Russell, and 
other statesmen ; the Life of the Prince 
Consort; Kinglake's Crimean War; 
Spencer Walpole's History of England 
from the Peace of Paris; Justin Mac- 
Carthy's History of Our Own Times, etc. 

E. STATE OF THE REPRESENTA- 
TION, 1878. 

The following table shows the composi- 
tion of the House of Commons under the 
Reform Acts of 1867-8, as compared with 
that und.r the Act of 1832 (see p. 704) : — 

England. Wales. Ireland.* Scotland. 

Counties . 172 15 64 32 

Universities f 5 2 2 
Cities and 

boroughs 286 15 39 26 



463 



30 105 



60 



* There was no redistribution of seats for 
Ireland. The grand total of 658 members was left 
unaltered by both acts ; but, since 1868, six seats 
have been suppressed by the disfranchisement of 
two English and two Irish boroughs for corrupt 
practices (viz. Beverley, Bridgewater, Sligo, and 
Cashel), making the actual total 652 ; but a bill is 
promised to fill up these vacancies before the dis- 
solution of the present parliament. 

t The University of London obtained one 
member ; those of Edinburgh and St. Andrews 
together, one member ; those of Glasgow and 
Aberdeen together, one member. 



TABLES 



SOVEREIGNS OF ENGLAND SINCE THE CONQUEST. 



"■ ? = 

v X Jr 
X - — 





End I, , 

of Reign. j Yean 

End of 1027 cr. Dec. 25, 1086 Sept. 9, 1087 I 21 

1057 or 1060 cr. Sept. 26, 1087 Aug. 2, 1100 I 13 

About 1068 ! cr. Aug. 5. 1100 Dec. 1, 1135 35 

Probably 1096 | cr. Dec. 26, 1135 I Oct. 25, 1154 I 19 



HENRY II. 

richard i. 
John . . 
Henry III 
Edward I. 



Edward II. . 
Edward III. 



Henry IV. 
Henry V. 
Henry VI. 



Edward IV. 
Edward V. . 
Richard III. 



Henry VII. . . . 
Henry VIII. . . 
Edward VI. . . 

Mary I 

Elizabeth . . . 

James I 

Charles I. . . . 
r Commonwealth . 
I Oliver Cromwell . 

(Protector) 
I Richard Cromwell 
L (Protector) 
Charles II. ... 

James II 



/William III. . 

( Mary II. . . 

Anne . . . . 

George I. . . 

George II. . . 

George III. . . 

George IV. . . 

William IV. . 

Victoria I. . . 



March, 1133 
Sept. 13. 1157 
Dec. 24, 1166 
Oct. 1, 1207 
Jun. 18, 1239 



cr. Dec. 19, 1154 ! 
cr. Sept 3, 1189 ; 
cr. May 27, 1199 | 
cr. Oct. 28, 1216 j 
pr. Nov. 20, 1272 
cr. Aug. 2, 1274 | 



July 6, 1189 
Apr. 8, 1199 
Oct. 19, 1216 
Nov. 16, 1272 
July 7, 1307 



I 
Apr. 25, 1284 j pr. July 8, 1307 



pr. Jan. 24, 1327 

(dated from 

Jan. 25.) 

pr. Jun. 22, 1377 



Sept. 21, „ 
Jun. 21, 1377 



deposed 
Sep. 29, 1399 



Mar., 1400. 



}- 



50£ 



1366 Sept. 30, 1399 
9, 1388 Mar. 21, 1413 
Dec. 6, 1421 Sept. 1, 1422 



Apr. 29, 1441 Mar. 
Nov. 4, 1470 Apr. 
Oct. 21, 1450 Jun. 



1456 I Aug. 

Jun. 28, 1491 j Apr. 

Oct. 12, 1537 Jan. 

Feb. 18, 1516 July 

Sep. 7, 1533 \ Nov. 

Jun. 19, 1566 ! Mar. 

Nov 19, 1600 j Mar. 

Jan. 

Apr. 25, 1599 Dec. 



4, 1461 
9, 1483 
26, 1483 

22, 1485 
22, 1509 
28, 1547 
6, 1553 

17, 1558 



Mar. 20, 1413 
Aug. 31, 1422 
Mar. 4, 1461 
ob. May, 1471 



Apr. 9, 1483 
Jun. 26, 1483 
Aug. 22, 1485 



Apr. 21, 3509 

Jan. 28, 1547 

July 6, 1553 

Nov. 17, 1558 

Mar. 24, 1603 



24, 1603 
27. 1625 
30, 1649 
16, 1653 



May 29, 1630 



Nov. 4. 1650 
Apr. 30, 1662 
Feb. 6, 1665 



May 28. 1660 
Oct. 30, 1683 
Jun. 4, 1738 
Aug. 12, 1762 
Auk. 24, 1765 
May 24, 1819 



Sept. 3, 1658 

Jan. 30, 1649 
pr. May 8, 1660 I 
Feb. 6, 1685 



Feb. 13, 1689 
Feb. 13, 1689 
Mar. 8, 1702 



Mar. 27, 1625 
Jan. 30, 1649 
May 8, 1660 
Sept. 3, 1658 

May 25. 1659 

ob. 1S74 
Feb. 6, 1685 



Aug. 


1, 


1714 


Jun. 


II 


1727 


Oct. 


25 


1760 


Jan. 


29, 


WO 


Jun. 


26, 


1830 


Jun. 


20, 


1837 



Sept. 16, 1701 




Mar. 8, 1702 
Dec. 28, 1694 ! 
Aug. 1, 1714 

i 


13 
6 
12* 



13 



11. 1727 

25, 1760 
29, 1820 

26, 1830 
20, 1837 I 7 

VlVAT REGINA. 



59± 



Note.— The regnal years of the earlier kings are dated from their coronation, till Edward I., whose 
coronation was postponed by his delay in returning from Palestine. John's regnal years are dated from 
Ascension Day. though a movable feast. From Edward HI. it became the rule to date from the pro- 
clamation. Lastly, from the death of Henry VIII., the principle was established that, from the moment 
u kin;; dies, his lawful successor begins to reign. 



750 



TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN 

The Tears show the com- 



England. 



SCOTLAND. 



France. 



William I. 
William II. 
Henry I. ... 

Stephen 

Henry IX ... 

Richard I. . . , 



John 

Henry III. 



Edward II. 



Edward III. 



Richard II. 
Henry IV. 



Henry V. .. 
Henry VI. 



Edward IV. 



1087 



1199 
1216 



1272 



13*77 

1399 



1413 
1422 



Malcolm III 

Donald VI 

Duncan II 

Donald VI. restored 

Edgar 

Alexander I 

David I 



1093 
1094 
1095 
1098 
1107 
1124 



Malcolm IV 1153 

William the Lion ... 1165 



Alexander II. ... 1214 
Alexander III. ... 1249 



Margaret 1286 

died ... 1290 

John Baliol 1292 

Interregnum 1296 

Rohert I. (Bruce) ... 1306 



David II. (Bruce) ... 1329 



Rohert II. (Stuart) 
Robert III 

James I 

James II 

James III 



1371 
1390 

1406 

1437 

1460 



Philip I. 



Louis VI. 
Louis VII. 



Philip II. 



Louis VIII. 
St. Louis IX. 



Philip III. 
Philip IV. 



Louis X. ... 
John 1. ... 
Philip V. 
Charles IV. 
Philip VI. 
John II. ... 
Charles V. 

Charles VI. 



Charles VII. 



Louis XL 



.. 1108 
.. 1137 



1223 
1226 



1270 
1285 



1314 
1316 
1316 
1322 
1328 
1350 
1364 

1380 



751 



SOVEREIGNS FROM THE PERIOD OF THE CONQUEST. 
mencement of their Reigns. 



1 


Germany and 
Emperors. 


Spain. 


Popes. 


1 


Henry rV 1056 






Alexander II. 


... 1061 






LEON AND CASTIL; 


Gregory VII. .. 


... 1073 










Victor III. .. 


... 1086 






Sancho II 


1065 


Urban II. 


... 1088 




Henry V 1106 


Alfonso VI. (Leon) 


1072 


Pascal II. 


... 1099 




Lothaire II 1125 


Alfonso VII 


1109 


Gelasius II. .. 


... 1118 




Conrad III. (of Ho- 


Alfonso VIII. 


1126 


Calixtus II. .. 


... 1119 




henstaufen) ... 1138 


Sancho III 


1157 


Honorius II. .. 


.. 1124 






Alfonso IX. (Leon) 


1158 


Innocent II. .. 


... 1130 






Henry I 


1214 


Celestine II. .. 


... 1143 






Ferdinand III. 


1217 


Lucius II. 


... 1144 




Frederick I. (Barba- 


(Unites Leon and Castile, 


Eugenius III. 


... 1145 




rossa) 1152 


1230.) 




Anastasius IV. 


... 1153 






Alfonso X 


1252 


Adrian IV. 


... 1154 






Sancho IV 


1284 


Alexander III. 


... 1159 






Ferdinand IV. 


1295 


Lucius III. 


... 1181 






Alfonso XI 


1312 


Urban III. .. 


... 11S5 




Henry VI 1190 


Peter the Cruel 


1350 


Gregory VIII. 


... 1187 




/Philip 1198 

\OthoIV 1198 


Henry II 


1368 


Clement III. .. 


. . 11S7 




John I 


1379 


Celestine III. .. 


... 1191 




Otho IV. (alone) ... 1208 


Henry III 


1390 


Innocent HI. .. 


... 1198 




Frederick II 1212 


John II 


1406 


Honorius III. .. 


... 1216 






Henry IV 


1455 


Gregory IX. .. 


... 1227 




/Conrad IV 1250 

I William 1250 






Celestine IV. . . 


... 1241 









Innocent IV. .. 


... 1243 




Interregnum 1254 






Alexander IV. 


... 1254 




/Richard of Cornwall 1257 
{.Alfonso of Castile 1257 


ARRAGON. 




Urban IV. .. 


'... 1261 








Clement IV. .. 


... 1265 




Rudolf I. (of Haps- 


Sancho Ramirez .. 


1063 


Gregory X. 


... 1271 




burg) 1273 


Peter of Navarre . . 


1094 


Innocent V. .. 


... 1276 






Alfonso I 


1104 


Adrian V. 


... 1276 






Rami ro II 


1134 


John XXI. .. 


... 1276 






Petronilla and Ray 




Nicholas III. .. 


... 1277 






mond 


1137 


Martin IV. .. 


... 1281 




Interregnum 1291 


Alfonso II 


1162 


Honorius IV. .. 


... 1285 




Adolphus of Nassau 1292 


Sancho VII 


1194 


Nicholas IV. .. 


... 1288 






Peter II 


1196 


Celestine V. .. 


... 1294 




Albert I. (of Austria) 1298 


James I 


1213 


Boniface VIII. 


... 1294 




Henry VII 1308 


Peter III 


1276 


Benedict XL .. 


... 1303 




Interregnum 1313 


Alfonso III 


1285 


Clement V. .. 


... 1305 




/LouisIV.(o Bavaria) 1314 
{Frederick of Austria 1314 


James II 


1291 


John XXII. .. 


... 1316 




Alfonso IV 


1327 


Benedict XII. .. 


... 1334 




Louis IV. (alone) ... 1330 


Peter IV 


1336 


Clement VI. .. 


... 1342 




Charles IV 1347 


John I 


1387 


Innocent VI. .. 


... 1352 




Wenceslaus 1378 


Martini 


1395 


Urban V. 


... 1362 






Ferdinand of Sicily 


1412 


Gregory XL . . 


... 1370 




1 


Alfonso V 


. 1416 


Urban VI. .. 


... 1378 






John II 


1458 


Boniface IX. .. 
Benedict XIII. 


... 1389 
... 1394 






CASTILE. 




Innocent VII. 


... 1404 




' Robert, or Rupert ... ±400 






[Gregory XII. 


1400-1415 




1 


Ferdinand V 


. 1474 


< Alexander V. .. 


... 1409 




! Sigismund 1410 


(Marries Isabella of Cas- 


[John XXIII. 


1410-1415 






tile, 1479, and 


unites 


Martin V. 


... 1417 




Albert II 1438 


Castile and Arragon.) 


Eugenius IV. .. 


... 1431 




Frederick III. ... 1440 


Philip I 


. 1504 


Nicholas V. .. 


... 1447 




| 




Calixtus III. .. 


... 1455 








Pius II 


... 1458 



752 



TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL CONTEMPORARY 



England. 



Edward V. 
Richard III. 
Henry VII. 

Henry VIII. 

Edward VI. 

Mary 

Elizabeth 



James I. 



1483 
1483 
1485 



1547 
1553 
1558 



Scotland. 



James IV. 



James V. 
Mary 



1513 
1542 



Charles I. 

Commonwealth 
Charles II. 

(Restored 1660.) 



James II. 

William and Mary ... 
William III. (alone) 

Anne 

George I 

George H 



George III. 



George IV. 
William IV. 



Victoria I. 



1625 
1649 
1649 



1685 
1689 
1694 
1702 
1714 
1727 



1760 



1820 
1830 



James VI 

(Unites the crowns 
on the death of 
Elizabeth, 1603.) 



RUSSIA. 

Emperors from Peter 
The Great. 



j Peter the Great 
i Catherine I. ... 

i Peter II 

' Anne 

! Ivan VI 

Elizabeth 

Peter III. 

Catherine II. ... 

Paul 

Alexander I. ... 

Nicholas 

Alexander II. 



France. 



... 1689 

... 1725 

... 1727 

.. 1730 

... 1740 

... 1741 

... 1762 

... 1762 

... 1796 

... 1801 

... 1825 

... 1855 



Charles VIII. 
Louis XII. 

Francis I. 
Henry II. 

Francis II. 
Charles IX. 
Henry III. 
Henry IV. 

Louis XIII. 

Louis XIV. 
Louis XV. 



PRUSSIA. 

{From the Establishment 

of the Kingdom. 

Frederick 1 1701 

Frederick William I. 1713 
Frederick II. (the 

Great) 1740 

Frederick William 11.1786 
Frederick Williamlll. 1797 
Frederick William IV.1840 

(Proclaimed German 
emperor, 1871) 



... 1483 

... 1498 

... 1515 

... 1547 

... 1559 

... 1560 

... 1574 

... 1589 



... 1715 



Louis XVI 1774 

(Beheaded, 1793) 

(Louis XVII., nominal, 
Died in prison 1795, 
aged 10.) 

Republic 1792 

Napoleon I. emperor L801 

abdicated ... 1814 

(Napoleon II. nominal) 



Louis XVIII. .., 

Charles X. 
Louis Philippe 



.. 1814 

.. 1824 

.. 1830 

.. 1848 



Republic 

Napoleon III. 

emperor 1852 

Republic 1870 

M. Thiers, president 1871 
Marshal Macmahon, 

president ... 1873 

M. Grevy, president 1878 



LIST OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY 



1533. Thomas Cranmer. Burnt at Oxford 

Mar. 21, 1556. 
1556. Reginald Pole, cardinal. Ob. Nov. 

17, 1558. 
1559. Matthew Parker. Ob. May 17, 1575. 
1576. Edmund Grindal. Translated from 

York. Ob. July 6, 1583. 
1583. John Whitgift. Translated from 

Worcester. Ob. Feb. 29, 1604. 
1604. Richard Bancroft. Translated from 

London. Ob. Nov. 2. 1610. 
1611. George Abbot. Translated from 

London. Ob. Aug. 4, 1633. 



1633. William Laud. Translated from 

London. Beheaded Jan. 10, 1645. 

The see vacant 14 vears. 
1660. William Juxon. Translated from 

London. Ob. June 4, 1663. 
1663. Gilbert Sheldon. Translated from 

London. Ob. Nov. 9, 1677. 
1678. William Sancroft. Deprived Feb. 1, 

1691. Ob. Nov. 24, 1693. 
1691. John Tillotson. Ob. Nov. 22, 1694. 
1695. Thomas Tenison. Translated from 

Lincoln. Ob. Dec. 14, 1715. 



753 

EUROPEAN SOVEREIGNS, &c— continued. 





Germany, and Emperors. 


Spain. 




Popes. 












Paul II 


... 1464 






The United Kingdom of 


SixtusIV. 


... 1471 






Spain. 




Innocent VIII. 


... 1484 




Maximilian I. ... 1493 






Alexander VI. 


... 1492 






Ferdinand V 


1512 


Pius III 


... 1503 






Charles I 


1516 


Julius II 


... 1503 




Charles V 1519 


(The emperor 




LeoX 


... 1513 






Charles V.) 




Adrian VI. 
Clement VII. ... 

Paul III 

Julius III. 


... 1522 
... 1523 
... 1534 
... 1550 




Ferdinand I. :' 1558 


Philip II 


1556 


Marcellus II. ... 


... 1555 




Maximilian II. ... 1564 






Paul IV 


... 1555 




Kudolfll 1576 






Pius IV 


... 1559 






Philip III 


1598 


PiusV 

Gregory XIII. ... 

SixtusV 

Urban VII. 
Gregory XIV. . . 
Innocent IX. ... 
Clement VIII. ... 

Leo XI 

PaulV 


... 1566 
... 1572 
... 1585 
... 1590 
... 1590 
... 1591 
... 1592 
... 1605 
... 1605 




Matthias 1612 






Gregory XV. . . . 


... 1621 




Ferdinand II 1619 


Philip IV 


1621 


Urban VIII. ... 


... 1623 




Ferdinand III. .. 163? 






Innocent X. 


... 1644 




Leopold 1 165S 


Charles II 


1665 


Alexander VII. 


.. 1655 




Joseph 1 1705 


Philip V 


1700 


Clement IX. ... - 


... 1667 




Charles VI 1711 






Clement X. 


... 1670 




Charles VII 1742 






Innocent XI. ... 


... 1676 




Francis 1 1745 


Ferdinand VI. 


1746 


Alexander VIII. 


... 1689 




Joseph II 1765 


Charles III 


1759 


Innocent XII. ... 


... 1691 




Leopold II 1790 


Charles IV 


1788 


Clement XL ... 


... 1700 




Francis II 1792 






Innocent XIII. 


... 1721 




(End of the Holy 






Benedict XIII. ... 


... 1724 




Jioman Empire, 






Clement XII. ... 


... 1730 




1806.) 






Benedict XIV. ... 


... 1740 




William I., German 


Ferdinand VII. pr.. 


1808 


Clement XIII. ... 


.. 1758 




emperor 1871 


(Joseph Bonaparte 


•) 


Clement XIV. ... 


... 1769 







Ferdinand restored 


1814 


Pius VI 


... 1775 




AUSTRIA. 


Isabella II 


1833 


Pius VII 


.. 1800 




Republic 


1868 


Leo XII 


... 1823 




Francis I. (the pre- 


Amadeus, king 


1870 


Pius VIII 


... 1829 




ceding Francis 11.) 1804 


(Abdicated 1873) 




Gregory XVI. ... 


... 1831 




Ferdinand 1835 


Federal Republic . . 


1873 


Pius IX 


... 1846 




Francis Joseph ... 1848 


Alfonso XII., king 


1874 


Leo XIII 


... 1878 



FROM THE TIME OF THE REFORMATION. 



1716. William Wake. Translated from 
Lincoln. Ob. Jan. 24, 1737. 

1737. John Potter. Translated from 
Oxford. Ob. Oct. 10, 1747. 

1747. Thomas Herring. Translated from 
York. Ob. Mar. 13, 1757. 

1757. Matthew Hutton. Translated from 

Oxford. Ob. Mar. 19, 1758. 

1758. Thomas Seeker. Translated from 

Oxford. Ob. Aug. 3, 1768. 
1768. Frederick Comwallis. Translated 
from Lichfield and Coventry. Ob. 
Mar. 19, 1783. 



1783. John Moore. Translated from 
Bangor. Ob. Jan. 18, 1805. 

1805. Charles Manners Sutton. Trans- 
lated from Norwich. Ob. July 21, 
1828. 

1828. William Howley. Translated from 
London. Ob. Feb. 11, 1848. 

1848. John Bird Sumner. Translated 
from Chester. Ob. Sept. 6, 1862. 

1862. Charles Thomas Longley. Trans- 
lated from York. Ob. Oct. 27, 1868. 

1868. Archibald Campbell Tait. Trans- 
lated from London. 



GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 



AA. DESCENT OF VICTORIA I. FROM EGBERT. 

1. Egbert. 2. Ethelwulf. 3. Alfred the Great. 4. Edward the Elder. 
5. Edmund. 6. Edgar. 7. Ethelred. 8. Edmund Ironside. 9. Edward (not a 
king). 10. Margaret, wife of Malcolm, king of Scotland. 11. Matilda, wife of 
Henry I. 12. Matilda or Maud, empress in Germany, and wife of Geoffrey 
of Anjou. 13. Henry II. 14. John. 15. Henry III. 16. Edward I. 17. Ed- 
ward II. 18. Edward III. 

J 

19. Lionel, duke of Clarence. Edmund, John of Gaunt * 

duke of York. duke of Lancaster. 



20. Philippa. 
m. Edward Mortimer, earl of March. 



m. Catherine Swynford 
(issue afterwards legitimated) 



21. Roger Mortimer, earl of March. John Beaufort, 

| earl of Somerset. 
22. Anne Mortimer. = Richard, earl of , 

j Cambridge. John Beaufort, 

! i duke of Somerset. 



\~ I 

23. Richard, Margaret, 

duke of York. m. Edmund Tudor, 

earl of Richmond. 
24. Edward IV. 

25. Elizabeth. Henry VII. 



James IV. of Scotland. = 26. Margaret = Archibald Douglas, 
Tudor. | earl of Angus. 

27. James V. of Scotland. Margaret Douglas. 

m. earl of Lenox. 

28. Mary, queen of Scots. = Lord Darnley. 

! I 

29. James VI. of Scotland, and I. of England. 

30. Elizabeth, m. Frederick, elector palatine. 

31. Sophia, m. Ernest Augustus of Brunswick, elector of Hanover, 

32. George I. 

33. George II. 

34. Frederick prince of Wales. 

I 
35. George III. 

36. Edward, duke of Kent. 

37. Victoria. 
* John of Gaunt was older than Edmund, but the latter is placed before him for 
typographical convenience. 



GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 



755 



A.— GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE HOTTSE OF CERDIC. 

*** The numbers mark the succession of the kings before the Conquest. 

Cerdic, the ancestor of the kings of England of the Saxon line, founded the king- 
dom of Wessex a.d. 519. Cerdic died in 534; and from him Egbert, the first king 
of England, is descended as follows:— 1. Cynric, king of Wessex (r. 534-560). 2. 
Ceawlin, king of Wessex (r. 560-591). 3. Cutbwine. 4. Cutha. 5. Ceolwald. 6. 
Cenred. 7. Ingild. 8. Eoppa. 9. Eafa. 10. Ealhmund, king of Kent, whose son 
Egbert was elected to succeed Brihtric in the kingdom of Wessex a.d. 800. The 
line then proceeds as follows : — 

1. EGBERT, 

r. 800-336. 
m. RaBdburh. 

2. ETHELWULF, 

r. 836-858. 

m. (1) Osburh. 

(2) Judith. 



Athelstane 3, 
(k.ofS.E.of 
Eng.), d. 854. 



I I 

ETHELBALD, 4. ETHELBERT, 
r. 858-860. r. 860-866. 



5. ETHELRED L, 6. ALFRED 
r. 866-871. r. 871-901. 
m. Ealhswith. 
Ethelwold, d. 905. | 



7. EDWARD the ELDER, 5 other children. 

r. 901-925. 
m. (1) Ecgwyn. (2) Elfleda. (3) Edgiva. 
By his three marriages Edward left 15 children, by 3 Of whom he was succeeded. 



8. ATHELSTANE 

(by Ecgwyn), 

r. 925-940. 



9. EDMUND 

(by Edgiva), 

r. 940-946. 

m. (1) Elgiva. 

(2) Ethelfieda. 



10. EDRED 

(by Edgiva), 

r. 946-955. 



ayw 



11. EDWY, 
r. 955-958. 



Ethelfieda = T2. EDGAR = Elfrida. 
| r. 958-975. | 



13. EDWARD the MARTYR, 

r. 975-979. Elfleda : 



14. ETHELRED II. = Emma of Normandy. 
r. 979-1016. I 



15. EDMUND IRONSIDE, 

r. April to Nov. 1016. 

m. Algitha. 



Alfred, 19. EDWARD the CONFESSOK, 

k. 1036. r. 1042-1066. 

m. Edgith 



Edmund. 



Edward = Agatha, 
d. 1507. I 



Edgar Atheling 

(in whom the 

male Saxon 

line became 

extinct) 



Margaret, 

m. Malcolm, k. 

of Scotland. 



Christina 
(a nun). 



Matilda, 

m. Henrt I., k. of England 

(thus uniting the Saxon and Norman lines). 



756 GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 

B.— GENEALOGY OF THE ANGLO-DANISH KINGS OF ENGLAND, 

%* The numbers mark the succession of the kings before the Conquest. 

Harald Blaatand (Bluetooth), 
d. 985. 

Sweyn Tveskjseg (Forkbeard), 
d. 1014. 

16. CANUTE = Emma, widow of Ethelred. 
(Illegitimate.) r. 1016-1035. I 



II II 

Sweyn 17. HAROLD HAREFOOT, 18. HARDICANUTE, Gunhild. 

k. of Norway), r. 1035-1040. r. 1040-1042 

d. 1036. (on his death the Saxon line was 

restored in Edward the Confessor). 



C— FAMILY OF EARL GODWIN. 

(See Freeman, Norman Conquest, vol. ii., App. F., p. 552.) 

%* The number (20) belongs to the succession of the kings before the 
Conquest. 

Godwin = Gytha (m. 1019). 
d. 1053. | 

(a) Sons. 

i j i i i i 

Sweyn. 20. HAROLD II.,* Tostig, Gurth, Leofwine JElfgar 

king and killed k. 1066, k. 1066. k. 1066. (doubtful). 

1066, at Stamford "— v ' 

m. Ealdgyth. Bridge. at Hastings. 

(6) Daughters. 



I I I 

Eadgyth (Edith), Gunhild. Elgiva 

m. Edward the (doubtful). 



Confessor. 



* For the children of Harold, sec Freeman, Norman Conquest, vol. iii., App. R.< 
p. 15i. 



GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 



757 



D.— THE NORMAN LINE. 



Rolf or Rollo the Ganger, duke of the Normans, 
911-927. 



William Longsword (Longue-epee), 
927-943. 



Richard I. the Fearless (Sans-peur), 
943-996. 



Richard II. the Good (le Bon), 
996-1026. 



Emma. 

m. (1) Ethelred. 

(2) Canute. 



Richard III., 
1026-1028. 



Robert I. the Magnificent or the Devil, 
1028-1035. 



WILLIAM I. the Conqueror 

(by Arietta), 

b. 1027 ; d. Sept. 7, 1087. 

m. Matilda, d. of Baldwin, 

count of Flanders. 



Robert II., 

duke of 

Normandy, 

d. 1134. 



William, 
d. 1128. 



Richard, 
d. young. 



WILLIAM n 

(Rufus), 

d. Aug. 2, 

1100. 



6 daughters 



HENRY I., 
d. Dec. 1, 1135. - 

m. (1) Matilda of Scotland; Of whom Adcla, 
(2) Adelizaof Louvain the fourth, m. 

(bv whom, no children). Stephen, count 
w I of Blois. 



I 



Several other STEPHEN, 

m. Matilda, d. of of Germany. _ d. 1147. children. 

Fulk of Anjou. (2) Geoffrey of Anjou, 
d. 1167. 



HENRY IL 
34 



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SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 



Note I., page 234. 

America first appears in the history of England at the close of 
the fifteenth century. When Columbus, disappointed, was about 
to leave Portugal for Spain, he sent his brother Bartholomew to 
ask assistance of the British monarch, Henry VII. The applica- 
tion was not made until several years had elapsed ; and when 
Henry sent Bartholomew to invite his brother to England, Chris- 
topher had returned from his brilliant first voyage of discovery. 
King Henry, early in 1498, gave Sebastian Cabot, one of his sub- 
jects, a commission to go on a voyage of discovery, and furnish- 
ed two small vessels for the purpose. Cabot first saw the North 
American continent at Labrador in June, 1498. Columbus dis- 
covered the South American continent a few weeks later. To 
England belongs the honour of furnishing the first discoverer of 
the North American continent. 

.Note II., page 316. 

Some Huguenots, returning to France from the coast of South 
Carolina in a small brigantine, were rescued from their capsized 
vessel floating near the English shores. They were nearly starved. 
Taken before queen Elizabeth, they gave such an account of the 
beautiful country they had left that an intense desire was created 
among the English to colonize that region. In 1584, the queen 
gave Walter Raleigh a commission to send an expedition to 
America. Two ships, fitted out by him, sailed for the pleasant 
region described by the wrecked Huguenots. They touched land 
a little farther north, on the coast of North Carolina. The com- 
manders of the two vessels, on returning to England, gave glow- 
ing accounts of the beauty of the region they had visited. Ra- 
leigh afterwards attempted to colonize the country, which was 



SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 767 

called Virginia. He never saw North America himself. This 
was the first attempt at English colonization in America. 

Note III., page 354. 

It was on the banks of the river Powhatan, in Virginia, where 
the English adventurers planted a settlement in the spring of 
1607, and not "in the bay of Chesapeake," as mentioned in the 
text. They named the river James, in honour of the king of 
England, and their settlement they named James Town. This 
was the first permanent English settlement made in America. 
It was more than 50 miles from the entrance to Chesapeake 
Bay. No vestige of that first capital of Virginia now remains, 
excepting the ruins of the tower of the first substantial church 
built there. In 1613, a bond of friendship between the Indian 
emperor Powhatan and the English settlement at James Town 
was made by the marriage of the dusky ruler's daughter Poca- 
hontas to John Rolfe, one of the settlers. They became the an- 
cestors of some families distinguished in Virginia society. It was 
at James Town, twelve years after the settlement was planted, that 
the first rejjresentative government in America was established. 

Note IV., page 356. 

An important event in English history occurred in America in 
1620. A congregation of nonconformists, who had fled to Hol- 
land from persecution in England, had been formed at Leyden 
under the pastoral care of Rev. John Robinson. They were loyal 
Englishmen, and desired to live under English rule if they 
could have freedom in their method of divine worship. They 
made arrangements with the Plymouth Company, to whom king- 
James had granted a large domain in America, to make a set- 
tlement there. In the fall of 1620, a company of 101 persons 
sailed from England for America under the charge of elder 
William Brewster, a coadjutor of Robinson in Holland. They 
came in the Mayflower, and late in December landed near Cape 
Cod, and there began a settlement, to which they gave the name 
of New Plymouth. Before landing, a compact for the estab- 
lishment of a civil government was drawn up, and on the lid 
of the chest of elder Brewster, in the cabin of the Mayflower, it 
was signed by the men of the little company of " Pilgrims," as 
they called themselves. They chose John Carver to be their 
governor, and thus they laid the foundations of a state in the 
region which captain Smith, the real founder of Virginia, had 
explored and named New England. 



768 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES, 

Note V., page 371. 

Another important event in English history occurred in Amer- 
ica 12 or 15 years after the "Pilgrim" immigration. King 
James persecuted the Roman Catholics as well as the non-con- 
formists in England. George Calvert, a Roman Catholic, a crown 
officer, and a court favourite, desirous to have an asylum for 
his coreligionists, sought a grant of a domain in America from 
Charles I., the son and heir of James. Calvert had been cre- 
ated lord Baltimore by James. He died before a charter was 
obtained ; but Charles gave one to his son and successor, Cecil 
Calvert. The domain was in the region of Chesapeake Bay, and 
was named Maryland, in honour of Charles's queen, Henrietta 
Mary. Late in 1633, lord Baltimore sent his brother, Leonard 
Calvert, with about 300 persons, to make a settlement in Mary- 
land. They arrived in the spring of 1634 ; and, at a place 
which they named St. Mary, they began a settlement, and found- 
ed the colony of Maryland. Although a larger proportion of 
immigrants were Protestants, it was essentially a Roman Cath- 
olic colony, the first that ever came to America from England. 
The ruling class, from governor down, were Roman Catholics. 
The colony was composed, lord Baltimore wrote to Wentworth, 
of " veiy near 20 gentlemen of very good fashion, and 300 la- 
bouring men," who had taken the oath of supremacy before 
leaving England, and were, of course, Protestants. 

Note VI., page 451. 

Governor Berkeley of Virginia was a staunch loyalist, and 
ruled the colony under a commission sent to him from prince 
Charles, the decapitated king's heir, who was an exile from 
England in Breda. The Republican parliament of England was 
offended by this persistent attachment of Virginia to royalty, 
and, early in the spring of 1652, sent sir George Ayscue with a 
powerful fleet to reduce the Virginians to submission. Mean- 
while Berkeley and the Cavalier, or Royalist, party in Virginia, 
had resolved not to submit, and had sent a messenger to Breda 
to invite prince Charles to come over and be their king. He 
was preparing to come, when affairs took a turn in England 
which foreshadowed a speedy restoration of monarchy there. 
When the prince ascended the throne as Charles II., he did not 
forget the loyalty of the Virginians. He caused the arms of that 
province to be quartered with those of England, Scotland, and 
Ireland, as an independent member of the empire. From this 



SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 7(59 

circumstance, Virginia acquired the title of " The Old Dominion." 
Coins with these quarterings were struck as late as 1773. 

Note VII., page 459. 
England claimed the territory in America occupied by the 
Dutch, and named by them New Netherland, as a part of her 
domain, the right to which the Hollanders disputed, because the 
river upon which a larger portion of the territory lay was dis- 
covered by Henry Hudson when in the service of the Dutch. 
The latter had built a flourishing commercial station at the 
mouth of the stream, which was named Hudson's River, in honour 
of its discoverer. In 1664, king Charles gave the domain of 
New Netherland to his brother James, duke of York, and the 
same year a land and naval force captured New Amsterdam, the 
name of the commercial village at the mouth of the river. The 
commander of the expedition took possession of the town and 
the whole territory, and the name of each was changed to New 
York. After a brief season of repossession by the Dutch, New 
Netherland passed into the permanent control of the English, 
and has ever since been called New York, in honour of the duke. 

Note VIII., page 487 

Late in the seventeenth century, William Penn, a son of ad- 
miral Penn, a favourite of king Charles II., procured from that 
monarch a charter for a province in America. This son had be- 
come a member of the despised and persecuted sect called Quak- 
ers, but the friendship which Charles felt for the father was ex- 
tended to William, and he gave him a charter for a province, ly- 
ing mostly on the Delaware River. The consideration was the 
relinquishment of claims to a debt of $80,000, due from the crown 
to Penn's father. The charter was given in 1681. Penn proposed 
to call the domain " New Wales." The king's Welsh secretary 
objected. Then he suggested "Sylvania" — wooded country. 
Against the wishes of Penn, the king caused his name to be pre- 
fixed to the last title suggested by the proprietary, and it was 
named in the charter Pennsylvania. Penn came to America in 
1782, and laid out the city of Philadelphia. The colony pros- 
pered from the beginning, for it was founded upon justice. 

Note IX., page 516. 

The revolution in England (1688-89) had a powerful and sal- 
utary effect upon the English-American colonies. While in Eng- 
land the religious aspect of the movement in the change of dynas- 



770 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

ties was conspicuous, in the American provinces the change was 
marked by a rapid development of democratic ideas and prin- 
ciples. Connecticut resumed its ancient charter, of which it had 
been deprived, and Andros, who was arbitrary governor of all 
New England, was driven from Boston, when local self-govern- 
ment was established in Massachusetts. In New York the dem- 
ocratic element, in the absence of a royal governor, became po- 
litically dominant for a while. When a governor appointed by 
the king came, Jacob Leisler, who had been chosen ruler by the 
people, was hanged, and his estates were confiscated ; but democ- 
racy had taken too firm root to be eradicated. From that mo- 
ment it grew, and bore abundant fruit. The spirit of liberty, 
fostered by the results of the revolution in England in 1688, 
ruled the colonies until 1776, when they declared their indepen- 
dence of the British crown. Their triumph was made complete 
by the terms of peace in 1783, which decreed the dismemberment 
of the British empire. 

Note X., page 528. 

In the revolution in England in 1688, king James II. was 
driven from the throne, and took refuge with his kinsman and 
coreligionist, Louis XIV. of France. The latter espoused his 
cause, and war ensued between the two countries. William of 
Holland, husband of James's daughter Mary, then reigned in 
England jointly with his wife. In this war the English and 
French colonists in America became involved, and the opera- 
tions were important events in English history. It is known in 
American history as " King William's War." The French were 
usually joined by their Indian allies in expeditions against the 
English frontiers. In 1690, French and Indians penetrated New 
York almost to Albany, destroying Schenectady by fire, and mas- 
sacring many of its inhabitants. They desolated the New Eng- 
land frontiers. The people of that region and of New York 
joined in a land and naval expedition against Canada, but failed. 
The English colonies suffered much during that war, which was 
ended by the treaty of Ryswick, in 1697. 

Note XL, page 541. 

King William and queen Mary being both dead, the princess 
Anne 1 , Mary's sister, by the Act of Settlement became queen in 
1702. The dethroned James died the previous year. The king 
of France having acknowledged James's son as rightful king 
of England, war was renewed between the two countries, and 



SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 771 

their respective colonies in America were involved in it. That 
conflict was known in America as " Queen Anne's War." In this 
war New England suffered dreadfully from the incursions of 
French and Indians along its frontiers. An expedition sailed 
from Boston in 1710, and, assisted by a fleet from England, cap- 
tured a portion of Nova Scotia. In the following year 7000 
land troops and a powerful English fleet started for Quebec ; 
but disaster in a storm near the mouth of the St. Lawrence 
caused the loss of eight ships and 1000 men, and the expedition 
was abandoned. Peace was secured by a treaty at Utrecht in 
1713. For 30 years afterwards the New England colonies en- 
joyed quiet. 

Note XII., page 588. 

In the war between England and France in 1744, the Amer- 
ican colonies of the two countries again became involved. This 
conflict is known in American history as " King George's "War," 
George II. then being on the throne of England. The French 
had a strong fort at Louisburg, on the island of Cape Breton, east- 
ward of Nova Scotia. In the spring of 1745, a provincial army 
sailed from Boston, and were joined by an English fleet, under 
admiral Warren, from the West Indies. They besieged the for- 
tress and town of Louisburg, both of which surrendered to the 
English a month after the first attack. The following year a 
powerful French fleet, commanded by the duke d'Anville, was 
sent to recapture Louisburg. The fleet bore a large land force. 
Storms wrecked many of the vessels, and disease swept away 
many of the soldiers and sailors. The expedition was a failure. 
Peace ensued in 1748, by a treaty at Aix-la-Chapelle. By that 
treaty Louisburg was restored to the French. 

Note XIII., page 597. 

After the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, circumstances, made the 
English colonies in America anxious to form a general political 
union. It had been attempted by the New England colonies. 
The principal causes which produced this desire now were the 
encroachments of the British government upon the liberties of 
the colonies in the form of navigation acts and other restrictive 
measures, and the increasing rapacity of the royal governors. In 
the wars they had lately passed through, the colonists had dis- 
covered their strength. In 1754, a colonial convention of dele- 
gates was held at Albany, at which Dr. Franklin submitted a 
plan for union, similar in its general features to our national 



772 .SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

Constitution. It was adopted by the conyenti6n and submitted 
to the colonial assemblies and the British cabinet. It was reject- 
ed. The former thought there was too much prerogative in it ; 
and the latter discovered too much democracy in it. 

Note XIV., page 598. 

Hostilities between the English and French colonists in Amer- 
ica began about boundaries in 1754. The French traded with 
the Indians in the country west of the Alleghany Mountains, from 
Lake Erie to the Mississippi and New Orleans. They built forts 
in these regions, and the English became jealous of them, be- 
cause, through the Jesuit priests and the more intimate social 
relations with the Indians, the French had almost unbounded in- 
fluence over the barbarians. The English and French claimed 
the right to the country around the head-waters of the Ohio 
River, and far down its valley. From disputes they proceeded 
to blows. The two home governments soon perceived that the 
struggle must be a strife for power and dominion in America; 
and in 1756, after actual war had been going on between the 
rival colonists for nearly a year, England declared war against 
France. It was a severe struggle for full seven years, and ended 
by a treaty in 1763. By this war France was stripped of nearly 
all its domain in America. Chiefly through the prowess of the 
colonial troops, Canada was conquered, and with it fell French 
power from the mouth of the St. Lawrence, along the Great Lakes, 
and in the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers; also in 
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Cape Breton, and St. John. This 
conflict is called in American history the " French and Indian 
War ;" in Europe, the " Seven Years' War." 

Note XV., page 612. 

The statement that Dr. Franklin " expected little else than ac- 
quiescence from his countrymen " is an error, originating, doubt- 
less, in a statement made in a pamphlet written by dean Tucker 
at that time. Franklin was then in England, acting as a colo- 
nial agent. He opposed the Stamp Act from its first inception. 
When it was made a law, he wrote to Charles Thomson, from 
London, July 11, 1765, " Depend upon it, my good neighbour, I 
took every step in my power to prevent the passage of the Stamp 
Act. . . . The sun of liberty is set ; the Americans must light the 
lamps of industry and economy." When asked by a committee of 
parliament whether the Americans would pay the stamp-duty, he 
said, emphatically, "No, never, unless compelled by force of arms." 



SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 773 

Note XVI., page 614. 

William Pitt (earl of Chatham) was the chief author of the 
bill for the repeal of the Stamp Act. It was accompanied in its 
passage by another bill, introduced by Mr. Pitt, which was call- 
ed the Declaratory Act, for it declared that parliament had the 
right "to bind the colonies in all cases whatsoever" — the vital 
point at issue between Great Britain and her American provinces. 
The Americans, jubilant because of the repeal, overlooked, for 
the moment, the significance of the Declaratory Act. In their ef- 
fusion of gratitude, an equestrian statue of the king and a statue 
of Pitt were voted by New-Yorkers. A statue of Pitt was also 
erected at Charleston. But there were sagacious men, like Chris- 
topher Gadsden of South Carolina, who shook their heads in 
doubt about the blessing. Gadsden, at a meeting of some of his 
political friends, warned them not to be deceived by this show 
of justice. "The fangs of the dragon of oppression," said he, 
" by Pitt's Declaratory Act, have been left untouched." The fact 
was soon made manifest by new obnoxious acts of parliament. 

Note XVII., page 616. 

The statement in the middle paragraph on this page, that " it 
became customary to strip those who refused to enter into these 
[non-importation] agreements, and to cover them with tar and 
feathers," is a repetition of false statements made by the crown 
officers in the colonies at that time. There are very few well- 
attested cases of that mode of treatment being practised during 
the struggles here alluded to, and these were inflicted upon per- 
sons guilty of the most flagrant offences. The writer has never 
met with any account of this punishment being inflicted upon 
persons because of mere difference of opinion, as in the case of 
non-importation agreements. In these cases there was social os- 
tracism, nothing more. 

Note XVIII. , page 618. 

In the account given on this page of the transmission of Hut- 
chinson's letters to Boston, the impression is left on the mind 
of the reader that Dr. Franklin was guilty of a violation of his 
solemn promise. • In the publication of the letters, Franklin had 
no part. When he sent the letters to Mr. Gushing, chairman of 
the Committee of Correspondence of the Massachusetts Assembly, 
he wrote to that gentleman : " I am not at liberty to make the 
letters public ; I can only allow them to be seen by yourself, by 



774 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

the other gentlemen of the Committee of Correspondence, by 
Messrs. Bowdoin and Pitts of the council, and Drs. Chauncey, 
Cooper, and Winthrop, with a few such other gentlemen as you 
may think fit to show them to. After being some months in 
your possession, you are requested to return them to me." 
When, afterwards, the committee urged the necessity of being al- 
lowed to retain copies, Dr. Franklin replied, " I have permission 
to let the originals remain with you as long as you may think it 
of any use. I am allowed to say that they may be shown and 
read to whom and as many as you think proper." But copying 
of them was positively forbidden. 

Not long afterwards the letters were read to the Massachusetts 
Assembly in secret session. This reading was soon followed by 
printed copies of the letters in pamphlet form, purporting to be 
"from copies recently received from England." By whom they 
were copied is not known. Dr. Franklin had no hand in it. 
And when the publication appeared in England, and innocent 
persons were suffering for being accused of sending the letters to 
America, Franklin at once published a card, in which he said, 
" I alone am the person who obtained and transmitted to Boston 
the letters in question." He was promptly dismissed from the 
office of colonial postmaster-general. 

Note XIX., page 618. 

It was in this congress that the colonies, through their repre- 
sentatives, first announced their determination to stand by each 
other in the coming struggle in the following resolution, adopt- 
ed on the 8th of October, 1774 : 

"Besolved, That this Congress approve the opposition of the 
inhabitants of the Massachusetts Bay to the execution of the late 
acts of parliament ; and if the same shall be attempted to be 
carried into execution by force, in such case all America ought 
to support them in their opposition." 

That resolution sounded the key-note of the war that followed. 
It was the first planting of the seed of our Union. 

Note XX., page 619. 

The expression " militiamen, part of their main army," gives 
an erroneous impression of the military situation. The only 
" main army " then existing was the great mass of the masculine 
citizens capable of bearing arms, who, for months, had been train- 
ing throughout New England, in every neighbourhood, to be 
ready to seize their muskets at a minute's warning. These were 



SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 775 

the famous " minute men" of the Revolution. Those on Lexing- 
ton Green on the morning of April 19, 1775, were the minute men 
of the neighbourhood. 

The men who seized the forts at Ticonderoga were from Con- 
necticut, Western Massachusetts, and the New Hampshire Grants, 
afterwards Vermont, the whole led by Ethan Allen of the latter 
region. 

The "force of 20,000 men" was not raised in New England; 
it was the spontaneous gathering there, within three days, of 
the patriotic people from the hills and valleys of New England 
when they heard of the affair at Lexington and Concord. 

Note XXL, page 620. 

The British troops sailed from Boston in March, but did not 
proceed to Staten Island, at the entrance to the harbour of New 
York, until the following July. 

Note XXII. , page 621. , 

The Declaration of Independence was signed on the day it 
was adopted by every member who voted for it. The voting in 
the congress was by colonies, and majorities were not of in- 
dividuals, but colonies. There was a division among the indi- 
vidual members of two of the colonies; but a majority of the 
delegates of each of those colonies gave their votes for inde- 
pendence. So it was that the vote was unanimous, every colony 
voting for independence. The members were required to sign 
the Declaration as an evidence of their concurrence. This was 
done on ordinary paper. It was afterwards engrossed on parch- 
ment, and was again signed by all the members present. This 
was done, by 54, on the 2d of August, 1776. Two others, not 
then present, signed it afterwards. 

The statement at the bottom of the preceding page (620) con- 
cerning independence needs some transpositions. The delay in 
the colonies in accepting the issue concerning independence 
mostly preceded the action in congress in favour of the measure. 
Paine's "Common Sense" appeared at about the beginning of 
the year 1776. A motion was made in June declaring the colo- 
nies free and independent states, when a committee was ap- 
pointed to draft a preamble to the resolution, in which the rea- 
sons for the act were declared. The resolution was passed on 
July 2, and the declaration on July 4. 

Note XXIII. , page 621. 
Howe landed his troops on the western end of Long Island, 



776 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

several miles from Brooklyn. The battle was fought near that 
little village. The Americans evacuated Long Island, and retired 
to the northern end of Manhattan Island, on which the city of 
New York stands. Howe's army crossed over to that island, 
several miles north of the city. The American army retired into 
New Jersey, after fighting the British at White Plains, and losing 
Fort "Washington on Manhattan (or York) Island. They were pur- 
sued by Cornwallis to the banks of the Delaware. Soon after- 
wards the battles of Trenton and Princeton occurred. The Brit- 
ish were expelled from New Jersey, excepting at one or two 
points, and the American army went into winter-quarters at Mor- 
ristown, in East Jersey. 

Note XXIV., page 622. 

Burgoyne and his army were on the east side of the Hudson 
River, when a detachment was sent to Bennington, 35 miles 
eastward of that stream. None of Burgoyne's army had yet 
crossed the Hudson. 

General Gates was in chief command of the American army 
opposed to Burgoyne from the middle of August, and he be- 
haved so timidly that at the second battle (October 7) the im- 
patient Arnold, although deprived of all command by Gates, 
who was jealous of him, put himself at the head of his old troops, 
and by his skill and prowess saved the Americans from defeat. 
But for Arnold, no doubt the British army would have so scat- 
tered the American forces in the battle on the 19th of September 
that Burgoyne would have easily reached Albany a victor. On 
that occasion, Gates would give no order, and seemed disinclined 
to fight at first. The chief credit of the defeat of Burgoyne prob- 
ably belongs to Arnold. 

Note XXV., page 625. 

John Paul Jones entered the Firth of Forth "before the action 
with the Serapis. In that battle his own ship, the Bonhomme 
Richard, was so shattered that it sank soon after the contest 
ceased, and Jones, in another vessel, sailed for Holland with his 
prizes. 

-Note XXVI. , pages 628, 629. 

The British occupied the island of Rhode Island, and, in the 
summer of 1778, general Sullivan led a considerable force to ex- 
pel them. A French fleet, under admiral D'Estaing, went into 
Narraganset Bay to assist the Americans. A British fleet appear- 
ed off Newport, and D'Estaing went out to attack it. A furious 



SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 777 

storm dispersed and greatly damaged both fleets, when D'Estaing, 
instead of returning to help Sullivan, went to Boston to have 
his vessels repaired. The French were not " blockaded in New- 
port harbour" at all. Sullivan, for lack of co-operation on the 
part of the fleet, was compelled to withdraw from Rhode Island. 

The battle of Eutaw Springs was not the " last action" of the 
Revolution ; the siege of York Town and the capture of Corn- 
wallis occurred afterwards. 

The chief commander of the French allies of the Americans 
in the siege of York Town was lieutenant-general count de Ro- 
chambeau, who had arrived in America with a French army the 
previous year. St. Simon was a gallant French officer who came 
with troops from the West Indies in the vessels of De Grasse. 
La Fayette was an officer of the American army under the imme- 
diate command of Washington. 

Note XXVII., pages 632, 633. 

A preliminary treaty of peace was signed on November 30, 
1782 ; the definitive treaty of peace was not signed until Sep- 
tember 3, 1783, by David Hartley on the part of Great Brit- 
ain, and by Dr. Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay on the 
part of the United States. In the latter treaty the articles al- 
luded to in the text were incorporated. Although Mr. Adams 
was treated kindly by the king, his ministers treated him with so 
much indifference as an American ambassador that he finally 
left England in disgust. It was believed in Great Britain (and 
with reason) that the feeble league of states under the Articles 
of Confederation would soon dissolve and be suppliants for re- 
admission to membership in the British empire. The British 
government scornfully refused to enter into any reciprocal com- 
mercial relations with the United States, or to send a resident 
minister to the seat of our general government. We were not a 
nation ; only a league of independent states, bound by a tie as 
impotent as a rope of sand. 

Note XXVIII. , page 641. 

The year 1789 was a memorable one in the annals of England, 
for in America was then established a power that was destined 
to become her rival for the mastery of the seas and the advan- 
tages of the world's commerce. The league of states had been 
superseded by a consolidated national government under an ad* 
mirable constitution, which gave it wonderful vitality. It was 
at once perceived that a real nation was born, and that it was the 



778 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

child of the will of the people. England hastened to send a res- 
ident minister to the seat of our national government, over which 
Washington had been called to preside. The constitution had 
been ratified by the people of the States in 1788. In March, 1789, 
Congress first met under it, and on the 30th of April Washington 
was inaugurated President. Other European powers sent am- 
bassadors, and the United States took a conspicuous place in the 
family of nations. 

Note XXIX., page 661. 
Napoleon Bonaparte, then first consul of France, struck a severe 
blow at England's supremacy as a maritime power by the sale of 
Louisiana to the United States in 1803. It added 900,000 square 
miles to our territory. When the bargain was closed by an Amer- 
ican minister (Robert E. Livingston), Bonaparte said to him, pro- 
phetically, " This accession of territory strengthens for ever the 
power of the United States ; and I have just given to England a 
maritime rival that will, sooner or later, humble her pride." 

Note XXX., page 673. 

The British, by " Orders in Council," and the French, by "De- 
crees," concerning blockades of ports, etc., played a desperate 
game with the world's commerce at the beginning of the pres- 
ent century, violated the rights of neutral nations, and so impu- 
dently defied the power of the Americans that hostilities were 
begun by the United States against the French, chiefly on the 
ocean. The conduct of British cruisers led to a war between the 
United States and Great Britain in 1812-15. To depredation on 
American commerce the British added the obnoxious practice of 
reclaiming deserters from the royal navy by entering American 
vessels, searching them, and carrying away deserters found in 
them, in defiance of remonstrances. This claimed right of search 
and impressment, and its practical operation, produced great 
irritation in America. Countervailing measures were adopted, 
such as embargoes and non-intercourse. Because of these various 
offences, the United States declared war against Great Britain in 
June,- 1812. 

Note XXXI. , page 689. 

It is an error to say that after 1812, in the second war for in- 
dependence, naval engagements terminated, for the most part, in 
favour of the English. The statement concerning the battle of 
Bladensburgh, that preceded the sacking of the capital, is quite 
erroneous. The Americans were 7000 strong, of whom 900 were 
raw recruits. Ross had a much larger force of veteran soldiers. 



SUPPLExMENTART NOTES. 779 

It was overwhelming numbers that caused the defeat of the 
Americans, who lost only 26 killed and 50 wounded, while the 
loss of the British was about 500 killed and wounded. The Brit- 
ish were not on " heights near the Potomac," but at Bladensburgh, 
on the Anacosta, five miles from the Potomac. The " Senate 
House" and the "House of Representatives " composed the Cap- 
itol. The dock-yards were burnt by the Americans themselves 
to prevent them and their contents falling into the hands of the 
British. No other "American towns were taken" after the de- 
struction of Buffalo, excepting the little village of Hampden, 
Maine, which the British held a few hours. 

Note XXXII., page 723. 

The statement that war raged " between the Northern and 
Southern States of the Union, ending in the victory of the North- 
ern States," is a misrepresentation, proceeding, undoubtedly, 
from a misapprehension of the character of our Civil War. It 
was not a war between the States, but a war of the government 
of the United States for the defence of the life of the republic 
against its enemies in armed insurrection in the slave-labour states. 
In that war the inhabitants of the free-labour states were mostly 
loyal to the Union, and volunteered, by hundreds of thousands, 
to assist the government in its efforts to save the nation from 
destruction. 

In that struggle, the unfriendly spirit of the British govern- 
ment and the ruling classes in Great Britain exhibited towards 
the government of the United States was conspicuous. At the 
instance of her ministers, the British queen, before an American 
minister could reach England, issued a proclamation, declaring 
the insurgents entitled to belligerent rights; and the British 
ministry, by secret circulars, sought to form a combination of 
European powers against the Republic of the "West. They allow- 
ed the insurgents to have ships built, armed, manned, and victual- 
led in English ports to depredate upon American commerce; 
and swarms of fleet steamers came from British ports with sup- 
plies of arms, ammunition, and clothing for the insurgents, and 
so prolonged the war. These steamers ran the blockade of 
Southern ports. One of the piratical vessels, built and fitted out 
in England, was the Alabama, which plundered and destroyed a 
large number of American merchant vessels. The United States 
government held the British responsible for her injuries to Amer- 
ican property, and arbitrators decided that the British govern- 
ment should pay for such damages $15,500,000 in gold. 



780 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

Note XXXIII. , page 727. 

In the year 1870 the claims of the government of the United 
States upon that of Great Britain for damages inflicted upon the 
American shipping interest by the depredations of the English- 
Confederate privateer Alabama, and other vessels built in Eng- 
land for the insurgents, caused much diplomatic correspondence 
between the two governments. A Joint High Commission, com- 
posed of persons chosen by the respective governments, met in 
Washington city in February, 1871, and on the 8th of May fol- 
lowing they concluded and signed a treaty, by which it was 
agreed to leave the decision of the matter in dispute to arbitra- 
tors. These were chosen by the respective governments. They 
met at Geneva, Switzerland; and at a final meeting, in Sep- 
tember, 1872, this tribunal decided that the British government 
should pay to the government of the United States the sum 
mentioned in Note XXXII., to be given to its citizens for losses 
incurred by the depredations of English-Confederate cruisers. 



INDEX. 



Abdul Aziz. 
A. 

Abdul Aziz, deposed, com- 
mits suicide, 732. 
Abercrombie, sir Ralph, ex- 
pedition to Holland, 654. 
To Egypt, 659. Killed, 660. 
Aberdeen, lord, foreign secre- 
tary, 709. Premier, 713, 
715. 
Abhorrers, 487. 
Abingdon, convent, 51. 
Abingdon, earl of, supports 

prince of Orange, 507. 
Aboukir, battle, 659. 
Abyssinia, expedition to, 

726. 
Acre, taken by Richard I., 
121. Defended by sir S. 
Smith, 654. 
Adams, Mr., interview with 

Ueorge III., 633. 
Adda, F. d', nuncio, 506. 
Addington, Mr., prime min- 
ister, 657, 664. Viscount 
Sidmouth (see Sidmouth). 
Addison, secretary, 573. 
Addressors, 487. 
Adela, daughter of AVilliam 

the Conqueror, 103. 
Adelais of Louvain, consort 

of Henry I., 102, 104. 
Adelfuis, bishop, 15. 
Adjutators, 415. 
Adrian IV., pope, 116. 

VI., pope. 247. 

Adrianople, 734. 
TEglesford, battle, 25. 
iEsc, son of Hengest, 25. 
.listings, or Ashings, 26. 
jEthelbald^ing of Mercia,36. 
, king of Kent, 42. 



JLthelingaeigg (Athelney), 
44. 

jEthelred, king of Northum- 
bria, 35. 

, king of Wessex, 43. 

II., the Unready, 53, 

55. 

.Ethelstan, king of Essex, 
etc., under iEthelwulf, 42. 

, king of England, 49. 

/Ethelwald, son of ^Ethelred, 
48. 

jEthelward, son of Alfred, 
48. 

yEthelwulf, king, 42. 

Aetius, 13. 

Afghan war, the first, 718. 
The second, 737. 

African Company, 459. 

Aghrim, battle, 529. 

Agincourt, battle, 198. 

Agra, 718. 

Agreement qf the People, 
scheme so called, 422. 

Agricola in Britain, 10. 

Agriculture in Britain, 13. 

Ahmednuggur taken, 717. 

Aids (feudal), 128, 137. 

Aislabie, chancellor of ex- 
chequer, accepts bribes, 
576. 

Aix-la-Chapelle, treaty of, 
466. Another, 596. Con- 
gress of, 694. 

Alabama claims, 729. 

Alban, St., martyrdom, 15. 

Albans, St., battles, 209, 211. 

Albany, duke of, machina- 
tions against Robert III., 
195. 

, regent of Scotland 

247. 



iEthelberht, king of Kent, Albemarle, duke of (Monk), 



27. BreUvalda, 31. Con- 
version, 32. Laws, 33. 

, king of the East Angles, 

murdered by Offa, 37. 

II., king, 43. 

■ , son of /Ethelred, 48. 

yEthelburga, 31. 

TEthelfled, 48. 

vEthel frith or yEdelfrid, king 
of Net thumbria, 28, 133. 
35 



engages the Dutch fleet, 

462 (see Monk). 
Alberoni, cardinal, 573. 
Albert, legate, 115. 
, prince, marries 

queen Victoria, 708. 

Death, 723. 
Edward, prince of 

Wales, illness, 729. Visits 

India, 731. 



Amherst. 

Albion, 2. 

Albuera, battle, 682. 

Alcuin, 37. 

Aldred, archbishop of York 

82, 85. 
Alencon, duke of, suitor of 

Elizabeth, 311, 313. Duke 

of Anjou, ib. 
Alexander II., pope, assists 

William the Conqueror, 

87. 

III., pope, canonizes 

Becket, 115. 

I., czar, makes peace 

with England, 658. Alli- 
ance with Napoleon, 672. 

II., czar, 715. 

Alfieri, elopes with Preten- 
der's wife, 596. 
Alfonso, king of Aragon, 15<L 

, son of Edward I., 154. 

Alfred the Great, at Rome, 

42. Reign, 43-48. Literary 

works, 47. 

, son of iEthelred, 61. 

Algerine pirates suppressed, 

594. 
Algiers, dey of, chastised by 

Blake, 443. 
Alice, princess, death, 738. 
Aliwal, battle, 719. 
AUectus, 12. 
Alleluia victory, 13. 
Alliance, Triple, 466, 572. 

Grand, 543. Quadruple, 

573, 588. 
Allodial lands, 125. 
Alma, battle of the, 714. 
Almanza, battle, 556. 
Almenara, battle, 558. 
Alnwick, battle, 118. 
Alphege, bishop, 50. 
Alsace, reunited to Germany. 

728. 
Althorp, lord, chancellor of 

exchequer, 702, 706. Earl 

Spencer, 706. 
Alva, duke of, 309. 
Amand, St., battle, 644. 
Amelia, princess, dies, 681. 
American war, 684, 68t> 

civil war, 723. 

Amherst, lord, 601, 602. 



782 

Amiens. 

Amiens, congress at, 147 
Treaty of, 660. 

Ancalites, 7. 

Anderida, or Andredes 
ceaster, taken, 26. 

Andre, St., Jean Bon, 647. 

Angeln, 22. 

Angevins, 108. 

Angles (Engle), 21. Site of 
the, 22. Dialect, 76. 

Anglesey, marquess of, 692. 

Anglia, East, 22, 28. 

Anglo-mania, French, 643. 

Anglo-Norman constitution, 
124. Legislation, 127. 

Anglo-Saxon institutions, 
70 sq. Language, 76. 
Literature, 77. Nobles, 
84. Nobles and prelates 
depressed by William I., 
86. 

Anjou, duke of, proposed 
marriage with Elizabeth, 
308. Becomes Henry III. 
of France, 311. 

■ , duke of (Alencon), 

governor of the Nether- 
lands, 314. 

Annan, battle, 169. 

Annates, act against, 256 

Anne of Bohemia, consort 
of Richard II., 187. 

, wife of Richard III., 

223. 

Boleyn (see Boleyn). 

of Cleves, marries 

Henry VIII., 265, 266. 

of Brittany, 233. 

Anne, princess, daughter of 
James II., 512, 531, 534. 
Queen, 549. Reign of, 
549-565. 

Annesley, president of the 
council, 451. 

Anselm, primate, 97, 99, 
100. 

Anson, commodore, 584, 595, 
601. 

Antoninus, wall of, 11. 

Archangel, passage to, dis- 
covered, 290. 

Argaum, battle, 717. 

Argyle, earl of, heads the 
Covenanters, 377, 421, 
428, 432, 435, 456. 

, earl of, condemned of 

treason, 492. Incites Mon- 
mouth'sinvasion,500. De- 
feated and executed, ib. 

, duke of, commander 

in chief in Scotland, 567, 
569. 

Arkwright, 739. 

Aries, council of, 15. 

Arlington, lord, 465. Im- 
peached, 471. 

Armada, invincible, 326. De- 
feated, 328. 

Armagnacs, 199. 

Arminianism, 370. 



INDEX. 

Armorica, legend of British 

colony in, 12, 30. Called 

Bretagne, 30. 
Army, parliamentary, 410, 

415,416. 
, standing, origin, 445, 

517. 

, reorganized, 729. 

Arnaud, St., marshal, 714, 

716. 
Arnee, battle, 609. 
Arran, earl of, regent of 

Scotland, 268, 269. 
Artevelde, Van, 170. 
Arthur, king, 27. 
, duke of Brittany, 132, 

133. 
, prince, son of Henry 

VII., 237. 
Articles, forty-two, 279. 

Thirty-nine, 298. Altered, 

409. 
Artillery, first used, 173. 
Arts, fine, 519. British school 

of, 744. 
Arundel, earl of, executed by 

Richard II., 188. 
, earl of, commands 

against the Covenanters, 

378. 
, earl of, impeached, 480. 

Privy seal, 504. 
Asaph ul Dowlah, 640. 
Ascalon taken, 121. 
Ascham, Roger, 283. 
Ashantee war, 730. 
Ashley, lord,465 (see Shaftes- 
bury). 
Asiento, treaty, 575. 
Aske of Doncaster, rebellion 

of, 262 sq. 
, moves that Cromwell 

takes the crown, 444. 
Askew, Anne, burnt, 270. 
Assaye, battle, 717. 
Assizes, 128. 
Association to defend queen 

Elizabeth, 314. To defend 

William III., 536. 
Astley, Sir Jacob, 399. 
Aston, sir Arthur, 399. 
Athelings, 71. 

Athelstane (see jEthelstan). 
Atherton Moor, battle, 402. 
Attainder, what, 384, note. 
Attaint, writ of, 475. 
Atterbury, bishop, 576. 
Aubigne, William d', 139. 
Auckland, lord, governor- 
general of India, 718. 
Audley, sir Thomas, chan- 
cellor, 256. 
Augustine, St., preaches in 

England, 32. Archbishop 

of Canterbury, ib. 
Augustus, 7. Title of, 70. 
Aula Regis, 127. 
Aulus Plautius, 8. 
Aurungzebe, 608. 
Austerlitz, battle, 666. 



Bavaria. 

Austrian succession, war of. 
585. 

Auverquerque, earl of Grant- 
ham, 523. 

Axtel, executed, 455. 

Ayscue, sir George, engages 
De Ruyter, 436. 

B. 

Babington, conspiracy, 318., 

Bacon, sir Nicholas, lord 
keeper, 292, 304. 

, Francis, pleads 

against lord Essex. 335, 
336. Viscount St. Albans 
and chancellor, 356. Im- 
peached, ib. 

Badajoz, taken, 683. 

Badon, Mt., battle, 27. 

Baird, general, 717. 

Baker, major, defends Lon- 
donderry, 526. 

Balaklava, occupied, 714. • 
Battle of, ib. 

Ball, John, 184. 

Ballard, conspiracy of, 317. 

Balliol, John, 156-158. 

, Edward, seizes the 

Scottish crown, 169, 170. 

Balmerino, lord, executed, 
594. 

Baltimore, congress at, 621. 

Ban Gor, what, 15. 

Banbury, taken by Charles 
I., 399. 

Bank Restriction Act, 649. 
Repealed, 695. 

Bannockburn, battle, 164. 

Bantry Bay, French expedi- 
tion to, 649. 

Barbarossa, Frederick, 119. 

Barclay, sir George, 535. 

Bards, 5. 

Barebone, Praise-God, 439. 

Barfleur, shipwreck at, 101. 

Barnet, battle, 217. 

Baronetcy, institution of, 
352. 

Barons, council of, 98, 123. 
Greater and lesser, 126. 
Oppose king John, 136. 
Council of, under Magna 
Carta, 138. Conspire 
against Henry III., 145 sq. 

Barrington, lord, chancellor 
of exchequer, 605. 

Barrosa, battle, 681. 

Bartholomew, St., massacre, 
310. 

Barton, Elizabeth, the Holy 
Maid of Kent, 259. 

Basileus, title of, 71. 

Basililcon Doron, 346. 

Bastvvick released, 382. 

Bath, earl of (see Pulteney"). 

Bath, order of, revived, 577. 

Battle Abbey, 83. 

Bavaria, elector of, claims 



Baxter. 

Austria, 585. Kingdom, 
666. 

Baxter, 454, 458. 

Bayeux tapestry, 69. 

Baynard's Castle, 221. 

Beacby Head, battle off, 
528. 

Beaton, cardinal, 268, 269, 
2 5. 

Beaufort, bishop of Win- 
chester, and cardinal, 201, 
204, 205. 

, duke of, French ad- 
miral, 462. 

Beauge, battle, 200. 

Beauharnais, Eugene, vice- 
roy of Italy, 666. 

Beaulieu, sanctuary at, 236. 

Becket, Thomas a, rise, 
Chancellor, 109. Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, 
109 sq. Murder, 114. 
Character, 115. Henry's 
penance at his tomb, 118. 

Bede, the Venerable, 35. 

Bedford, duke of, regent of 
France, 201, 202, 204. 
Death, 205. 

, earl of, parliamentary 

leader, 399. 

Bedloe, 480. 

Begums of Oude, 640. 

Belasyse, lord, impeached, 
480. 

Belerium (Land's End), 2. 

Bellasis, colonel, 405. 

Belleisle, battle off, 595. 
Taken, 606. 

Bellingham, shoots Mr. Per- 
ceval, 682. 

Benbow, admiral, 550. 

Benedictines, 51, 52. 

Beneficia, 124 (see Fiefs). 

Benevolences, law of Ri- 
chard III. against, 223. 
Levied by Henry VII., 
233, 339. 

Bengal army, mutiny, 719. 

Bennington, battle, 622. 

Bentinck, earl of Portland, 
522 (see Portland). 

, lord William, 688. Go- 
vernor-general of India, 
718. 

Beornred, king of Mercia, 36. 

B:orn\vulf, king of Mercia, 
37. 

Berar, rajah of, 717. 

Berengaria, consort of Ri- 
chard I., 121. 

Beresford, lord, 677, 682. 

Bergen-op-Zoom, storm of, 
688. 

erica*, British chi f, 8. 

Berkeley castle, Edwaid II. 
murdered at, 166. 

Berkeley, sir M., seizes 

\Vy att, 285 

, earl of. expedition to 

Brest, 533. 



INDEX. 

Berlin Decree, 670. 

, treaty of, 735. 

Bernadotte, crown-prince 

(aft. king) of Sweden, 680. 

Bernicia (Berneich or Beor- 

narice), 28. 
Bertha, wife of /Ethelbert, 

31. 
Berwick, ceded to England, 
118. Sold by Richard I., 
121. Ceded to England 
by Edward Balliol, 170. 
Pacification of, 378. 
Berwick, duke of, 526, 553, 

554, 556. 
Beymus's Heights, battle, 

622. 
Bhurtpore taken, 718. 
Bible, English, 265. 
Bibroci, 7. 

Bigod, Roger, earl of Nor- 
folk, 159. 

Bills, parliamentary, 228. 

Birmingham, riots at, 642. 

Bishoprics, new, erected by 
Henry VIII., 264. New 
arrangement of, 706. 

Bishops, new regulations 
respecting, 257. Protest, 
389. Impeached and com- 
mitted, ib. Restored to 
parliament, 456. Petition 
against declaration of in- 
dulgence, 507. Seven, com- 
mitted to Tower, 508. 
Acquitted, ib. 

Bismarck, prince, 725, 729. 

Black Hole of Calcutta, 609. 

Black Prince, 174, 177, 178, 
179, 181. 

Blackwater, battle, 333. 

Blackwood, captain, 668. 

Blake, admiral, 434, 436, 437, 
443. 

Blakeney, general, 598. 

Blenheim, battle, 552. 

palace, 553. 

Bligh, general, 601. 

Blithwallon, king of North 
Wales, 86. 

Blood, colonel, 467, 468. 

Blucher, marshal, 690 sq. 

Boadicea, 9. 

Board of Control, 635. 

Boc-land, 72. 

Bocher, Joan, burnt, 276. 

Bohemia, king of, death at 
Crecy, 174. 

Bohun, Humphrey, earl of, 
159, 163. 

Boleyn, Anne, 251 sq.. 254. 
Married to Henry VIII., 
257. Execution, 262. 

Bolingbroke, birthplace of 
Henry IV., 192. 

, St. John, viscount, 558, 

559, 560, 561, 565. Pro- 
cures the dismissal of 
Oxford, 565. Flight, 568. 
Enters Pretender's service, 



783 

Bristol. 

ib. Attainted, ib. Par? 
doned, 576. His "Patriot 
King," 582. 
Bomarsund taken, 714. 
Bombay, dowry of Catharine 
of Braganza, 457. Ceded 
to East India Company, 
608. 
Bonaparte, Napoleon (see 
Napoleon). 

, Louis, king of Holland, 

670, 680. 

, Joseph, king of Naples, 

670. Of Spain, 674, 685. 
Boniface VIII., pope, 160. 
Bonner, bishop, 284, 287, 

289. 
Booth, sir George, 449. 
JRorh (surety), 74. 
Boroughs, creation of, 340. 
Small, disfranchised by 
Cromwell, 441. Disfran- 
chised by the Reform Act, 
703. 
Boscawen, admiral, 597, 601. 
Bosnia, 736. 
Boston (America), riots at, 

616, 618. 
Bosworth, battle, 224. 
Bothwell, earl of, favourite 
of Mary queen of Scots, 
301, 302. 
Bothwell Bridge, battle. 486. 
Boulogne, taken by Henry 
VIII., 269. Restored, 279. 
Army of invasion at, 659, 
664. 
Bourbon, Charles duke of, 
248. Killed in storming 
Rome, 250. 
Bourchier, cardinal, arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, 231. 
Bourne, captain, 436. 
Bouvines, battle, 136. 
Boyle, secretary, 559. 
Boyne, battle of the, 528. 
Bradshaw. president of High 

Court ot Justice, 423. 
Brakenbury, sir Robert, 221. 
Braniham, battle, 194. 
Brandyvvine, battle, 622. 
Breakspear (see Adrian IV.). 
Breda, declaration of, 452. 

Peace of, 464. 
Brentford, battle, 400 
Bivtigny, peace of, 179. 
Brrton, Cape, taken, 601. 
Bretwaldas, 31. 
Bridges, first stone, in Eng- 
land, 140. 
Bridgman, sir Orlando, 464. 
Brigantes, 9. 
Brintric, king of Wessex, 

poisoned, 36. 
Brihuega, battle, 558. 
Bristol, taken by Rupert, 401. 
Surrenderi d by him, 412. 
Riots at, 703. 
Bristol, earl of, ambassador 
to Philip IV., 359, 365. 



784 



Britain. 

Britain, earliest accounts of, 
2. Trade with Greeks, ib. 
Invaded by Cresar, 7. Re- 
duced by Claudius, 8. 
Abandoned by Romans, 

13. Condition under the, 

14. Roads, ib. Christian- 
ity in, 15. Government 
and divisions under the 
Romans, 18. 

Brito, Richard, 113. 

Britons, origin, 3. Religion, 
ib. Manners, 6. Tribes, 
ib. sq. Civilization, 8. 
Coins, ib. Repulse the 
barbarians, 12. Groans, 
13. In Armorica, 30. 
Whether exterminated 
from England, ib. 

Brittany, disputed succes- 
sion, 172. Annexed to 
French crown, 233. 

Broke, heads the Bye plot, 
347. Executed, ib. 

Bromley, sir Thomas, com- 
mitted, 330. 

Brougham, lord, 697. Chan- 
cellor, 702, 743. 

Bruce, Robert, descent, 156. 

(grandson), aspires to 

the crown, 161. Crowned 
at Scone, ib. Defeats the 
English, 164. Death, 169. 

, David, 169, 175. 

Brudenel, lord, committed, 
480. 

Brunswick, duke of, pub- 
lishes manifesto, 643. 

, duke of, 690, 692. 

Brut, the Trojan, 2. 

Bubble companies, 575. 

Buchanan, George, 346. 

Buckingham, Henry, duke 
of, supports the duke of 
Gloucester, 220. Favours 
Richmond, 222. Executed, 
223. 

, duke of, constable, 

executed, 247. 

, George Villiers, duke 

of, 353 sq. Persuades 
Charles to visit Mad i id, 
359. Accused by Bristol, 
365. Expedition to Ro- 
chelle, 366. Impeached by 
the commons, 368. Assas- 
sinated, 369. 

, duke of, 465, 472. 

Bulgaria, Turkish atrocities 
in, 732. Principality, 736 

Bunker's Hill, battle, 619. 

Burdett, sir Francis, 679,698 

Burgesses, first summoned 
to parliament, 148, 157. 

Burgh, Hubert de, justiciary, 
142. 

Burgoyne, general, 607, 619, 

622, 638. 
Burgundy, duke of, allied 
with the English, 199, 200. 



INDEX. 



Burgundy, duchess of, assists 
Simnel, 232; and War- 
beck, 234. 

Burke, Edmuud, 615. Pay- 
master of forces, 629. Im- 
peaches Warren Hastings, 
636, 640. His "Reflec- 
tions " on the French Re- 
volution, 642. 

Burleigh, lord (see Cecil). 

Burrard, sir Harry, 675. 

Bury St. Edmund's, 43, 136. 

Busaco, battle, 679. 

Bute, earl of, 597, 605. 
Prime minister, 607, 610. 

Bye, the, plot, 347. 

Byng, admiral (lord Tor- 
rington), defeats the Pre- 
tender, 557. Defeats the 
Spaniards, 574. 

, admiral, fails to re- 
lieve Minorca, 599. Shot, 
ib. 

c. 

Cabal ministry, 465, 471. 

Cabinet council, origin, 541. 

Cabot, Sebastian, 239. 

Cabul, 718. 

Cade, Jack, rebellion, 208. 

Cadiz taken, 332. 

Caidmon, 35. 

Caer Caradoc, 9 

Caerleol, 30. 

Caerleon, bishopric, 15. 

Caermanhen (see Danby). 

Caernarvon, 154. 

Caesar, invades Britain, 7, 16. 

Calais, taken by Edward HI., 
175. Staple of English 
goods, ib. Taken by 
Guise, 289. 

Calamy, the presbyterian, 
454, 458. 

Calcutta, 608. 

Calder, admiral sir Robert, 
667. 

Caledonia, 10. 

Caledonians, 11. 

Calendar, reformed, 59a 

Caligula, 8. 

Calvi, siege of, 647. 

Cambray, peace of, 253. 

Cambria (Wales), 30. 

Cambridge, earl of, exe- 
cuted, 198. 

, duke of, 664. 

Cambuskenneth, battle, 160. 

Camden (see Pratt). 

Camden, battle, 628. 

Cameron of Lochiel, 590. 

Campbell, sir Colin, 720. 

Campeggio, cardinal, 251. 

Camperdown, action off, 651. 

Campion, Jesuit, 315. 

Camps, Roman, in Britain, 8. 

Camulodunum, 8. 

Canada, when colonized, 602. 
Conquered, 603. At- 
tempted by Americans, 



Catesby. 

684. Insurrection in, 708. 
Dominion of, ib. 
Canals, 739. 

Canning, George, foreign 
secretary, 671. Duel with 
Castlereagh, 679. Foreign 
secretary, 697. Premier, 
698. Death, ib. 

, earl, first viceroy of 

India, 721. 

Canrobert, general, 715. 

Canterbury, archbishopric, 
32. Primacy of, ac now- 
ledged, 88. 

, pilgrims at, 11 5. 

Cantii, 6. 

Canute (Knut), son of Sweyn, 
56. Reign, 57-60. 

, king of Denmark, 

threatens England, 91. 

Capel, character, 381. 

Caracalla, emperor, 11. 

Caractacus, 8. 

Carausius, usurper, 11. 

Cardigan, earl of, 714. 

Cardonnel, Marlborough's 
secretary, 562. 

Carew, sir Peter, 285. 

Carisbrooke castle, Charles 
I. at, 419. 

Carleton, secretary, 385. 

Carmarthen, lord, secretary, 
635. 

Carnarvon, earl of, 730, 734. 

Carnatic, secured, 610. 

Caroline of Anspach, consort 
of George II., 581. 

, queen, trial, 696. 

Death, 697. 

Carr, Robert, favourite. 
of James I., 352 (see 
Somerset). 

Carrington, lord, committed, 
480. 

Carter, Jack, 184. 

Carteret, lord (earl Gran- 
ville), lord lieutenant of 
Ireland, 577. Secretary of 
state, 585. Resigns, 588. 

Carthagena, attack on, 584. 

Cartismandua, 9. 

Cartwright, major, 693. 

Cassii, 7. 

Cassiterides, or Tin islands, 2. 

Cassivelaunus, 7. 

Castlemaine, earl of, em- 
bassy to Rome, 505. 

Castlereagh, lord (marquess 
of Londonderry), secre- 
tary at war. 671. Duel 
with Canning, 679. Foreign 
secretary, 682. Suicide, 
697. 

Castles, Anglo-Norman, 93. 
Destroyed by Henry II., 
108. 

Catesby, 220. 

, Robert, forms the gun- 
powder plot, 348. Killed, 
350. 



Catharine. 

Catharine of Braganza, queen 
of Charles II.,'457, 481. 

de Medici, regent of 

France, 295, 297. 

of Russia, 627. 

(see Katharine). 

Cathcart, lord, 584. 

, lord, takes Copen- 
hagen, 672. 

Catholic emancipation, advo- 
cated by Pitt, 657. . Lord 
Howick's bill lost,* 671. 
Advocated by Canning, 
69s. Carried, 701. 

Cato-street conspiracy, 696. 

Cavaliers, 389. 

Cavendish, lord John, chan- 
cellor of the exchequer. 
629, 631. 

Caxton, 219 note. 

Ceawlin of Wessex, 27. 
Bretivahla, 31. Defeated 
at Wodesbeorg, ib. 

Cecil, sir William, secretary 
of state (lord Burleigh), 
292, 294, 304, 305, 308, 
310, 333. 

, sir Robert (earl of 

Salisbury), son of pre- 
ceding, secretary of state, 
340, 345, 347, 352. 

, sir Edward, viscount 

Wimbledon, 364. 

Celestius, heretic, 15 

Celtic words, 38. 

Celts, 3. 

Cenimagni, 7. 

Censorship of the press abo- 
lished, 534. 

Census, first, 740. 

Ceorls (churls), 71, 72. 

Cerdic, king of Wessex, 26. 

Cerdices-ora, 26. 

Cerealis, Petilius, 10. 

Chalgrove field, battle, 401. 

Chaluz, castle of, 123. 

Chandernagore taken, 609. 

Charlemagne, 36. 

Charles I., prince of Wales, 
journey to Madrid, 359. 
Reign of, 362-425. 

■ II., prince of Wales, 

escapes to Paris, 412. 
Commands the fleet, 420. 
Sends a carte blanche to 
the regicides, 424. Pro- 
claimed in Scotland, 430. 
Crowned at Scone, 432. 
Defeated at Worcester, 433. 
Retires to Cologne, 442. 
Escapes to Breda, 451. 
Proclaimed in London, 
452. Reign of, 452-497. 

Charles, kings of France : 

III., the Simple, cedes 

Neustria to Rollo, 80. 

IV., the Fair, 165. 

■ ■ VI., 180, 197. 

■ VII., 203, 207. 

VIII., 233, 234. 



INDEX. 

Charles IX., 30S. Massacres 
the Huguenots, 310. Death, 
311. 

..., deposed, 701. 

Charles I. (of Spain) V. (em- 
peror), 238, 244, 245. Visits 
England, 246. Bribes Wol- 
sey, 246. Second visit to 
England, 247. Breaks with 
Henry VIII., 249. Alli- 
ance with, 268. Proposes 
an alliance with Mary, 285. 

VI., emperor, 562. 

VII., emperor, dies, 588. 

Charles II. of Spain, death, 
540. 

III., titular king of 

Spain, 551, 553. Elected 
emperor Charles VI., 562. 

III. of Spain, forms the 

Family Compact with 
France, 606. Declares 
war with England, 607. 

IV. of Spain, 674. 

Charles of Navarre, claim to 
French crown, 170. 

Charles Edward, son of the 
Pretender (James), 587. 
Expedition of, 589. Es- 
cape, 594. Later life, 596. 

Charleston, siege of, 628. 

Charlotte of Mecklenbnrg- 
Strelitz, marries George 
III., 605. Death, 695. 

, princess, dies, 694. 

Charnock, captain, 535, 536. 

Charter of Henry I., 99. 
Discovered by Langton, 
136. Of Stephen, 103. Of 
John, 137. 

Charters of corporations sur- 
rendered, 492. Annulled 
by James II., 506. 

Chartists, 708, 711. 

Chatham, ships at, burnt by 
the Dutch, 464. 

Chatham, earl of (William 
Pitt), 583, 588, 597. First 
administration, 599-605. 
Opposes the peace, 610. 
Denounces Stamp Act, 
613. Created earl Chat- 
ham, 614. Second admin- 
istration, 614-616. De- 
nounces American policy, 
616,622. Last speech, 623. 
Illness and death, 624. 

, earl of (2nd), expedi- 
tion to Walcheren, 678. 

Chati lion - sur - Seine, con- 
gress at, 688. 

Chaucer, Geoffrey, 191, 226. 

Cherbourg, expedition 

against, 601. < 

Chester, earl of, 117. 

Chesterfield, earl of, lord- 
lieutenant of Ireland, 588. 
Secretary of state, 595. 
Character, ib. Reforms 
the calendar, ib. 



785 

Clergy. 

"Chevy Chase," 187. 
Cheyte Sing, 640. 
Child, sir Josiah, 518. 
Chillianwallah, battle, 719. 
Chinon, castle, death of 
Henry II. at, 119. Peace 
of, 136. 
Choiseul, duke of, 605, 606. 
Christ Church, Oxford, 

founded by Wolsey, 272. 
Christian, admiral, 648. 
Christianity in Britain, 15. 
Among the Saxons, 32 sq. 
Chronicle, Anglo-Saxon, 77. 
Church, Anglo - Norman, 
128. 

, English, separated 

from Rome, 257. King 
supreme head of, 258. 
of Ireland, disestab- 
lished, 727. 
Churchill, lord, deserts 
James II., 511 (see Marl- 
borough). 

, the satirist, 607. 

Cintra, convention of, 675. 
Circuits, judges', 127. 
Circuses in Britain, 14. 
Cissa, 26. 

Cissa-ceaster (Chichester),26. 
Ciudad Rodrigo, taken, 683. 
Clanricarde, earl of, 429,430. 
Clare, Richard de (Strong- 
bow), earl of Chepstow, 
116. Marries Eva, daugh- 
ter of king Dermot, 116. 
Defeats the Irish, 117. 
Clarence, Thomas, duke of, 
son of Henry IV., defeated 
at Beauge", 200. 
, George, duke, of, mar- 
ries Warwick's daughter. 
215. Deserts to Edward 
IV., 216. Killed, 219. 

(see William IV.). 

Clarendon, Constitutions of, 

111. Assize of, ib. 
Clarendon, earl of (Hyde), 
prime minister, 454. Re- 
stores episcopacy,455. Ad- 
vises the sale of Dunkirk, 
459. Disgraced, 464. Ban- 
ished, 465. His History, ib. 
, earl (2nd), chamber- 
lain, 500. Lord-lieutenant 
of Ireland, 504. Treats 
with James II., 512. 
Clarke, Mrs., 676. 
Clarkson, Mr., 071. 
Claudius reduces Britain, 8. 
Claypole, Mrs., death, 446. 
Clement VI., pope, 248, 251, 
252. Grants a commis- 
sion to try Henry VIII. 'a 
divorce, 251. 
— — , Jaques, assassinates 

Henry III., 330. 
Clement's, St., Danish ceme- 
tery at, 61. 
Clergy, their privileges, 72, 



786 

Cleves. 

Ill sq. Brought under a 
praemunire, 356. 

Cleves, Anne of (see Anne). 

Clifford, lord, murders the 
earl of Rutland, 211. 

, sir Robert, betrays 

Perkin Warbeck, 235. 

, sir Thomas, 465. 

Clifton Moor, battle, 593. 

Clinton, admiral lord, 305. 

, general, 619. Retreats 

to New York, 624. Takes 
Charleston, 628. 

Clipping the coin, 155. 

dive, takes Chandernagore, 
600, 609. Exploits, 609. 
Victory at I'lassy, ib. Go- 
vernor of Bengal, ib. An 
Irish peer, 610. Returns 
to India, 636. Reforms, 
637. Quells a mutiny, 
ib. Vote of censure on, 
633. Suicide, ib. 

Clontarf meeting, 709. 

Closetings, 506. 

Cloth of Gold, Field of, 246. 

Cobden, Richard, 708, 722. 

Cobham, lord, 197 (see Old- 
castle). 

, lord, plots against 

James I., 347. 

Coburg, prince of, commands 
imperial army, 644. 

Cceur de J Aon, 124. 

Coffee-houses, 519. 

Coin, debasement of, 277. 

Coke, sir Edward, 357. Im- 
prisoned, 358. 

Colchester taken, 42] . 

Coleman, secretary to 
duchess of York, 479, 482. 

Colepepper, sir John, 398. 

Coligny,297,308. Murdered, 
310. 

College, trial of, 491. 

Collier, Jeremy, 536. 

Collingwood, lord, 050, 667, 
668, 674. 

Colonial secretary, office 
established, 615. Separated 
from war, 721 vote. 

Colonization, English,origin, 
354. Progress, 518. 

Columbus, 239. 

Combats, judicial, 75. 

Combermere, lord, 718. 

Comes, title of, 18. 

Comes littoris Saxonici, 17. 

Commanders, Roman, in 
Britain, 18. 

Commerce, freedom of, se % 
cured by the Charter, 138. 
Under Edward III., 183. 
Progress of, 518. 

Committee of Safety, 450. 

Common Pleas, court of, i27. 

Common Trayer, the Book 
of, revised, 279. 

Commons, 126. House of, 
148,158. Increased power, 



INDEX. 

196. Account of, 227. Re- 
fuse to reason with Wol- 
sey, 248. How treated by 
Elizabeth, 339. Resist 
James, 351. Revive im- 
peachments, 356. Pledge 
to defend the palatinate, 
357. Claim freedom of 
debate, ib. James tears 
out their protestation, 358. 
Leaders of, 363. Refuse 
supplies to Charles I., ib. 
Impeach Buckingham, 
365. Frame the Petition 
of Right, 367. Press a 
redress of grievances, 378. 
Impeach Strafford and 
Laud, 3S0. Speeches first 
published, 381. Retain 
the army of the Covenant, 
382. Proceedings against 
the clergy, ib. Committee 
during recess, 3S6. Re- 
monstrance, 388. Charles 
demands the five mem- 
bers, 390. Seize Hull, etc., 
392. Militia bill, ib. 
Name the lieutenants of 
counties, 393. Propose 
terms, ib. Purged by 
colonel Pride, 422. Ordi- 
nance to try the king, 423. 
Name an executive coun- 
cil. 428. Composition 
under first Reform Act 
704; under second, 748. 
{See Parliament.) 

Commonwealth, 427-452. 

Communion service, 276. 

Compton, sir Spencer, 581. 
Made lord Wilmington, 
585. Death, 587. 

Compurgation, 128. 

Compurgators, 75. 

Comyn, assassinated, 161. 

Conan, duke of Brittany, 
108. Succeeded by Henry 
II., 109. 

Comle, 297. Death, 308. 

Confirmations of the Great 
Charter, 149. 

Conformity, occasional, bill 
to prevent, thrown out, 
551. Passed, 562. 

Congregation, Scotch, 294. 
Assisted by Elizabeth, ib. 

Connaught, kingdom of, 116. 

"Conservatives," origin, 705. 
Party broken up, 710. Re- 
action, 730. 

Constable, office extin- 
guished, 247 note. 

Constance, mother of Arthur 
of BrittarJy, 132. 

Constantine the Great, 12. 

Constantius Chlorus, 12. 

Constitution, Anglo-Nor- 
man, 124. English, under 
the Tudors, 338. 

Contract, original, 515 



Cranmer. 

Conventicle Act, 459. 
Second, ib. 

Convention parliament, 451. 

Convention, 515. Made a 
parliament, 523. Dis- 
solved, 527. 

, French, 646. 

Convocation, account of, 578. 

Conway, general, 605. Sec- 
retary, 613. Carries ad- 
dress against American 
war, 629. Commander-in- 
chief, ib. 

Conyers, sir John, 392. 

Cook, solicitor for people of 
England, 423. Executed, 
455. 

Coote, sir Eyre, defeats 
Hyder Ali, 639. 

Cope, sir John, 590. De- 
feated at Preston Pans, 591. 

Copenhagen, victory at, by 
Nelson, 658. Bombardtd 
by Gambier, 673. 

Corn bury, lord, 511. 

Cornish, alderman, attainder 
reversed, 527. 

Corn-laws, 693. League 
against the, 708. Abo- 
lished, 710, 746. 

Cornwall, insurrection in, 
236. 

Cornwallis, lord, 621. Capi- 
tulates at York Town, 
628. Viceroy of Ireland, 
656. Governor-general of 
India, reduces Tippoo, 718. 

, admiral, 646. 

Corporation Act, 456, 473. 
Repealed, 699. 

Corsica, taken, 647. 

Corunna, battle of, 676. 

Cospatric, earl of Northum- 
berland, rebels, 85. 

Cotton famine, 723. 

Count, title of, 227. 

County courts, 75, 127. 

Court, verge of, 76. 

baron, 126. 

Courts, Anglo-Saxon, 75. 

of justice, 127. 

Covenant, 377. Burnt by 
the hangman, 456. 

Covenanters, Scotch, 377. 
Invade England, 379. Re- 
tained by Long Parlia- 
ment, 382. 

Coverdale, imprisoned, 284. 

Cowper, lord, chancellor, 
dismissed, 560. 

Craggs, secretary at war, 
573. Bribed, 576. 

Cranmer, Thomas, 253 
Made primate, annuls 
Henry's marriage with 
Katharine, 257. Annuls 
Anne Boleyn's marriage, 
262. At Henry's death- 
bed, 271. Executor, 273. 
Conduct of the Reforma- 



INDEX 

Crecgranford. duke 

ttm, 274. Condemned fer Cu^l^una, ^ 

tre^on, 284. Burnt, 2bb. ot, * 

Crecganford, battle, 25. gobelin (Cymbeline), 8 

Crecy, battle 173 ^ 93 

CrePV, peace ot, /oa. p, ir ii Re"is 126, 127. 

Cressingham, flayed by the Cum Ke^ ^^ ^ 

Scots, 160. Mi tnrv 320. 

Crimea descent on the 714. tary 3£ 
Criminal law, amendment Cwen ^ k > g q 



of, 743. 

Croke, judge 375. 

Crompton. 739. 

Cromwell, Thomas, defends 
Wolsey, 252. Favours the 
Reformation, 258 Vicar- 
general, 261. Made earl 
of Essex, 266. Fall and 
execution, ib. 
. Oliver, first appear- 
and of, 402. Defeats 



Se^gofWessex, 

33. 
Cymen, 26. 
Cymenes-ora, 26. 
Oyning (king), 70. 
Cynric, 27. 
Cyprus, conquered by 

Richard I., 121. Ceded 

to England, 737. 
D. 



ance of, 402. ^feats defeats tlie 

Rupert at Marston Moor, Dacre i , 

405 Republican views, L**^ lord, governor- 

407 Reduces the midland Dainous , , ? ^ 

C0Wtie % 4 of 2 -tbe°a my uffiS* * ***• master 
command of the army f J stair 530. 

416. Views as to to|M» > m 675 . 
king, « 8 -, Q u %l feat e s Damnonia, kingdom of, 28. 
Levellers, 419. De eats | ^ f treasurer, 

Langdale and Hampton, Danby,^^ the , h 
421. Reduces Ireland, | *;*; ^ Q inineacbed, 



421. neuu^oo * • 

429, 430. Captain-general, 
431 Invades Scotland, ib. 
Gains battle of Dunbar, 
432. Defeats Charles 11. 
at Worcester, 433. Dis- 
solves the Long Parlw 



472. Denounces i«rr~ 
plot, 479. Dnpeached 
481 483, 496. President 
of council, 522. Marquess 
ofCaermavtben, 527. Duke 
of Leeds, 534. 
Danegeld, 54, 61, 91, 123. 



mSS.^ t ^gSt?^EngUnd,4I. 

^s%^^^ 
,.., Refuses the crown, 



Ove» tuc t'«- 

441 Refuses the crown, 
445. Supports the Vau- 
dois, 447. Death and 
character, 448. nia 
mother, ib. Estate con- 
fiscated, 454. Disinterred 
and .anged, 455. 

Richard, 445. Sue- 



Murder King ^«"i"""> ~ ' 
Defeated by Alfred, 45. 
Baptized by him, 45. live 
towns of, ib. Boundary 
of ib. Invade Kent, 46. 
Incursions renewed, 54. 
| Massacred, 55. 
Dangerfield, concocts the 
meal-tub plot, 486. 
_, Richard, 445. Sue- mea^ ™ P ^ off 613 
ceeds to the Protectorate, Danish ne 
447. Signs his demission, garcy,^, ^^ rf 
449. t-o roness Kilmanseck), 572. 

__-, Henry, governs Ire " L.^y, lord, marries Mary 
laAd.448 ^ tnp406 qucn of' Scots, 298. 

Croprcdy Bridge, battle, 406 q ^ 301 . 

Crosses at Charing and uthj lord> secretary, 

Cheapside destroyed, Jw. 
Crown, settlement of the,5l5 wQod B i rFran ds,chan- 

Crusade,- first, 96. Ot u * ^ q | exchequer> 60 7 

Richard I., 121. , „ ., t Mn „ of Scotland, 

Culemberg adm.ral 554. David 1 , n g ^ 

Culloden, battle, 593. J_ - f Wale8) e xe- 

Cumberland, made an Eng- , ^ ^ Edwavd Lt 154. 

lish county, 96. j of Huntingdon, 

Cumberland, duke of, atDet- ' dants f, 156. 

tingen.586. Fontenoy,588. aesce t de . 

Defeats the Pretender at, Davison ^ for 

Culloden, 593. One of the g»^, execution, 
council ot regency, 597. ^f en Fincdi J 3 24. 
Defeated by the French, 322. * • B of , 2 2, 

600. Abandons Hanover; Days, exu 
disgrace and death, ib. I ** 



787 
Douglas. 

Deane, Silas, 621. 
Death, the Black, 176. 
Debt, imprisonment tor, 

abolished, 727. 
Deelarationof Independence, 

American, 620. 
Defender of the Faith, title 

of, 247. ^ . - 

Deira (Deifyror Deora-nce), 

28 
Delaware, loTd, governor oi 

Virginia, 354. 
Delhi, taken by lord Lake, 
718. By general Wilson, 
720. 
Delinquents, 381. 
Denman, lord, 697. 
Derby, riots at, 703. 
Derby, countess of, defend 
Isle of Man, 434. 
_ earl of (Mr. and lord 
Stanley), 702. Secretary 
at war, 709. Heads the 
"Protectionists,' 710. 

Premier, 712. Resigns, 
713 Premier again, 720. 

, son, foreign secretary, 

730. Resigns, 735. 
Dermot Macmorrogh, king 

of Leinster, 116. 
Dervorghal, 116. 
Derwentwater, earl of, sup- 
ports Pretender, 569, o71. 
Desaix, general, 654. 
Desborough, opposes the. 
crowning of Cromwell, 
445. Threatens Richard, 

449 
Despenser, Hugh le (Spen- 

ser), 164. 
Dettingen, battle, 586. 
Devizes, battle, 401. 
Devonshire, rising m, 277. 
Ligby, sir Everard, joins 
gunpowder plot, 349 350. 
Di|ges, sir Dudley, a leader 
of the commons, 363. 
Master of the Rolls, 372. 
Diocletian, emperor, 15 
Directory for worship, 409 
Dispensing power, 458, 504 

note. „, 

Disraeli, Mr.. 711. Chan- 
cellor of the exchequer, 
712. Premier, 726. 730. 
Earl of Beaconsfield, 732. 
Dissenters, promoted by 

James II., 506. 
Divine right, theory of 516. 

Dogger Bank, action off the, 

629. 
Domesday Book, 91 sq. 
Dominica, taken, 606. 
Donauwerth, taken 552. 
Dorset, marquess of, expe- 
dition to Spain, 242. 
Douav, seminary at, 315. 
Douglas, lord, attacks the 

English camp, 168. 
, earl, fights with Hot. 



788 

Douglas. 

spur against Henry IV., 
193. 

Douglas, George, 300. Mur- 
ders Rizzio, ib. 

, George, assir.ts Mary 

queen of Scots to escape, 
303. 

Dover, battle off, 436. 
Treaty of, 466. 

Dowdeswell, William, chan- 
cellor of exchequer, 613. 

Downing, ambassador to 
Holland, 463. 

Drake, Francis, sails round 
the world, 312. Enter- 
tains queen Elizabeth, 313. 
Attacks the West Indies, 
316. Destroys the Spanish 
shipping, 325. Expedition 
to Portugal, 329. 

Drapier's Letters, 577. 

Druidism, 3 sq. 

Drummond, titular duke of 
Perth, 590. 

Dubois, cardinal, 572. 

Duckworth, admiral sir 
John, 672. 

Dudley, minister of Henry 
VII., 237. Executed, 241. 

, lord Guilford, mar- 
ries lady Jane Grey, 280, 
283. Beheaded, 286. 

, lord Robert, favourite 

of Elizabeth, 297 (see 
Leicester). 

, lord, 700. 

Duke, title of, 227. 

Dumouriez, 643. 

Dunbar, battle, 158, 432. 

Duncan, king of Scotland, 
murdered by Macbeth, 64. 

, admiral, defeats the 

Dutch oft Camperdown, 
651. Viscount, 652. 

Dundas, 665 (see Melville). 

, admiral, 715. 

Dundee, viscount, opposes 
William III., 525. Victory 
and death, ib. 

Dunes, battle off, 446. 

Dunkirk, surrendered to 
Cromwell, 446. Sold to 
France, 459. Besieged by 
duke of York, 644. 

Dunstan, St., 50-54. Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, 52. 

Dutch, wars with the, 432, 
460. League with, 440. 
War with, in 1672, 468. 

colonies taken, 648. 

guards, 513. Dismissed, 

539. 

Dux Britanniarum, 18. 

Dykvelt, 509. 

E. 

Eadbald, king of Kent, 33. 
Eadburga, 36. 
Ealdormen (aldermen),71. 
Ealhswith, wife of Alfred, 48. 



INDEX. 

Earl, title, 227. 

East India Company, 
founded, 354, 534. Pro- 
gress of, 608. Bills of Fox 
and Pitt respecting, 635. 
Regulating Act, 637 . Abo- 
lished, 720. 

(French), 608. Their 

settlements, 609. 

East Saxons (Essex), king- 
dom of, 27. 

Ebissa, 28. 

Eborius, bishop of York, 15. 

Ecclesiastical Commission, 
court of, 505. Annulled, 
510. 

, 706. 

Titles Bill, 712. 

Ecgferth's-Minster, 35. 

Edgar, reign of, 52, 53. 

iEtheling, 65. Sub- 
mits to William, 82. Re- 
bellion and flight, 86. 
Retires to Kouen, 88. Re- 
turns to England, 96. Cap- 
tured at Tinchebray, 100. 

Edgehill, battle, 399. 

Edinburgh, tumult at, about 
Laud's liturgy, 376. 

Edgiva, sister of iEthelstan, 
49. 

Editha, daughter of Godwin, 
marries Edward the Con- 
fessor, 61, 63. 

Edmund, king, saint, and 
martyr, 43. 

the Elder, 49. 

Ironside, 56. 

, son of Edmund Iron- 
side, 57. 

Edred, king, 50. 

Edric, duke of Mercia, 56, 58. 

Edward I. the Elder, suc- 
ceeds Alfred, 48. 

II. the Martyr, 53. 

the Outlaw, son of Ed- 
mund Ironside, 58, 65. 

III. theConfessor, son of 

iEthelred, 58. Reign of, 
61-66. Laws of, 66. 

Edward I., " after the con- 
quest ; " prince, at Lewes, 
147. At Evesham, 148. 
Ends the Bar. ns' War, ib. 
Goes on a crusade, 149. 
Proclaimed in his absence, 
152. Return, ib. Reign, 
151-162. 

II., prince of Wales, 

154. Reign of, 162-166. 

III., prince of Wales, 

sent to Paris, 165. 
Affianced to Philippa, 166. 
Reign of, 167-183. 

IV., reign of, 213-219. 

- V., reign of, 219-221. 
VI., prince, birth, 263. 

Reign of, 273-281. 

, prince, son of Henry 

VI., murdered, 217. 



Episcopacy. 

Edwai'des, lieutenant, 719. 

Edwin, king of Northumbria, 
28. Bretwalda,33. Reign, 
ib. Slain, 34. 

- — , grandson of Leofric, 
governor of Mercia, 66, 82- 
84. Rebels, 85, 88. 

Edwy, king, reign of, 51, 52. 

, brother of Edmund 

Ironside, 58. 

Egbert, king of Wessex, 36 
sq. Unites the Anglo- 
Saxon kingdoms, 37. Con- 
quests, 40. Death, 42. 

Egerton, lord keeper, 334. 

Egmont, count, executed, 
309. 

Egremont, lord, secretary, 
607, 610. 

Egypt, French in, 652, 654, 
659. Expedition to, 672. 

Elba, Napoleon banished to, 
688. 

Eldon, lord, chancellor, 657, 
671. Resigns, 698. 

Eleano.' of Guienne, queen of 
Henry II., 106,117. 

of Provence, queen of 

Henry III., 143. 

Electors, county, 228. 

Elfrida, kills her stepson 
Edward, 53. 

Elgiva, wife of Edwy, 51, 52. 

Eliot, sir John, 370, 371. 

Eliott, general, defends Gib- 
raltar, 631. Made lord 
Heathfield, 632. 

Elizabeth of York, wife of 
Henry VII., 231, 231 

Elizabeth, princess, 276. 
Supports queen Mary, 283. 
Imprisoned, 286. Re- 
leased, 287. Queen, 292. 
Reign of, 292-342. 

, daughter of James I., 

marries elector palatine, 
352. 

Ella, king of Sussex, 26. 
Bretwalda, 31. 

— — , king of Deira, 28. 

Ellenborough, lord, 709. 
Governor-general of India, 
718. 

Elphinstone, admiral, 648. 

Emigration, 698. 

Emma of Normandy, queen 
of iEthelred II.,«4, 55, 57. 
. Marries Canute, 58. Con- 
fined by her son Edward 
the Confessor, 62. 

Empson, minister of Henry 
VII., 237. Executed, 241, 

Enghien, duke d', murdered. 
665. 

Boris (earls), 71. 

Earnest (judicial combat), 
75. 

Epi scopacy , abolished in Scot - 
land, 377. Abjured in Eng- 
land, 409. Restored, 455. 



Eric. 

iS I lordcb f c e nor,669 

Dismissed, 671. 

Escheats (feudal), 128. 

329 332. Lord-lieutenant 
of Ireland, 334. . Con- 
demned and tapnaM 
w Conspires against the 
fueen ib Executed, 337. 
^eart of, his son, sides 
with the commons ; 339 
Commands the parlia 
mentary army, 393, 4uu, 

1^,484,486,488 Joins 

Russell's conspiracy, 493. 

Suicide, 495. 
Estaples, treaty of, 234 

Ethandun, battle, 45. 
Fihel— , names beginning 

wi h bee iEthel-). 

Eugene, prince, co-operates 

with Marlborough 552^ 

defeats the French^ 

Fran n ce,557 5 "Defeated at 

ESe^^tem, origin, 

EusUce, count of Boulogne, 

Eva,' daughter of king Der- 

mot, 116- 
Evesham, battle, 1«- 
Ewtaw Springs, battLe oi, 

Ex officio oath, 315. 
Vx-ch'eauer, court of, 127. 
fr J the king's, shut up. 

Exct, origin, 40 4. Here- 
ditary, panted, 455 

Exclusion Bill, 484, 
Thrown out, 4»s. 

Exeter, duke of, governoi of 

^marjess of, executed, 
Exhibition of Industry, 712 
SSS^S hombards 



789 

INDEX. Fr ancis. 

• „ hi. 593 1 motion to crown Crom- 
Falkirk Mmr, battle, 5JJ. . VP u 445. f 

ISd.lord.SSVfPP^LS*, the, treaty of 
Strafford's attainder 3« 4 ^mj^ with, 238 
Opposes the E» Fletcher of Saltoun, 556. 
strance, 389. Killed, 402. i^c ^ ^^ mu tinies, 
Famars, battle, 644. I '^ 

Family Compact, 606. pieurus, battle, 646. 

Farmer, 506. „: Rroun t Flodden, battle, 243. 

^SSwelSngh- {gSS&H**-*- 
Fa^et W 343, 350. p «s at, 688.^ ^ 

IS SK Affixes the 241 588 . 

bull of ^communication *°£ » udi Henry H. 

against Elizabeth, 307. buried at , 119. 

_,stabs Buckingham, 369. on ^^ st 

Executed,*- r ^ Ineligible to offices 

Fenians, the, 726. t parliament, 541. 

Sick, sir John, to-- orto p^ charter , 

spiracy and revelations, 138 Tlote) 15 9. 

ti36 Attainder, to. -New. 39. 

FerdlnandofArragon league ; i^feUures (feudal) 123 

withHenryVII.,233. Y e F t Mr., supports the 

ceives Henry YHL, 241 Render, 569. Surren- 

_ of Brunswick, recovers ^^ .^ 

Hanover, 601. Fossway, the, 14. . 

_ [V. of Nap es, 670 ^x, bishop of Exeter, muns- 

VII. of Spam, 674 689. *o ^ vlL> 2 3l. 

Feudal tenures, abolisnea, | 



Fairfax, lord, parliamentary 
gVnfral.400,402 405 

_L, sir Thomas (aft. loid), 
402, 405. Commander ot 
Parliamentary forces, 408, 
ill 421, 431. .. 

lady, interrupts the 
High Court of Justice, 423. 

Falaise, 133. 

1 ■alkirk, battle, 160 I 



Feudalism, Norman, 91. An 
elo-Norman, 124 sq. 

Feversham, earl of, com- 
mands against Monmouth, 

501, 502, 508, 513. 
Fiefs, 124. . 

Fiennes, Nathaniel, 407 
Fiji islands, annexed, 731 
Finch, sir Heneage, 471 (see 
Nottingham, earl of). 
_, sir John, speaker, 370 
Lord-keeper, 381. 
Fines (feudal), 128, 138. 
Finisterre, battle off, 595 

raider's action, oo<. 
Fisher bfshop of Rochester, 
258. Made a cardinal, 259. 
Executed, ib. 
FTSgua?QBa^frenchniale- 

factors landed at, 649. 
Fitz Gerald, Maurice, assists 

kins Dermot, 116. 
FiSald, lord Edward con 

spiracy and death 655. 

1 Mr. Vesey, 700. 

Fitzherbert, Mrs , 636. 
Fitz-O.bern, William, 84. 
Fitz-Stephen, 101. 
__, Robert, takes Water, 
ford, 116. . 
■c,t; ITrse Reginald, ua- 
Filter, Robert heads 
the barons against king 

FiX'glers (Danes) 45. 
1 Removed by Edmund, 49. 

Five-mile Act, 461. 
Fleetwood, opposes the 



_, George, 518. 
— , sir Stephen, 597. 
— Henry, 597. Secre- 
tary, 598. Paymaster ot 
the forces, 600. Leads the 
commons; 610. Made lord 
Holland, ib. 

__, Charles James, secre- 
tary, 629. Resigns, 631. 
Secretary, 635. Dismissed, 
ib Foreign secretary, 
669. Death, 670 
France, provinces of, pos 
sessedby Henry IE, 108 
Edward lIL's claim to, 
110. Title of king as- 
umedbybim,l70 v Con- 

nuered by Henry V., 200. 
En-hsh expelled from, 207. 
CUini renounced by Henry 
VIII 250. Religious wars 
of, 297 sq., 308. Acknow 
ledges American inde- 
pendence, 623 Threes 

'an invasion, 624. TPn* 
revolution, 641. Title of 

"king of France "dropped 
byGlorgeIH.,656. Ex- 
tent of the empire, 680. 
Second revolution, 701. 
Third, 711. Second em- 
pire, 712. Alliance with, 
against Russia, 713 War 
with Germany, 727. Re- 

F^nds !. 7 of France, courts 

F \\^sey, 245. Meets Henry 

VIII. at Calais, 246 Cap 

tared at Pavia 249. Re 

covers his liberty, 250. 



790 

Francis. 

Francis II., husband of Mary 
queen of Scots, 294, 295. 

I., emperor, 588. 

II., resigns the imperial 

dignity, and becomes 
Francis I. of Austria, 666 n. 

Francis, Father, 506. 

, sir Philip, 638. 

Frankalmoign, tenure, 125. 

Franklin (a freeholder), 125. 

Franklin, Dr., 612. Dismissed 
from post-office, 618. Ne- 
gotiations, 620, 621. At 
Paris, 631, 632. 

Frankpledge, 48, 74. 

Frederick, elector palatine, 
marries princess Eliza- 
beth, 352. Elected king 
of Bohemia, 355. 

■ , prince of Wales, 582. 

Marries Augusta of Saxe 
Gotha, ib. Death, 596. 

II. of Prussia, invades 

Silesia, 585. Invades Bo- 
hemia and Moravia, 588. 
His campaigns in the 
Seven Years' War, 600 sq. 

Freeman, Mrs., name of the 
duchess of Marlborough, 
550. 

Freemen, equality of, 225. 

French language, abolished 
in pleadings, 183. 

Frere, Mr., 675. 

Freya, goddess, 23. 

Friborg (frank-pledge), 74. 

Friend, sir John, conspiracy 
against William III., 535. 
Executed, 536. 

Frisians, 21, 38. 

Frith-borh, 74. 

Frith-gilds, 76. 

Frobisher, 327. 

Frontinus, Julius, 10. 

Fuentes de Oiioro, battle, 682. 

Fulford, battle, 67. 

Gr. 

Gage, general, 619. 

Gainsborough, battle, 402. 

Galgacus, 10. 

Galway, earl of (Ruvigny), 
expedition to Spain, 554, 
556. 

Gambier, admiral, bombards 
Copenhagen, 673. 

Gardiner, bishop of Win- 
chester, 258, 267. Op- 
poses Reformation, 275. 
Deprived, 279. Restored, 
284. Prime minister. 285. 
Favours persecution, 287. 

Garibaldi, Giuseppe, 722. 

Garter, order, instituted, 176. 

Gascoigne, chief-justice, 196. 

Gastein, convention of, 724. 

Gates, general, 628. 

Gaul, overrun by the bar- 
barians. 12, 13. 

Gauls in Britain, 3. 



INDEX. 

Gaunt, Mrs., burnt, 503 o 

Gaveston, Piers, 163, 164. 

General warrants, 611. 

Genoa, united to France, 666. 
Annexed to Sardinia, 688. 

Geoffrey (Plantagenet) of 
Anjou, marries Matilda, 
daughter of Henry I., 102, 
106. 

, son of Henry II., 118, 

119. 

, natural son of Henry 

II., 119. 

George I., reign of, 566-578. 

II., reign of, 580-603. 

III., reign of, 605-695. 

IV., prince of Wales, 

dissipation and extrava- 
gance, 636. Regent, 681. 
Reign of, 696-701. 

George, prince of Denmark, 
marries queen Anne, 512, 
550, 565. 

George, chevalier St. (Pre- 
tender), 568. 

Georgia, disputes with Spain 
respecting, 582. 

Gerard, Balthazar, assassi- 
nates the prince of Orange, 
316. 

Germain, St., of Auxerre, 15. 

Germaine, lord George (Sack- 
ville), at battle of Minden, 
604. Colonial secretary, 
620. 

German Town, battle of, 622. 

troops, hiring of, 621. 

Geta, emperor, 11. 

Ghent, treaty of, 689. 

Gibbon, Memoire Justifica- 
tif, 624. 

Gibraltar, taken, 554. Re- 
linquished by Spain, 582. 
Memorable siege of, 631. 

Gifford reveals Babington's 
conspiracy, 318. 

Ginkell, 524. Takes Ath- 
lone, 529. Besieges Lime- 

Gisla, wife of Rollo, 80. 

Gladstone, Mr., chancellor 
of the exchequer, 713. 
Financial policy, 725. 
Premier, 727. Disestab- 
lishes the Irish Church, 
ib. Resigns, 730. Retires 
from leadership of 
Liberals, 731. 

Glamorgan, earl of, treaty 
with Irish rebels, 413. 

Glastonbury abbey, 50. 

Glencoe, massacre of, 530 sq. 

Glendower. Owen, 193, 194. 

Gloucester, duchess of, does 
penance for witchcraft.206. 

, earl of, leader of the 

barons, 146, 147. 

, duke of, uncle of 

Richard II., regent, 186, 
187, 188. 



Greece. 

Gloucester, duke of, guardian 
of England, 201, 205. 
Murdered, 206. 

. Richard, duke of, 

assists in the murder of 
prince Edward, 217. Re- 
gent, 219. Seizes Edward 
V., ib. Named protector, 
ib. Accepts the crown, 
221 (see Richard III.). 

, duke of (son of queen 

Anne), death, 541. 

Goderich, viscount, premier, 
699. Colonial secretary, 
702. 

Godfrey, sir Edmondbury, 
478. Murdered, 479. 

Godolphin, lord, treasurer, 
549, 559. Attacked by Sa- 
cheverell, 559. Death, 563. 

Godoy, don Emanuel, Prince 
of the Peace, 648, 673. 

Godwin, earl, 58, 63, 64. 

Gondomar, 355. 

Good Hope, Cape, taken, 648. 

Goojerat, battle, 719. 

Gordon, duke of, opposes 
William III., 525. 

, lord George, riots, 625 

sq. 

Goring, 385. Governor of 
Portsmouth, 392, 398. 

Gormanstone, lord, heads the 
English of the pale, 387. 

Gb'rtz, baron, 573. 

Gough, general sir Hugh, 719. 

Goulbmn, Mr., chancellor of 
exchequer, 699, 709. 

Gourdon, Bertrand de, 
wounds Richard I., 123. 

Gower, the poet, 226. 

, earl, president of coun- 
cil, 635. 

, lord Leveson, embassy 

to St. Petersburg, 672. 

Gramme's Dyke, 11. 

Grafton, duke of, deserts 
James II., 511. 

, duke of, secretary, 613. 

Head of treasury, 614, 616. 

Graham of Claverhouse, 486 
(see Dundee). 

, sir Thomas, 685. Ex- 
pedition to Holland, 688. 

, sir James, home secre- 
tary, 709. 

Grammont, duke de, 586. 

Granby, marquess of, 605. 

Grand Coiitumier, or Great 
Customary, 127. 

Grantham, lord, secretary, 
631. 

Granville, earl (see Carteret). 

Grattan, Henry, 630. 

Graves, admiral, 628. 

Gray, master of, 321. 

Great Britain, name of Eng- 
land and Scotland united, 
556. 

Greece, independence of, 699- 



Greek. 

Greek professorship, first, 
272. 

Greenwich hospital, 532. 

Gregg, executed, 559. 

Gregory I. the Great, pope, 
mission to England, 32. 

XIII., medal for mas- 
sacre of St. Bartholomew, 
311. Reforms the calen- 
dar, 595. 

XV., pope, 359. 

, speaker, 483. 

Grenville, sir John, 451. 

, George, secretary, 607, 

610. First lord of treasury 
and chancellor of ex- 
chequer, ib. Proposes 
American Stamp Act, 611, 
615. 

, lord, coalesces with 

Fox, 665. Premier, 669, 
671. 

, Thomas, at admiralty, 

671. 

Grey, lady Jane, marries lord 
Guilford Dudley, 280. Pro- 
claimed queen, 283. Be- 
headed, 286. 

, lord, of Ruthyn, 193. 

, lord, plots against 

James I., 347. 

, lord, of Groby, 422. 

, lord, at Sedgemoor 501. 

, earl (see Howick), pre- 
mier, 702. Resigns, 705. 

, sir Thomas, executed, 

198. 

, general sir Charles, 

647. 

Grim, Cambridge monk, 114. 

Grimstone, sir Harbottle, 
speaker. 451. 

Grindal, archbishop of Can- 
terbury, 315. 

Grove, 478. Executed, 482. 

Guader, Ralph de, earl of 
Norfolk, 89. Rebels, ib. 

Guardians of the realm, 152, 
201. 

Guiana, Raleigh's expedi- 
tions to, 332, 354. 

Guilds, Anglo-Saxon, 76. 

Guillotine, ambulatory, 645. 

Guinegate, or Spurs, battle, 
243. 

Guiscard, stabs Harley, 561. 

Guise, duke of, takes Calais, 
289. Designs against Eliza- 
beth, 295. Seizes Catherine 
de Medici, 297. 

, duke of, forms the 

League, 311. Assassi- 
nated, 330. 

, cardinal, assassinated, 

330 

Gunhilda, murdered, 55. 

Gunpowder plot, 348 sq. 

Gurth, son of Godwin, 63, 
68. 

Guthrie, 456. 



INDEX. 

Guthrnm, the Dane, 44. 

Baptized, 45. 
Gyllenborg, count, 573. 
Gwynn, Eleanor, 497 note. 
Gytha, Harold's mother, 85. 



Habeas Corpus, 138, 485, 
497. 

Hacker, executed, 455. 

Hadrian, wall of, 11. 

Hales, sir Edward, collusive 
trial of, 504. Attends the 
flight of James II., 512. 

Hallidon Hill, battle, 170. 

Halifax, marquess of, 484. 
Opposes Exclusion Bill, 
488. Privy seal, 492, 522, 
527. President of council, 
500. Dismissed, 504. Sent 
to prince of Orange, 512. 
Speaker of the peers, 515. 
Tenders the crown to 
William and Mary, ib. 

, earl of (Montague), 

542. Dismissed, 549. First 
lord of treasury, 567. 

, earl of, secretary, 610. 

Halifax (Nova Scotia), 
founded, 596. 

Hamilton, marquess and 
duke of, employed against 
the Covenanters, 377. 
Raises men in support of 
Charles I., 420. Defeated, 
421. Executed, 426. 

, duke of, opposes Hano- 
verian succession, 555. 
Opposes union, 556. 

— — , colonel, 530. 

, lady, 668. 

Hammond, governor of Caris- 
brooke Castle, 419. 

Hampden, John, refuses to 
pay ship-money, 375. 
Accused of treason, 390. 
Killed, 401. 

, John (grandson), joins 

Monmouth's conspiracy, 
493. Apprehended, 494. 
Fined, 496. 

clubs, 693. 

Hampton Court, conference 
at, 347. Flight of Charles 
I. from, 419. 

Hanover, treaty of, 577. 
Overrun by the French, 
600. Seized by Prussia, 
658. By France, 664. 
Made a kingdom, 688. 
Separated from British 
crown, 707. Annexed to 
Prussia, 726. 

Hanoverian succession, set- 
tled, 541. Supported by 
the peers, 551. Rejected 
by Scotch parliament, 555 
sq. Quietly accomplished, 
566. 



791 

Hazlerig-. 

Harcourt, sir Simon, 559. 
Chancellor, 560. 

Hardicanute, king, reign 
of, 60, 61. 

Hardinge, sir Henry, gover- 
nor-general of India, 719. 

Hardwicke, lord chancellor, 
585. Resigns, 605. 

Hardy, sir Charles, 625. 

, captain, 668. 

Harfleur, taken by Henry V., 
198. 

Hargreaves, 739. 

Harington, earl of, secre- 
tary, 582, 588. Lord- 
lieutenant of Ireland, 595. 

Harley, Robert, speaker, 
541, 543. Secretary, 558. 
Supplanted, ib. Chancel- 
lor of exchequer, 560. 
Attack on his life, 561. 
Corresponds with duke of 
Berwick, ib. Made earl 
of Oxford and treasurer, 
562 (see Oxford). 

Harlow, sir Robert, destro3's 
the crosses at Charing and 
Cheapside, 382. 

Harold Harefoot, son of 
Canute, 60, 61. 

, son of earl Godwin, 62, 

65. Elected to the throne, 
67. Defeats Harold Har- 
drada and Tosti, ib. De- 
feated and slain at Hast- 
ings, 69. 

Hardrada, 67. 

Harrington, 516. 

Harris, general, 717. 

Harrison, colonel, 423. 

Hasting, the Dane, 46. 

Hastings, battle, 68. 

, lord, claims the Scotch 

crown, 156. 

, lord, his fidelity, 220, 

221. 

, marquess, governor- 
general of India, 718. 

, Warren, first gover- 
nor-general of India, 637. 
Administration, 638 sq. 
Impeachment, 636, 640. 

Hatfield, James, shoots at 
George III., 656. 

Hatton, sir Christopher, 319. 

Haugwitz, 666. 

Havannah taken, 607. 

Havelock, general, 720. 

Havre, occupied by the Eng- 
lish, 297. 

Hawke, admiral sir Edward, 
595, 598. Expedition 
against Rochefort, 600. 
Victory off Quiberon, 602. 

Hawkins, sir John, 332. 

, Richard, son of sir 

John, 332. 

Hawley, general, 593. 

Hazlerig, sir Arthur, 390, 
450. 



792 

Heathfield. 

Heathfield, lord, 632 (see 
Eliott). 

Hedges, sir Charles, secre- 
tary, 550. 

Hedgley Moor, battle, 214. 

Helder, the, taken, 654. 

Helens, lord St., treaty with 
Russia, 658. 

Helie de St. Saen, ICO. 

Heligoland, 673. 

Hengest and Horsa, 24, 25. 

Henley, lord, chancellor, 605. 

Henrietta Maria of France, 
359. Marries Charles I., 
362. Sells the crown 
jewels, 393. 

Henry I., besieged by his 
brothers at St. Michael's 
Mount, 96. Reign of, 98- 
102. 

• II., prince, acquires 

Normandy, Anjou, and 
Maine, 106. Marries 
Eleanor of Guienne, ib. 
Invades England, ib. 
Reign of, 107-120. 

, son of Henry II., 

crowned, 113. Rebels, 
117. Death, 119. 

III., reign of, 140-149. 

IV., reign of, 192-196. 

V., reign of, 196-201. 

■ VI., reign of, 201-211. 

— VII., reign of, 229-239. 

VIII., reign of, 240- 

272. 

, prince, son of James 

I., death, 352. 

- — Benedict, cardinal York, 
last of the Stuarts, 596. 

Henry VI., emperor, releases 
Richard I., 123. 

Henry III. of France, assas- 
sinated, 330. 

IV. of France, assisted 

by Elizabeth, 330. Re- 
nounces protestantism, 
331. Assassinated, 351. 

Henry of Blois, bishop of 
Winchester, 103, 104. 

Henry, Patrick, 613. 

Heptarchy, the, 28. 

Herbert, attorney-general, 
impeaches lord Ivimbolton 
and the five members, 390. 

, sir Edward, chief jus- 
tice, dictum on the dis- 
pensing power, 504. 

, admiral, earl of Tor- 

rington, 528. 

Heresy, first penal law 
against, 193. 

Heretics, commission to ex- 
amine, 276. Laws against, 
revived, 287. 

Jleretoga, 70. 

Hereward, resists the Nor- 
mans, 88. 

Hermin Street, 14 (see 
Irmin), 



INDEX. 

Hertford, earl of, 270. Pro- 
tector, 273. Created duke 
of Somerset, 274 {see 
Somerset). 

, marquess of, retires 

before the parliamentary 
army, 399. Overruns 
Devon, 401. 

Herzegovina, the, 736. 

Hesse, landgrave of, sub- 
sidiary treaty with, 598. 

Hewitt, Dr., beheaded, 
446. 

Hexham, battle, 215. 

Heydon, sir John, 399. 

Heyle, sergeant, 340. 

High Commission Court, 293. 
New, 315, 341. Abolished, 
386. Attempted revival 
by James II., 505. 

High Court of Justice, to 
try Charles I., 422. 

Hill, Abigail (Mrs. Masham), 
559. 

, sir Rowland, 677, 683, 

685. 

, , postal reform, 

740. 

Hillsborough, earl of, 615, 
616. 

Histriomastix, Prynne's, 
373. 

Hla'fdige, (lady), 71. 

Blaford (lord), 75. 

Hobbes, 516. 

Hoche, general, 648. 

Hoel, count, of Nantes, 
108. 

Holgate, archbishop of York, 
284. 

Holkar, 717. 

Holland, revolts from Spain, 
311. Treaty .with, 312. 
Elizabeth protector of, 
316. War with, 628. 
Overrun by French, 647. 
Annexed to France, 692. 

, earl of, executed, 426. 

, lord {see Fox). 

Holies, holds the speaker, 
370. Character, 381. Ac- 
cused of treason, 390. 
. Opposes Cromwell, 421. 

Holmby, Charles I. confined 
at, 414. Seized at, 416. 

Holmgang (judicial combat), 
75. 

Holstein, relation to Den- 
mark, 723. War about, 
724. Ceded to Austria, 
ib. To Prussia, 726. 

Holy Alliance, 693. 

Homage, ecclesiastical, 100. 
Described, 125. 

Homilies, twelve, 275. 

Hone, William, prosecuted, 
694. 

Honorius, withdraws his 
legions from Britain, 13. 

Hood, sir Samuel, admiral, 



Hyde. 

628. Made an Irish baron, 
631. Takes Toulon, 644. 
Corsica, 647. 

Hooper, bishop of Gloucester, 
284. Burnt, 287. 

Hopton, sir Ralph, reduces 
Cornwall, 400. 

Horn, count, executed, 309. 

Home Tooke, 622, 647. 

Horsa, tomb of, 25. 

Hoste, sir William, 678. 

Hotham, sir John, parlia- 
mentary governor of Hull, 
392, 393, 403. 

Hotspur, 187, 194. 

Hounslow Heath, 417. 

Howard, Katharine, queen of 
Henry VIII., 267. Exe- 
cuted, ib. 

, admiral sir Edward, 

killed, 243. 

, lord, of Effingham, 

admiral, 327. Defeats 
the Spanish Armada, 328. 
Expedition to Cadiz, 332. 
Created earl of Notting- 
ham, ib. 

, lord, joins Monmouth's 

conspiracy, 493, 494. 

Howe, general, 619. Takes 
New York, 621. Philadel- 
phia, 622. 

, lord, expedition 

against Cherbourg, 601. 
Relieves Gibraltar, 631. 
First lord of admiralty, 
635. Victory of 1st June, 
647. 

Howick, lord, at admiralty, 
669. Foreign secretary, 
671. Bill for catholic 
emancipation, ib. {see 
Grey, earl). 

Hubert, archbishop of Can- 
terbury, 134. 

Hugh Capet, 81. 

Huguenots, 297. Assisted 
by Elizabeth, 297, 308. 
Their strength, 311. Ex- 
pedition against, 364. 

Humber, country beyond, 
devastated by William I., 
87. 

Humble Petition and Advice, 
bill so called, 445. 

Hundreds, 73. Mote, 73. 

Hunt, Henry, 694, C95. 

Huntingdon (see David). 

, earl of, 531. 

Huskisson, Mr., 700. 

Bus-thing (busting), 76. 

Hutchin>on, general, 660. 

Huysduinen taken, 654. 

Hwiccas, 45. 

Hyde, Anne, marries duke 
of York, 465. 

, sir Edward, 381. Sup- 
ports Strafford's attainder, 
384. Opposes the Remon- 
strance, 389. Created earl 



Hyde. 

of Clarendon, 454 (see 

Clarendon'). 

Hyde, Lawrence, treasurer, 
486. Earl of Rochester, 
492 (see Rochester). 

Hyder Ati, 637, 639, 

Hyderabad, 719. 

Hypwines-fleot, 25. 



Ibrahim Pasha, 699. 

lceni, 9. 

Icon Basililce, account of, 
426. 

Ictis, isle of, 2. 

Ida, king of Bernicia, 28. 

Iden, kills Cade, 209. 

lerne, Ireland, 2. 

Ilcenild Street, 13. 

Ildefonso, San, treaty of, 
648. 

Impeachment, first instance, 
228. Revived, 356. Differs 
from attainder, 384 note. 
Not barred by a royal 
pardon, 484, 542. 

Imprisonment, arbitrary, 
forbidden by the Charter, 
138. 

Ina, king of Wessex, 35. 
His laws, 35. 

Income-tax, 709. Rates and 
produce of, 731. 

Independents, rise of, 406. 

India, British, history, 608 
sq., 636 sq., 717 sq. Em- 
press of, 737. 

Indulgence, declaration of, 
458, 468, 470. Cancelled 
by Charles II., 470. James 
II.'s declaration of, 505, 
506. 

Inglis, sir Robert, 713. 

Inkermann, battle, 715. 

Innocent III., pope, 134. 
Excommunicates king 
John, 135. Abrogates 
Magna Carta, 139. 

Inquisition, the, 309. 

Instrument of government, 
439. 

Investitures, what, 100. Re- 
signed by Henry I., 100. 

Ionian islands, taken, 678. 

Ireland, early history, 115. 
Conquered by Henry II., 
117. Under Elizabeth, 
333. Rebellion, 386. Eng- 
lish massacred, 387. Re- 
duced by Cromwell, 430. 
Grants of forfeited estates 
in, reversed, 540. Union 
with England, 655, 656. 
Disturbances in, 704. Co- 
ercion bill, 705. Famine, 
711. Church disestab- 
lished, 727. 

Ireland, Father, executed, 
482. 

Ireton, 411, 418, 421. Com- 



INDEX. 

mands in Ireland, 431 
Takes Limerick, 434. 

Irrnin Street, 14. 

Isaac, ruler of Cyprus, 121. 

Isabella, second wife of king 
John, 133. 

, daughter of Philip the 

Fair, marries prince Ed- 
ward (Edward II.), 160. 
Intrigues with Mortimer, 

165. Invades England, 

166. Imprisoned, 169. 
, daughter of Charles 

VI., affianced to Richard 

II., 187. Restored to 

France, 195. 
Isca Silurum, 14. 
Islands, claim of pope to, 

116. 

J. 

Jacobite plot, 576. 

Jamaica, acquired, 443. In- 
surrection in, 705. 

James I. of Scotland, detained 
at English court, 195. Re- 
stored, 202. 

IV. of Scotland, supports 

PerkinWarbeck, 236. Mar- 
ries Margaret, daughter of 
Henry VII., 237. Slain at 
Flodden, 243. 

V. of Scotland, 267. 

VI. of Scotland, 303, 

321, 323: James I. of 
England, reign of, 345-361. 

II., reign of, 499-519. 

, pretender, birth, 508 

(see Pretender). 

Japan, commercial relations, 
717. 

Jaqueline of Luxemburg, 
marries the duke of Bed- 
ford, 205. Marries sir 
Richaid Woodville, 215. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 618, 620 

Jeffreys, chief justice, 495. 
Bloody circuit, 502. Chan- 
cellor, 503. Maltreated by 
populace, 513. Dies, ib. 

Jena, battle of, 670 

" Jenkins's ears," 582. 

Jephson, colonel, 444. 

Jerusalem, takeu by Saladin, 
119. 

Jervis, admiral sir John, 647. 
Defeats the Spanish fleet, 
650. Made earl St. 
Vincent, ib. 

Jesuits, conspiracies of, 314. 
Law against, ib. 

Jews, massacred, 120. Ban- 
ished, 155. How excludtd 
from parliament, 700. Ad- 
mitted, 721. 

Joan of Arc, history, 202 sq. 
Captured and burnt, 205. 

of Flanders, 172. 

of Navarre, second wife 

of Henry IV, 196. 



793 

Katharine. 

Joan of Kent (see Bocher). 

John, prince, sent to Ireland, 
119. Rebels, ib. In- 
trigues against his brother, 
king Richard, 122. King, 
reign of, 132-140. 

II., king- of France, cap- 
tured by the Black Prince 
at Poitiers, 178, 180. 

John, St., lord, treasurer, 278. 

' , Oliver, solicitor-general, 

407. Commissioner to 
Scotland, 435. Embassy to 
Holland, ib. 

, Henry(see Bolingbroke) 

Jones, colonel, takes posses- 
sion of Dublin, etc., 429. 

, Inigo, 519. 

, J. Gale, 679. 

, Paul, 625. 

Joppa, 122. 

Joseph I., emperor, 554, 

Jourdan, general, 646. 

Joyce, cornet, seizes Charles 
I., 416. 

Judges, brought to trial, 154. 
Displaced by James II., 
504. Made independent of 
the crown, 542. 

Judicature, Supreme Court 
of, 730. 

Judith of France, 42. 

, sister of the Conqueror, 

86, 89, 90. 

Julius, martyrdom of, 15. 

II., pope, forms the 

Holy League, 241. 

, III., pope, 285. 

Junot, marshal, 673, 674. 

Junta of Seville, 674. 

Junto, the, 559. 

Jury, 48, 75. Account of 
trial by, 150. Exempted 
from fines, 475. 

Justice, arbitrary adminis- 
tration of, under Tudors, 
340. 

Justices, itinerant, 118, 127, 
146. 

Justiciar}', 121. Chief, 127. 
For life, 142. 

Justinian, the English, title 
of Edward I., 162. 

Jutes, 22. 

Juxon, bishop of London, 
advice to Charles I., 385. 
Attends his execution, 424. 
Archbishop : death, 458. 

K. 

Kalisch, alliance of, 686. 

Kars, defence of, 716. 

Katharine of France, es- 
poused by Henry V., 200. 
Marries sir Owen Tudor, 
201. 

of Arragon, marries 

prince Arthur, 237. Con- 
tracted to prince Henry, 



794 

Katharine. 

ib. Marries him, 241. 
Henry seeks a divorce, 250. 
She demurs to the court, 
251. Divorced by Cran- 
mer, 257. Death, 260. 

Katharine (see Parr). 

Keane, sir John, 718. 

Keith, sir William, 321. 

Ken, bishop, 506. 

Kendal, duchess of (baron- 
ess Schulenburg), 572,576. 

Kenilworth, Dictum de, 148. 

• , Edward 11. confined at, 

166. 

Kenmure, lord, proclaims 
Pretender, 569. Executed, 
570. 

Kennett, lord mayor, pun- 
ished, 626. 

Kent, kingdom of, 26. 

Kent, earl of, joins Isabella 
and Mortimer, 166. Exe- 
cuted by Mortimer, 168. 

, earl of, superintends 

the execution of queen 
Mary, 322. 

, duke of, dies, 695. 

Keppel, earl of Albemarle, 
53 

, admiral, 624. First 

lord of admiralty, 629. 

Ket, Norfolk rebel, 277. 

Kildare, Fitzgerald earl of, 
supports Simnel, 232. 

Killiecrankie, battle, 525. 

Kilmarnock, earl, executed, 
594. 

Kimbolton, lord, sides with 
the commons, 389. 

King, Anglo-Saxon, elective, 
70. De facto, allegiance 
to, protected by law, 239. 
Statute pleaded by Vane, 
457. 

King, colonel, moves 
Charles's restoration, 451. 

King's Bench Court, 127. 

College, 743. 

Kirke, colonel, inhumanity, 
502. At Londonderry, 526. 

Kirupatrick, sir Thomas, 
assassinates Comyn, 161. 

Kleber, general, 655. 

Kloster Seven, convention of, 
600. 

Knight-service, 125. Abo- 
lished, 455. 

Knox, John, 294. Insults 
queen Mary, 296. 

L. 

La Chaise, Pere, 478, 479. 

La Fayette, marquis de, 721. 

La Hogue, battle, 532. 

Lackland, name of John, 132. 

Lahmen, what, 75. 

Lake, bishop, 507. 

, general (aft. lord), de- 
feats Irish rebels, 656. 
Takes Delhi, etc., 717. 



INDEX. 

Lambert, general, opposes 
the crowning of Cromwell, 
444. Intrigues against 
Richard Cromwell, 449. 
Expels Long Parliament, 
450. Excepted from in- 
demnity, 454. Trial, 457. 
Reprieved, 458. 

Lancaster, Thomas, earl of, 
conspires against Gaves- 
ton, 163. Makes war -on 
Edward II., 164. Exe- 
cuted, 165. 

, earl of, guardian of 

Edward III., 167. 

k John of Gaunt, duke 

of, espouses the daughter 
of Peter of Castile, 180. 
Sells his pretensions to 
that crown, 187. Influ- 
ence over Richard II., ib. 
Death, 188. Encouraged 
Wicktiffe, 190. 

, Henry duke of, son, 

invades England, 188. De- 
poses Richard II., 189. 
Seizes the crown, ib. 
Genealogy, ib. (See 
Henry IV.) 

Land Act, Irish, 727. 

Lanfranc, archbishop of Can- 
terbury, 87, 92, 95. 

Langdale, sir Marmaduke, 
420, 421. 

Langhorne, executed, 485. 

Langside, battle, 303. 

Langton, cardinal, elected 
primate, 135, 136. Dis- 
covers Henry I.'s charter, 
ib. 

Lansdown, battle, 401. 

Lansdowne, marquess of, 
president of council, 702. 

Latimer, bishop, imprisoned, 
265. Burnt, 287. 

Latin words in English, 14. 

Laud, bishop, 372. Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, 373. 
Attacked at Lambeth, 379. 
Impeached, 409. Exe- 
cuted, ib. 

Lauderdale, earl of, 465, 
485. 

Law, common, 225. 

Law's scheme, 575. 

Lawrence, general, 720. 

Laws, how made, 227. 

Lawson, admiral, declares 
for Long Parliament, 450. 

League, Catholic, 311. Go- 
verned by duke of May- 
enne, 330. Dissolution of, 
331. 

and Covenant, Solemn, 

403. American, 618. 

, Holy, 241. 

Leake, sir John, admiral, 
554. 

Lee.ds, battle, 34. 

, duke of (see Danby). 



Lindsey. 

Legge, Henry, chancellor of 
exchequer, 597, 605. 

Legion of Honour, 661. 

Legislation, Anglo-Norman, 
127. 

Leicester, earl of, 118. 

, Simon de Montfort, 

earl of, calls a meeting of 
the barons, 145. Defeats 
Henry III. at Lewes, 147. 
Summons a parliament, 
ib. Slain at Evesham, 148. 

, Dudley, earl of, 298. 

Commissioner to try Mary, 

304. Favours the puritans, 
306. Forms an association 
to defend the queen, 314. 
Commands in Holland, 
316. 

Leinster, kingdom of, 116. 

Leipsic, battle, 687. 

Leith, evacuated by the 
French, 295. 

Lenox, earl of, 269. Ac- 
cuses the queen of Scots, 

305. Regent, 307. 

,countess of, imprisoned, 

299. 

Lenthal, speaker, 380. Re- 
pairs to the army, 417. 
Speaker again, 441, 450. 

Leo X., pope after Julius 
II., 242. Dies, 247. 

heodgild, what, 74. 

Leofric, earl of Mercia, 60, 
63. 

Leofwin, son of Godwin, 63, 
68. 

Leopold, duke of Austria, 
arrests Richard I., 122. 

, prince of Saxe-Coburg 

(afterwards king of the 
Belgians), consort of prin- 
cess Charlotte, 694. 

Leslie, Scotch general, 431. 
Defeated at Dunbar, 432. 

Levellers, 418. Put down 
by Cromwell, 419. 

Leven, earl of, commands the 
Scotch Covenanters, 404. 
Joins lord Fairfax, 405. 

Lever Maur, or the Great 
Light (Lucius), 15. 

Lewes, battle, 147. Mise of, 
ib. 

Lexington, skirmish at, 619. 

Llewelyn, prince of Wales, 
153. Conquered by Ed- 
ward I., ib. 

Ligny, battle, 690. 

Ligonier, lord, 588. 

Lilla, saves Edwin, 33. 

Limerick, siege of, 529 Paci- 
fication of, ib. 

Limoges, massacre of, 181. 

Lincoln, battle, 141. 

Lincoln, John, earl of, sup- 
ports Simnel, 232. 

Lindisfarne, 35. 

Lindsey, earl of, commands 



Liofa 

the expedition to Rochelle, 
369. Commands Charles's 
army, 399, 400. 

Liofa, 50. 

Liprandi, general, 714. 

Lisbon, entered, 675. 

Lisle, sir George, executed, 
421. 

, Mrs., beheaded, 503. 

Attainder reversed, 527. 

Litany in English, 269. 

Literature, Anglo-Saxon, 
76. Under Edward III., 
226. Elizabeth, 342. The 
Stuarts, 5 1 8 . Since Revo- 
lution, 744. 

Littleton, solicitor-general, 
372. 

Liturgy, Edward Vl.'s, 276. 
Revised, 279. Elizabeth's, 
293. English, imposed on 
Scotch church, 376. 

Liverpool, lord, secretary at 
war, 679. Premier, 682, 
698. 

Lloyd, bishop of St. Asaph, 
506. 

Loan, General, 366. 

, the amicable, 249. 

Locke, John, 516. 

Lollards, 190, 197. 

Lollius Urbicus, rampart of, 
11. 

London, under the Romans, 
10. Burnt, ib. Rebuilt by 
Alfred, 46. Besieged by 
the Northmen, 54. Early 
commerce of, 76. Fortified 
by the Conqueror, 84. 
Bridge, 98. Charter, ib. 
Franchise secured by 
Magna Carta, 137. An- 
nual mayor, 140. First 
stone bridge, ib. Pesti- 
lence, 176. Plague, 297. 
Sides with parliament, 398. 
Trained bands, 400. Val- 
our of, 402. Overawed by 
Cromwell's army, 417. 
Plague, 461. Fire of, 463. 
Improved, ib. Charter 
surrendered, 492. In the 
Gordon riots, 627. Effect 
of French Revolution at, 
643. 

Londonderry, siege of, 526. 
Relieved, ib. 

Longsword.William, natural 
son of Henry II., 120. 

Lopez, Roger, conspires to 
poison queen Elizabeth, 
331. 

Lords, House of, 226. 
justices, 566,574. 

lieutenant of counties, 

instituted, 277. 
Loughborough, lord (see 

Wedderburn). 
Louis VI., the Fat, 101. 
j VII., alliance with 



INDEX. 

Henry II., 108. Supports 
Bucket, 112. 
Louis, prince (Louis VIII.), 
son of Philip 11., assists 
the English barons, 139. 
Evacuates England, 141. 

VIII., takes Rochelle, 

142. 

IX., St., repulses Henry 

III., 143. Generous treaty 
with him, 147. Arbitrates 
between him and the 
barons, ib. Death, 149. 

XL, assists queen Mar- 
garet, 214. Forwards War- 
wick's invasion, 216 
Treaty with Edward IV, 
218. 

XII. , marries Mary, 

queen of Scots, 244. Death, 
ib. 

XIII., 364. 

XIV., character, 465. 

Invades the Netherlands, 
ib. Invades Holland, 468 
Revokes Edict of Nantes, 
503. Reception of James 
II., 513. Lends him a 
fleet, 525. Abets his in- 
vasion, 531. Acknow- 
ledges the Pretender, 543. 
Sues for peace, 558. Death, 
568. 

XV., accession, 569 

Invades Flanders, 588. 

XVI., aids the Ameri- 
cans, 623. Beheaded, 643. 

XVIIL, restored, 687. 

Flies, 690. Restored, 692. 

Philippe, king of the 

French, 701. Expelled, 
711. 

Louis, prince of Baden, 552. 

Louis Napoleon, prince, 728 
and note. 

Louisbourg, taken, 589, 601. 

Lovat, lord, temporizing 
conduct, 590, 592. Inter- 
view with Charles Edward, 
593. Captured, 594. Exe- 
cuted, 595. 

Lovel, lord, insurreclion of, 
231. Fate, 232. 

Lowe, Mr., reduces the in- 
come-tax, 730. 

Loyalists, American, indem- 
nified, 633. 

Lucas, sir Charles, executed, 
421. 

Lucius, king, 15. 

Ludlow, colonel, 421, 434. 

Lundy, 525. 

Lupus, bishop, 15. 

Luther, Martin, 247. 

Lyndhurst, lord, chancellor, 
698, 709. 

Lynedoch, lord (Graham), 
victory at Barrosa, 681. 

Lynn, disaster of king John 
at, 140. 



795 

Mansfield. 

Lyons, admiral lord, 715. 

Expedition to Kertch, etc., 

ib. 
Lytton, lord, viceroy of 

India, 731. 

M. 

MacAdam, 739. 
Macbeth, 64. 

Macclesfield, lord chancellor, 
fined for peculation, 577. 

, earl of, 595. 

MacDoiiald, Flora, 594. 
Maclan of Glencoe, 530. 
MTntosh, brigadier, 569. 
Macintosh, sir James, Vin- 

dicice Gallicm, 642. 
Mack, general, defeated at 

Ulm, 666. 
MacMahon, marshal, 727. 

President, 728. 
Madras, 609. 
Masatse, 11, 12. 
Magdala, stormed, 726. 
Magna Carta, 137. Annulled 
by Linocent HI., 139. Con- 
firmations of, 144, 149, 
159. 
Maida, battle, 670. 
Main, the, plot, 347. 
Maintenon, madame de, 557. 
Maitland, captain, carries 
Napoleon to England, 692. 
Major-generals, Cromwell's, 

441. 
Malcolm I., king of Scotland, 
vassal for Cumberland, 49. 

II., reduced by Canute, 

60. 

III. (Canmore), 64 sq. 

Assists Edwin and Morcar 
against William I., 85. 
Marries Margaret, sister of 
Edgar Atheling, 87. Sub- 
dued by duke Robert, 96. 

, sir John, 718. 

Malmesbury, lord, embassy 

to Paris, 649. 
Malplaquet, battle, 558. 
Malta, taken by the French, 

652. Surrendered, 657. 
Malt-tax, occasions riots in 

Scotland, 577. 
Manchester, earl of, takes 
Lincoln, 405. Defeats 
Charles at Newbury, 406, 
407. 
, earl cf, lord chamber- 
lain, 454. 
Manchester, riots at, 695. 
Mancus (coin), 42. 
Mandeville, 226. 
Mandubratius, 7. 
Manfred, king of Sicily, 144. 
Manners, 518, 743. 
Manny, sir Walter, 172. 
Mansfield, lord (Murray), 
chief justice, 599, 615. 
Library burnt, 626. 



796 

Mantes. 

Mantes, burnt, 92. 

Manufactures, Flemish, in- 
troduced into England, 
309. British, prohibited 
in France, 645, 740. 

Manwaring, impeached, 368. 

Mar's insurrection, 569. 

March, earl of: (1st), Roger 
Mortimer, created 1328 (see 
Mortimer). 

(3rd), Edmund, great- 
grandson, married Phi- 
lippa, heiress of Lionel 
duke of Clarence, third son 
of Edward III., 189 note, 
207, and Gen. Table H. 

(4th), Roger, son, lord- 
lieutenant of Ireland, 
killed there, 189 note. 

(5th), Edmund, son, 

rightful heir after Richard 
II., 189 note. Conspiracy 
in his favour, 198. 

(6th), Edward, son of 

Richard duke of York, 
who was son of Anne, 
sister and heiress of Ed- 
mund (fifth earl), 211 
(see Edward IV.). 

Margaret, sister of Edgar 
iEtheling, marries Mal- 
colm Canmore, 86. 

, the maid of Norway, 

155. Queen of Scotland, 
ib. 

of France, marries 

Henry II., 108. 

, sister of Philip the 

Fair, marries Edward I., 
160. 

of Anjou, marries 

Henry VI., 206. Gains 
the battle of Wakefield, 
211. Of St. Alban's, ib. 
Army defeated at Towton, 

214. Twice defeated, ib. 
Escapes to Flanders, ib. 
Reconciled with Warwick, 

215. Lands at Weymouth, 
217. Captured at Tewkes- 
bury, ib. Death, 218. 

, daughter of Henry 

VII., marries James IV 
of Scotland, 238. Regent 
of Scotland, 243. 

Maria Theresa of Austria, 
succession opposed, 585. 
Flies to Hungary, ib. 
Supported by English par- 
liament, 586. 

Louisa, archduchess, 

marries Napoleon I., 679. 

Marian exiles, 308. 

Markham, sir Griffin, plots 
against James I., 347. 

Marlborough, duke of, ex- 
pedition to Ireland, 528. 
Plots the restoration of 
James, 531. Committed 
to the Tower, ib. In- 



INDEX. 

forms James of Berkeley's 
expedition, 533. Captain- 
general, 550. Campaign, 
ib. Dukedom, 551. Un- 
popularity and intrigues 
with the Pretender, ib. 
Campaign, ib Victorious 
at Blenheim, 552. Con- 
cludes a treaty with 
Prussia, 553. Campaign, 
554. Prince of the em- 
pire, ib. Victorious at 
Ramillies, ib. Further 
rewards, ib. Accused of 
extortion, 557. Victorious 
at Oudenarde, ib. At 
Malplaquet, 558. In- 
fluence declines, 559. Of- 
fended, 560. Absents 
himself from court, 561. 
Last campaign, 562. 
Charged with peculation, 
ib. Censured by the 
commons, 563. Retires 
to Antwerp, ib. Returns, 
567. Reinstated as cap- 
tain-general, etc., ib. 
Sends a loan to the Pre- 
tender, 568. Death, 576. 
Character, ib. 

Marlborough, Charles, 2nd 
duke, expedition to Cher- 
bourg, 601, 

, duchess of, governs 

Anne, 550. Decline of 
her influence, 559. 

Marmont, marshal, 682. 

Marquess, title of, 227. 

Marriage (feudal), 128. 

Act, Royal 617. 

Marseilles, siege of, 248. 

Jdarston Moor, battle, 405. 

Mary de Bohun, wife of 
Henry IV., 196. 

, daughter of Henry 

VII., 238. Marries Louis 
XII., 244. Marries Bran- 
don, duke of Suffolk, ib. 

Mary I., daughter of Henry 
VIII., contracted to the 
dauphin, 245. To Charles 
V., 247. Rejects the 
Liturgy, 279. Retires 
into Norfolk, 282. Queen, 
reign of, 282-290. 

, queen of Scots, 268. 

Sent to France, 275 - As- 
sumes the arms of Eng- 
land, 294. Returns to 
Scotland, 296. Corre- 
sponds with Elizabeth, 
298. Marries Darnley, 
*• Bears James, 300. 
Marries Bothwell, 302. 
Surrenders at Carberry 
Hill, ib. Confined at 
Lochleven castle, ib. Re- 
signs the crown, 303. 
Escapes to England, 304. 
Consents to a trial, ib. 



Melbourne. 

Carried to Bolton, ib. 
Refuses to plead, 305. 
Removed to Tutbury, 306. 
Entertains Norfolk's pro- 
posals, ib. Party in her 
favour, ib. Removed to 
Coventry, ib. Renews her 
correspondence with Nor- 
folk, 309. Implicated in 
Babington's conspiracy, 
318. Conveyed to Fother- 
ingay castle, 319. Trial, 
ib. Condemned, 320. Exe- 
cution and character, 323 
sq. 

Mart II., daughter of 
James II., marries prince 
of Orange, 473. Crown 
settled on, 515. Reign, 
515-533. Death, 533. 

Masham, Mrs., ingratiates 
herself with queen Anne, 
559. 

Massachusetts Bay, colony 
planted, 376. 

Massena, 666, 679, 680, 681. 

Masses, private, abolished, 
276. 

Massey, dean, 506. 

Matilda, wife of the Con- 
queror, crowned, 85. 

, daughter of Malcolm 

III., marries Henry I., 99. 

, daughter of Eustace, 

count of Boulogne, marries 
Stephen, 103. 

, daughter of Henry I., 

married to the emperor 
Henry V., 102. Marries 
Geoffrey of Anjou, ib. 
Appointed Henry's suc- 
cessor, ib. Invades Eng- 
land, 104. Acknowledged 
as queen, 105. Flight, ib. 
Retires into Normandy, 
ib. 

Maud (see Matilda). 

Maurice, bishop of London, 
98. 

, prince, 399, 401. 

Maximian, emperor, 11. 

Maximilian, emperor, serves 
under Henry VIIL, 243. 
Death, 245. 

Maximus, usurper, 12. 

Maynard, sergeant, 522. 

Maynooth college, endowed, 
709. 

Mazarin, cardinal, 442. 

Mazzini, 722. 

Meal-tub plot, 486. 

Meath, kingdom of, 116. 

Mechanics' Institutes, 743. 

Medina, sir Solomon, accuses 
Marlborough, 562. 

Medina Sidonia, duke of, com- 
mands the Armada, 327. 

Meeanee, battle, 719. 

Meer Jaffier, 637. 

Melbourne, lord, home secre- 



Mellitus. 
tary. 702. Premier, 705. 
Supported by O'Connell, 
"06, 708 Resigns, 209. 

Mellitus bishop, 32. 

Melvil sir Robert, 321. 

. sir Andrew, 322. 

Melvill, sir James, evidence 
respecting Bothwell, 302. 

Melville, lord, charged with 
peculation, 665, 666. 

Mendoza, Spanish ambassa- 
dor, 318. 

Menou. general, 655, 659. 

Menscbikoff, prince, 714. 

Mercia, 22. The march, 28. 
History of, 38. 

Meres, sir Thomas, speaker, 
483. 

Mesne lords, 125. 

Methodists, 743. 

Middle Saxons, or Middlesex, 
27. 

Middlesex, earl of, treasurer, 
impeached, 360. 

Milan Decree, 673. 

Millennarians, 427. Conspire 
against Cromwell, 446. 

Milton, 516, 518. 

Minden, battle, 602. 

Minorca, taken by Stan- 
hope, 558. By the French, 
598. Restored to Great 
Britain, 608. Lost, 629. 
Retaken, 653. Given up 
by peace of Amiens, 660. 

Minute men, 618. 

Mirabeau, besieged, 133. 

Mise of Lewes, 147. 

Misprision of treason, 258 
and note. 

Mudena, Mary of, marries 
James, duke of York, 471. 

Moidart, seven men of, 589. 

Mompesson, sir Giles, im- 
peached, 356. 

Mona (Anglesey), 9. 

Monarchy abolished, 425. 

Monasteries suppressed, 261, 
263, 292. 

Monckton, general, 607. 

Monk, general, 432. Suc- 
cesses in Scotland, 435. 
Commands under Blake, 
436. Defeats Tromp, 440. 
Proclaims Richard Crom- 
well in Scotland, 449. Pro- 
tests against the expulsion 
of the parliament, 450. 
Enters London ,ib. Sends a 
message to Charles II., 451. 
Meets the king at Dover, 
452. Created duke of 
Albemarle, 454 (see Albe- 
marle). 

Monmouth, birthplace of 
Henry V., 196. 

, duke of, 483. Routs 

the Scotch Covenanters, 
486 Triumphal proces- 
sion, 493. Conspires 



INDEX. 

against the duke of York, 
ib. His projects, ib. Ab- 
sconds, 494. Recalled, 
496. Banished, ib. In- 
vasion, 500. Assumes 
the title of king, 501. 
Defeat and flight, ib. Exe- 
cution, 502. 

Monopolies, 339. 

Montacute, lord, twice de- 
feats queen Margaret, 214. 
Deserts Edward IV., 216. 

, lord, executed, 264. 

Montague, answers sergeant 
Heyle, 340. 

, admiral, 443, 451. 

Created lord Sandwich, 454. 
Killed, 468. 

, ambassador at Paris, 

informs against Danby, 
481. 

, sir James. 559. 

Montcalm, marquis de, go- 
vernor of Canada, 603. 

Monteith, sir J., betrays 
Wallace, 161. 

Montenegro, 736. 

Montfort, Simon de, earl of 
Leicester, 145 (see Leices- 
ter, earl of). 

, count de, claims Brit- 
tany, 172. 

Montmorency,constable, 297, 
308. 

Montrose, earl of, victories, 
410. Routed, 412. De- 
feated and hanged, 431. 

Moore, commodore, 665. 

, general sir John, 675. 

Invades Spain, ib. Killed, 
676. 

Morcar, earl of Northum- 
berland, 66. Proclaims 
Edgar iEtheling, 82. Sub- 
mits, 83, 84. Rebels, 85. 
Joins Hereward, 88. 

Mordannt, earl of Peter- 
borough, 522. 

, general sir John, 600. 

More, sir Thomas, chan- 
cellor, 252. Resigns, 256. 
Refuses the oath to the suc- 
cession, 258. Executed, 
260. 

, Pogcr, rebels, 387. 

Moreau, general, 646, 657. 

Jlvir/ev-ijij'u, morning gifts 
(queen's dowry), 71. 

Morley, Mrs., assumed 
name of queen Anne, 550. 

Moriier, marshal, 664,670. 

Mortimer's Cross, battle, 211. 

Mortimer, Roger, intrigues 
with queen Isabella, 165. 
Puts Edward II. to death, 
166. Surprised and exe- 
cuted by Edward III., 
169. (See March, earl of.) 

Mortmain, statute of, 153. 

Morton, bishop of Ely, 222. 



797 

Napoleon. 

Archbishop of Canterbury, 
231. 

Morton, chancellor of Scot- 
land, 300, 303. 

Morville, Hugh de, 113. 

Moscow, entertd by Napo- 
leon, 684. burnt, ib. 

Mountcashel, lord, defeated 
and captured, 526. 

Mounteagle, lord, warned of 
the gunpowder plot, 349. 

Mowbray, earl of Notting- 
ham, rebels against Henry 
IV., 194. Executed, ib. 

Municipal Reform Act, 706. 

Munro, sir Hector, 639. 

Munster, kingdom of, 116. 

Murat, king of Naples, 674. 

Murray, earl of, 299. Regent, 
303. Submits to Elizabeth, 
305. Assassinated, 307. 

, lord George, joins 

Charles Edward, 590, 592, 
593. Escapes, 594. 

Muscovy, trade with, 290. 

Musgrave, sir Philip, 420. 

Mutiny at Spithead and the 
Nore, 650. 

Act, origin, 524. 

N. 

Namur taken, 535. 

Nantes, edict, revoked, 503. 

Nantwich, battle, 405. 

Napier, admiral sir Charles, 
714. 

, general sir Charles, 

conquers Scinde, 718. 

, sir Robert (lord N.), 

storms Magdala, 726. 

Naples, taken by the French, 
653. 

Napoleon Bonaparte, besieges 
Toulon, 644. Threatens 
invasion of England, 651. 
Expedition to Egypt, 652. 
In Palestine, 654. Returns 
to France, 655. First con- 
sul, ib. Addresses a letter 
to George III., 657. Power 
and magnificence, 661. In- 
sults our ambassador, 664. 
Emperor Napoleon I., 665. 
King of Italy, 666. Occu- 
pies Vienna, ib. Seizes 
Portugal, 673. And Spain, 
674. Enters Vienna, 678. 
Marries Maria Louisa, ib. 
Excommunicated, ib. Ex- 
pedition to Russia, 683. 
Defeat in Germany, 686. 
Abdicates, 688. Lands at 
Cannes, 689 Campaign in 
Belgium, 690. Defeat at 
Waterloo, 692. Flight on 
board the Bellerophon, ib. 
Conveyed to St. Helena, 
693. Death, in 1821, ib. 

II. (nominal'), 692. 

III., emperor, 713. At- 



798 

Napoleon. 

tempt to assassinate, 720. 
Declares war with Prussia, 
727. Taken prisoner, ib. 
Death, 728. 
Napoleon, prince imperial 

(see Louis Napoleon). 
Naseby, battle, 411. 
National debt, 517, 634, 693, 

722, 741. 
Nau, queen Mary's secretary, 

320. 
Navarino, battle, 699. 
Navarre, king of, 297. 
Navarrete, battle, 180. 
Navigation laws, 435. Re- 
pealed, 711, 747. 
Navy, increase of, under 
Elizabeth, 341. Under the 
Stuarts, 517. 
Nelson, at siege of Calvi, 
647. At St. Vincent, 650. 
Victory at Aboukir, 653. 
Made a peer, ib. Captures 
Leghorn, ib. Victory at 
Copenhagen, 658. At- 
tempts Boulogne, 659. 
Chases the French fleet, 
667. At Trafalgar, 668. 
Death, ib. Funeral, 669. 
Neutrality, armed, 627, 657. 
Neville's Cross, battle, 175. 
Neville, earl of Westmore- 
land, 194. 
Newark, Scotch army at, 

413. 
Newburn, battle, 379. 
Newbury, battles, 402, 406. 
Newcastle, seized by Cove- 
nanters, 380, 406. 
Newcastle, marquess of, 
forms a league for Charles 
I., 400. Attempts Hull, 
402 Retreats, 405. Re- 
tires to the continent, 406. 

duke of, secretary, 582, 

5S6. Prime minister, 597. 
Vacillating policy, 598. 
Resigns, 599. Returns, ib. 
Resigns, 607. 
Newfoundland, colonized, 

354. 
Newport, riots at, 708. 
Newspapers, 519, 534. 
Newton Butler, battle of, 

526 
New York, acquired from 

the Dutch, 464. 
Ney, marshal, 690. 
Niagara, taken, 602. 
Nicholas, sir Edward, secre- 
tary, 454. 

, zar, quarrels with the 

Porte, 713. Death, 715. 
Nightingale, Florence, 715. 
Nile, battle of the, "53. 
Nimeguen, peace of, 473. 
Nithisdale, lord, escape from 

the Tower, 571. 
Nivetle. battle at the, 686 
Noailles, marshal, 586. 



INDEX. 



Nobles, English, condition 

of, 125. Degrees of, 227. 
Non-addresses, vote of, 420. 
Repealed, ib. Renewed, 
422. 
Nonconformists, penal laws 
against, suspended by pro- 
clamation, 468. 
Nonjurors, 524. Deprived, 

529. 
Non-resistance, oath of, 456. 
Norfolk, insurrection in, 277. 
Norfolk, duke of, quells an 
insurrection, 250. An- 
other, 263. Arrests Crom- 
well, 266. Prime minister, 
267. Commands against 
the Scots, 268. Attaint 
and narrow escape, 271. 
Restored, 284. 
— , duke of, commis- 
sioner to try the queen of 
Scots, 304. Proposes mar- 
riage to her, 306. Com- 
mitted, but released, ib, 
Conspires with Alva, 310. 
Executed, ib. 
Normanby, marquess of, 

privy seal, 549. 
Normandy (Neustria), seized 
by the Northmen, 41. His- 
tory of, 79. Name, when 
first used, 80. Reduced by 
Henry I., 100. Legislation 
in, 127. Reunited to 
France, 134. Lower, sub- 
dued by Henry V., 199. 
Normans, influence of, in 
England, 62. Character of 
the, 81. Language, ib. 
Amalgamate with the 
Saxons, 132 and note. 
Norris, sir John, 329. Com- 
mands in Ireland, 333. 

, sir John, admiral, 

573. 
North, lord, chancellor of 
exchequer, 615. Prime 
minister, 616. Measure 
respecting tea, ib. At- 
tempts to conciliate the 
Americans, 623. Resigns, 
629. Secretary, 635. Dis- 
missed, ib. Regulating 
Act, 637. 
North American colonies, de- 
scribed, 612. Discontents 
in, ib., 616. War breaks 
out in, 619. 
Worth Briton paper, 607. No. 

Forty-five, 610, 611. 
North Foreland, battle off, 

462. 
Northampton, council of, 112. 

, battle, 210. 

Northcote, sir Stafford, 731. 
Northing-ton, lord chancellor, 

614. 
Northmen (Danes, etc.) 41. 
Manners, ib. Seize Nor- 



Officers. 

mandy, ib. Ravage Eng- 
land, 42. 
Northumberland, Percy, earl 
of, rises against Henry IV., 
193, 194. 
, Dudley, earl of War- 
wick, becomes duke of (see 
Warwick), 280. Ruins 
Somerset, ib. Attempts 
to alter the succession, ib. 
His fall, 283. 

, Percy, earl of, conspires 

for the queen of Scots, 
306. Executed, 310. 

, Percy, earl of, sides 

with the commons, 3S9. 
Northumbria, kingdom of, 

28, 34. 
Norway, Maid of, 155. 
Norwegians in Scotland, 41. 
Nott, general, 718. 
Nottingham, royal standard, 

erected at, 394. 
castle, Isabella and Mor- 
timer seized at, 168. 
Burnt, 703. 

, earl of, chancellor, 

471. Secretary, 522, 550. 
Bill to prevent occa- 
sional conformity, 562. 
President of council, 567. 
Novel disseisin, assize of, 

150. 
Noy, attorney-general, 372. 
Nuncio, papal, received by 
James II., 506. 

o. 

Oak, royal, 433. 

Oates, Titus, history, 477. 
Pensioned, 480. Evidence 
against Stafford, 489. 
Fined and imprisoned, 496. 
Fined, whipped, and pil- 
loried, 500. Pensioned, 
527. 

Oaths, judicial, among the 
Anglo-Saxons, 75. 

, parliamentary, 721. 

O'Brien, Smith, rebellion, 
711. Transported, ib. 

O'Connell, Daniel, 698. Or- 
ganizes Catholic Associa- 
tion, ib. Returned for 
Clare, 700. Advocates re- 
peal of the Union, 703. 
Supports lord Melbourne, 
706. His "Tail," 709. Con- 
victed of sedition, ib. 
Death, 710. 

Octa, son of Hengest, 25. 

Odin (see AVoden) 

Odo, archbishop of Canter- 
bury, his brutality to 
Elgiva, 52. 

, bishop of Bayeux, 84. 

Conspires against Rufus, 
95. 

Offii, king of Mercia, 36. . 

Officers, council of, 449. Re« 



O'Hara. 

stores the Long Parlia- 
ment, ib. Expels it, 450. 

O'Hara, general, 644. 

Olaf of Norway, invades 
England, 54. 

Oldcastle, sir John (lord 
Cobham), heads the Lol- 
lards, 197. Executed, ib. 

" Olive Branch," the Ameri- 
can petition, 620. 

Oltenitza, battle of, 713. 

Omar Pasha, 713. 

O'Neale, sir Phelim, rebels, 
387. 

Onslow, speaker, his address 
to queen Elizabeth, 340. 

Opdam, Dutch admiral, 460. 

Orange, William I., prince 
of, founds the Dutch re- 
public, 311. Assassinated, 
316. 

, William II., 469 note. 

, William III., prince 

of, 469. Marries princess 
Mary, 473. Invitation to 
England, 509. Declara- 
tion, 511. Lands in Tor- 
bay, ib. Marches to 
London, 513. Summons a 
convention, 514. British 
crown settled on, 515 (see 
William III.). 

, prince of, 646. 

, prince of, at Quatre- 

Bras, 690. Wounded, 692. 

Orangemen, 656. 

Ordeals, 75. Abolished, 128. 

Ordovices, 9. 

Orford, earl of (Russell), 536 
(see Russell). 

(see Walpole). 

Orkney, countess of, 539. 

Orleans, besieged by English, 
202. Relieved by Joan 
of Arc, 203. 

, Maid of, 203 (see 

Joan of Arc). 

, duchess of, negociates 

treaty of Dover, 466. 

, duke of, regent, 572. 

Ormesby, justiciary of Scot- 
land, 160. 

Ormond, marquess of, lord- 
lieutenant of Ireland, 404. 
Delivers Dublin, etc., to 
parliament, 414, 429. 
Proceeds to France, 429. 
Successes and reverses in 
Ireland, £6. Leaves it, 
430. Conspires against 
Cromwell, 446. Created 
a duke, 454. Recalled 
from Ireland, 504. 

, duke of, attacks Vigo, 

550. Lord-lieu tenant of 
Ireland, 560. Commands 
in Flanders, 563. Im- 
peached and attainted, 568. 
Invades England, 570. 

Orthez, battle of, 687. 



INDEX. 

O'Ruarc, prince of Breffny, 
116. 

Osborne, sir Thomas, 471 
(see Danby). 

Osman Pasha, 733. 

Ostorius, 9 (see Scapula). 

Oswald, king of North umbria 
and Bretwalda, 34. Slain, 
ib. 

Oswy, king of Northumbria 
and Bretwalda, 34. 

Otho, king of Greece, 699. 

Otterbourne, battle, 187. 

Onde, annexation of, 719. 

Oudenarde, battle, 557. 

Overbury, sir Thomas, ad- 
vises Carr, 352. Poisoned, 
ib. 

Oxford, Provisions of, 145. 
Annulled, 147. Parlia- 
ment assembled at, 363. 
Occupied by Charles I., 
400. Parliament at, 404. 
Invested by Fairfax, 410. 
Parliament at, 461, 490. 
Its violence, 490. 

University, 47. Decree 

of, condemned by the 
peers, 560. 

Oxford, De Vere, earl of, 
treats with James II., 512. 

, Harley, earl of (see 

Harley), treasurer, 562. 
Dismissed, 565. Im- 
peached and committed, 
568. Interview with Or- 
mond, ib. 

P. 

Pack, alderman, 444. 

Paine, Thomas, 620, 642. 

Pale, English of the, join 
the Irish rebellion, 387. 

Palliser, sir Hugh, court- 
martial on, 624. 

Palmerston, lord, 679. Sec- 
retary at war, 699. Foreign 
secretary, 702. Premier, 
715. Resigns, 721. Second 
ministry, 722, 724. Death, 
724. 

Pampluna, taken, 685. 

Pandulf, papal envoy, 135. 

Papists, tire of London as- 
cribed to, 463. 

Paris, evacuated by the Eng- 
lish, 205. Peace of (1763), 
608. Entered by allies, 
688,692. Peace of (1782\ 
633, (1814), 693, (1856), 
717. Invested by the Ger- 
mans, 728. 

Parker, archbishop of Canter- 
bury, 293, 315. 

, bi>hop df Oxford, presi- 
dent of Magdalen ColUge, 
506. 

, sir Hyde, admiral, 629, 

658. 

■ , Richard, mutineer, 651. 



799 



Peers. 

Parliament, Anglo-Norman, 
126. When assembled, ib. 
Mad, 145. Leicester's, 148. 
Advance under Edward 
III., 182. Progress of, 226. 
Division into two houses, 
227. Long, 380. Act for 
triennial, 383. Subjected 
by army, 417. Proposals 
to the king, 419. Bump, 
422. Dismissed by Crom- 
well, 438. Barebone's, 439. 
Restored by the officers, 
450 Expelled, ib. Re- 
stored, 451. Renounces 
military authority, 455. 
Act for triennial, 533. 
Act for septennial, 571. 

, Scotcli, meets Edward 

I. at Norham, 156. 

, Irish, independence ac- 
knowledged, 630. 

Parma, duchess of, governs 
the Netherlands, 309. 

, duke of, commands the 

Spanish army of invasion, 
327, 328. 

Parr, Katharine, marries 
Henry VIII., 268, 270. 
Marries lord Seymour, 276. 

Parry, design to assassinate 
queen Elizabeih, 316. 

Parsons, Jesuit, 315. 

Parties, at outbreak of civil 
war, 397. 

Partition treaty (Spanish), 
first, 537. Second, 540. 
Disapproved by parliament, 
542. 

Pascal II., pope, 101. 

Passaro, action off, 574. 

Patrick, St., 115. 

Paul, czar, 657. Assassi- 
nated, 658. 

Paul's, St., 32. 

Paulinus, Suetonius, 9. 

, archbishop of York, 34. 

Pauw, pensionary, 436. 

Pavia, battle, 249. 

Pecquigny, treaty of, 218. 
Violated by Louis XL, 219. 

Peel, sir Robert, 695. Home 
secretary, 697. Resigns, 
698. Returns, 700. Intro- 
duces Catholic Relief Bill, 
ib. Resigns, 702. Short 
premiership, 706. Premier 
again, 709. Graduated 
corn-duties, ib. Income- 
tax,*. Repeals corn-laws, 
710. Resigns, 711. Death, 
ib. 

Peerage, original right of, by 
tenure, 226. By writ, ib. 
By letters patent, ib. 

Peers, house of, abolished, 
425. Restored bv Crom- 
well, 445. Resume their 
authority, 452. Creation 
of twelve new, 563. 



800 

P<_!agTus. 

1'elagius, heresy of, 15. 
Pelham, first lord of treasury, 

587. Negotiates with Pitt, 

588. Death, 597. 

1 Jlissier, general, 716. 
Peltier, convicted of libelling 

Bonaparte, 663. 
Pembroke, William, earl of, 
a founder of English 
liberty, 136. Protector, 1 40. 
Renews Magna Carta, 141. 

, Aymer de Valence, earl 

of, defeats Bruce, 162. Con- 
spires aga'nst Gaveston, 
163. 
- — , Jasper Tudor, earl of, 
201, 211. 

. ■, Herbert, earl of, sent to 

Netherlands, 289. 

Penda, king of Mercia, 34. 

Penderells, the, conceal 
Charles II., 433. 

P&ndragon, title, 30. 

Peninsular war, 674, 685. 

Penn, admiral, 436, 440. Con- 
quers Jamaica, 443. 

, William, 518. 

Pennsylvania, 518. 

Pepys, secretary, 518. 

Perceval, Spencer, chancellor 
of exchequer, 671. Pre- 
mier, 679. Assassinated, 
682. 

Percy, earl, defeats David 
Bruce, 175. 

, feuds with Douglas, 

187. Supports Wickliffe, 
190. Rebels, 193. 

Percy, Thomas, in the gun- 
powder plot, 348, 350. 

Perkins, sir William, exe- 
cuted, 536. 

Perrers, Alice, 181. 

Persecution under Mary,«287. 

Peter, bishop of Winchester, 
justiciary, 142. 

■ the Cruel, of Castile, 

restored by Black Prince, 
180. 

the Hermit, 96. 

II. of Portugal, joins 

the Grand Alliance, 551. 

Peterborough, earl of, ex- 
pedition to Spain, 554 (see 
Mordaunt). 

" Peterloo," 695. 

Peter's-pence, 37. 

Peters, Hugh, executed, 455. 

Petersburg, St., treaty of, 658. 

Petition, right of, 228. 

of Right, 367, 394. 

Pftre, lord, impeached, 480. 

Philadelphia, congress at, 
619. Taken, 622. 

Philibert, duke of Savoy, 
289. 

Philip II. of Prance, supports 
prince Richard, 119. Ac- 
companies him in crusade, 
121. Quits Palestine, 122. , 



INDEX. 

Invades Normandy, ib. 
Supports Arthur of Brit- 
tany, 132, 133. Condemns 
king John, ib. Regains 
Normandy, Anjou, etc., 
134. Prepares to invade 
England, 135. Cajoled by 
the pope, ib. Victory at 
Bouvines, 136. Assists 
the English barons, 139. 
Philip III., the Hardy, 154. 

IV., the Fair, 154. 

Cites Edward I. as his 
vassal, 157. 

VI., 170. Peace with 

Edward III., 171. 

Philip, archduke, detained by 

Henry VII., 238. 
Philip Il.of Spain.proposed to 
Mary, 285. Marriage, 2S6. 
Protects princess Elizabeth, 
287. Political views, 289. 
Proposes to marry Eliza- 
beth, 292. Foments a 
rebellion in Ireland, 312. 
Prepares to invade Eng- 
land, 325. Again, 332. 
Death, 333. 
V. of Spain, duke of An- 
jou, appointed to Spanish 
throne, 540, 553. Driven 
from Madrid, 554. Offer to 
relinquish Spain, 558. De- 
feated, ib. Hostile designs 
of, 573. Accedes to Quad- 
ruple Alliance, ib. 
Philiphaugh, battle, 412. 
Philippa, queen (166), inter- 
cedes for burghers of 
Calais, 175. 
Philippine islands, taken, 607. 
Phoenicians, trade for tin with 

Britain, 2. 
Pichegru, general, 646. 
Pickering, in popish plot, 

478. Executed, 482. 
Picton, general, 690. Killed, 

692. 
Picts, 12, 17. 
Picts' wall. 11. 
Piedmont, united to France, 

661. 
Pierre, Eustace de, 175. 
Pilgrim Fathers, the, 376. 
Pilgrimage of Grace, 262. 
Pilnitz, conference at, 643. 
Pinkie, battle, 275. 
Pitt, William, 583 (see 
Chatham, earl of). 
— , William, the younger, 
enters public life, 630. Ad- 
vocates parliamentary re- 
form, ib. Chancellor of ex- 
chequer, 031. Prime minis 
ter, 635. India bill, ib 
Financial reform, ib 
Commercial treaty with 
France, ib. Reform bill 
rejected, 636. Speech on 
impeachment of Hastings, 



Potteries. 

640. Assists the French 
loyalists, 648. Abandons 
parliamentary reform, 656. 
Advocates catholic eman- 
cipation, 657. Letter to 
George HI., ib. Resigns, 
ib. Premier again, 664. 
Popularity, ib. Death and 
public, funeral, 669. 

Pitt, lady Hester, created 
baroness Chatham, 607. 

Pius V., pope, excommuni- 
cates Elizabeth, 307. 

VII., pope, carried to 

Savona, 678. Restored, 
688. 

Placemen, their election to 
parliament regulated, 542. 

Plague, yellow, 35. Great, 
of London, 461. 

Plantagenet, etymology, 107. 
House of, ib. Period, cha- 
racteristics of, 225. 

Plassy, battle, 609. 

Plevna, siege of, 733. 

Plymouth, battle off, 436. 

Poitiers, battle, 177. 

Pole, de la, earl of Suffolk 
and chancellor, 186. 

, cardinal Reginald, at- 
tacks Henry VIII., 264. 
Abets a rebellion, 267. 
Legate, 286. Primate, 288. 
Death, 290. 

Police, new, 703. 

Poll-tax, under Richard II., 
184. 

Pollalore, battle, 639. 

Pollock, general, 718. 

Pompadour, madame de, 605. 

Pondicherry, taken, 606. Re- 
stored, 008. 

Ponsonby, general sir Wil- 
liam, killed, 692. 

Pont-a-chin, battle, 646. 

Pontefract castle, earl of Lan- 
caster executed at, 165. 

Poor-laws, 705, 745. 

Pope, exactions of the, 144. 

Popham, sir Home, expedi- 
tion to Ostend, 652. 

Popish plot, 477 sq. 

Population at the Revolution, 
740. At the last census, 
ib. 

Portland, battle off, 437. 

, earl of, 522. Negotiates 

peace of Rv^wick, 536. 

- — , duke u, G31. Premier, 

635, 671. Death, 679. 
Porto Bello, taken, 584. 

Novo, battle, 639. 

Portsmouth, duchess of, mis- 
tress of Charles II., 488. 

Portugal, alliance with, 457. 

Seized by French, 673. 
Post, established, 517. Re- 
formed, 740. 
Potato rot, 710. 
Potteries, 739, 



Poulet. 

Poulet, sir Amyas, 318. 
Powys, lord, impeached, 480. 
Poynings, governor of Ire- 
land, 235. His "Law," 
ib. note. 
I'rn munire, statute of, 191, 
252. Whole body of clergy 
guilty of, 256. 
Pragmatic Sanction, 585. 
Prague, battle, 356. Treaty 

of, 726. 
Pratt, chief justice, declares 
general warrants illegal, 
611. Made Lord Camden, 
613. Chancellor, 614. 
Preaching, regulated, 275. 

Silenced, 284, 292. 
Prendergast, betrays Bar- 
clay's conspiracy, 535. 
Presbyterians, 406. 
Preston Pans, battle, 591. 
Pretender (James), at- 
tempted invasion, 557. 
Issues a manifesto, 568. 
Invades Scotland, 570. 
Character, ib. Flight, 571. 
Expelled France, 572. 
Marries princess Sobieski, 
ib. Strange manifesto, 576. 
Appoints his son regent, 
587. Death, 596. 
— (Charles Edward), de- 
scent in Scotland, 589. 
Erects his standard, 590. 
Proclaims James VIII., ib. 
Defeats sir J. Cope, 591. 
Enters England, 592. Ad- 
vances to Manchester and 
Derby, ib. Retreats, ib. 
Defeated at Culloden, 593. 
Escapes to Morluix, 594. 
Expelled from France, 596. 
Subsequent life, ib. 
Pride, colonel, 422. Petition 
against office of king, 445. 
Priestley, Dr., 642. 
Primer Seisin, 128. 
Primiceriw, title of, 70. 
Prince Edward's Island, 

taken, 601. 
Printing, introduction of, 

219, 226. 
Privy council, remodelled, 

484. 
Proclamation, king's, nade 
law, 265. Penal laws sus- 
pended by, 468. 
Prophesyings, 315. 
" Protectionists," 710. 
Protector, title of, 201. 
Protectorate, Cromwell's, es- 
tablished, 439. 
I'rovisions, papal, 191. 
Provisors, statute of, 183, 

256. 
Prussia, subsidized, 645. Ac- 
cdes to armed neutrality, 
658. Seizes Hanover, ib. 
Conquered by the French, 
670. Joins coalition 



INDEX, 

against France, 686. An- 
nexes Schleswig, 724. 
Alliance with J taly against 
Austria, 726. Annexations 
in Germany, ib. War 
with France, 727, 728. 

Prynne, pilloried and fined, 
373. 

Pulteney, secretary at war, 
567. Earl of Bath, 585. 
Supports inquiry about 
Walpole, ib. 

Punishments, Anglo-Saxon, 
74. 

Purchase in the army, abo- 
lished, 729. 

Puritans, rise of the, 307. 
Favoured by Cecil, Leices- 
ter, and others, 308. Dif- 
ferent kinds of, 375. Emi- 
grate to America, 376. 

Pym, carries up Strafford's 
impeachment, 380. Cha- 
racter, 381. Accused of 
treason, 390. Death, 404. 

Pyrenees, battle* of the, 686. 

Q. 

Quakers, origin, 518. 

Quatre Bras, battle, 690. 

Quebec, taken, 603. 

Quentin, St., battle, 289. 

Querouaille, 497 (see Ports- 
mouth, duchess of). 

Quiberon, battle off, 602. 
Expedition to, 648. 

Quo vjarranto, writ of, 492. 

B. 

" Radicals," 695. 

Raglan, lord, commands ex- 
pedition against Russia, 
714. Death, 716. 

Railways, 701, 739. 

Raleigh, sir Walter, founds 
Virginia, 317. Imprisoned, 
332. Expedition to Gui- 
ana, ib. Plot against 
James I., 347. Reprieved, 
ib. Second expedition to 
Guiana, 354. Execution, 
355. 

Ramillies, battle, 554. 

Ransom, feudal, 128, 137. 

Rapes, Saxon, 26. 

Rapparees, 529. 

Rastadt, congress of, 653. 

Ratcliffe, sir Richard, 220. 

Ravaillac. assassinates Henry 
IV., 351. 

Read, alderman, enrolled as a 
soldier, 339. 

Reading, taken by Essex, 400. 

Recognitors, 118, 150. 

Recusants, act against, 331. 
Compositions with, 372. 

Redwald, king of East 
Angles, and firetwalda, 33. 

Reform, parliamentary, ad- 



801 

Richmond. 

vocated by lord Chatham 
and William Pitt, 630. 
Partial, effected, ib. Pitt's 
bill for, lost, 635. Be- 
comes a national question, 
693. Lord John Russell's 
bill, 702. Riots respecting, 
703. Carried, ib. Provi- 
sions of, ib. Second act, 
726. 
Reformation, progress, 247, 
269, 274. Opposed by Gar- 
diner, 275. Scotch, ib. 
Images, etc., abolished,276. 
Discontent at, ib. Op- 
posed by Mary, 284. For- 
warded by Elizabeth, 292. 
In Scotland, 294. In 
France, 297. Finally es- 
tablished in England, 298. 
Review of, 341. 
Regalia, Scotch, carried to 

London, 435. 
Reged, kingdom, 30. 
Regency, the, 681. 
Regicides, fate oft 454, 455. 
Reginald, elected to see of 

Canterbury, 134. 
Reliefs, 128, 137. 
Remonstrance, grand, 388. 
Representation, parliamen- 
tary, 227. 
Restitutus, bishop, 15. 
Revenue, Anglo-Norman, 
128. Under James II., 517. 
" Rex Anglorum," title as- 
sumed by Edward the 
Elder, 49, 70. 
Rhine, confederation of the, 

666. 
Pubaumont, vanquished by 

Edward HI., 176. 
Rich, lord, Cromwell's son- 
in-law, 445. 
Richard I., " Sans Peur," of 
Normandy, 80. 

II. of Normandy, 81. 

RiCHAED I., rebels against 
his father, 117, 119. 
Reign of, 120-124. 

II., reign of, 183-191. 

HI., reign of, 222-224. 

, son of the Conqueror, 

death, 92. 

, earl of Cornwall, king 

of the Romans, 144, 147. 
Richborough, 15. 
Richelieu, cardinal, besieges 
Rochelle, 366. Assists the 
Covenanters, 377. 
Richmond, Edmund Tudor, 
earl of, 201. 

, Henry, earl of, descent, 

222. Engages to marry 
Elizabeth of York, ib. 
Lands at Milford Haven, 
224. Defeats Richard lit. 
at Bosworth, ib. Saluted 
king, 230 (see He^te* 
VIL). 



802 

Richmond. 

Richmond, duke of, son of 
Charles II., 497 vote. 

, duke of, moves address 

for peace with America, 
623. 

Ridley, bishop of London, 284. 
Burnt, 287. 

Rights, Declaration of, 515. 
Bill of, 527, 544. 

Rikenild Street, 13 {see 
Ikenild). 

Rinuceini, papal nuncio in 
Ireland, 429. 

Riot, on burning of the 
North Briton, 610. 

(see Gordon). 

Ripon, treaty of, 380. 

, earl of (see Goderich). 

Rivers, earl, tutor of Edward 
V., 219. Imprisoned by 
Gloucester, ib. Killed, 220. 

Rizzio, David, 299. Mur- 
dered, 300. 

Roads, 517, 739. 

Robert the Devil, 81. 

, son of William the Con- 
queror, rebels, 90. Obtains 
Normandy and Maine, 92. 
Agreement with Rufus, 
95. Subdues Malcolm, 96. 
Mortgages his dominions, 
ib. Invades England, 99. 
Treaty with Henry I., ib. 
Captured by him, 100. 
Dies at Cardiff castle, ib. 

, earl of Gloucester, re- 
volts from Stephen, 104. 
Invades England, ib. Cap- 
tures Stephen, 105. Cap- 
tured, ib. Exchanged, ib. 

Robert III. of Scotland, his 
misfortunes, 195. 

Robespierre, executed, 646. 

Robinson, sir Thomas, sec- 
retary, 597. 

, Mr. (see Goderich). 

Rochelle, Buckingham's ex- 
pedition to, 366. Sur- 
rendered, 369. 

Roches, Peter des, bishop of 
Winchester, 142. 

Rochester, bishopric founded, 
33. 

castle, besieged by king 

John, 139. 

Rochester, earl of (Hyde), 
492. Treasurer, 500. Dis- 
missed, 504. L'ord-lieu- 
tenant of Ireland, 540. Pre- 
sident of council, 560. 

Rochfort, viscount, brother 
of Anne Boleyn, 261. 

, viscountess, accuses 

Anne Boleyn, 261. Exe- 
cuted, 267. 

Rockingham, marquess of, 
prime minister, 613. Again, 
629. Death, 631. 

Roderick O'Connor, king of 
Connaught, 116, 117. 



INDEX. 

Rodney, admiral, bombards 
Havre, 601. Takes Mar- 
tinico, 607. Victory at 
Cape St. Vincent, 627. 
Takes St. Eustatius, 629. 
Defeats De Grasse, 631. 
Made a baron, ib. 

Roger, archbishop of York, 
crowns prince Henry, 113. 

, earl of Hereford, 88, 89. 

Rogers, prebendary, burnt, 
287. 

Rokeby, sir T., defeats 
Northumberland, 194. 

Rolica, battle, 675. 

Rollo, or Rolf the Ganger, 
obtains Neustria, 80. 

Romans, abandon Britain, 
13. Civilization under the, 
ib. 

Rome, sacked by Bourbon's 
troops, 250. Evacuated by 
the French, 723. 

Rom-feoh, or Rome-scot, 37 
(see Peter's-pence). 

Romilly, sir Samuel, 743. 

Rooke, admiral sir G., 533. 
Attacks Vigo, 550. Takes 
Gibraltar, 554. 

Rosen, marshal de, besieges 
Londonderry, 526. 

Roses, symbols of York and 
Lancaster, 210. Wars of, 
212. 

Rosetta Stone, 660 note. 

Ross, general, 689. Killed, ib. 

Rouen, peace of, 81. Prince 
Arthur murdered at, 133. 
Surrendered to Philip, 134. 
Taken by Henry V., 199. 
Joan of Arc burnt at, 205. 

Roumania, 736. 

Roumelia, Eastern, 736. 

Roundheads, 389. 

Rouse, speaker, 439. 

Rowena, 24. 

Roxburgh, ceded to England, 
118. Sold by Richard I., 
121. 

Royal George, sinks. 631. 

Royal Society, founded, 519. 

Ruim (Thanet), 38. 

Rumbold, engaged in Rye- 
house plot, 494. 

Rumsey, colonel, betrays 
Monmouth's conspiracy, 
494. 

Runnymede, Magna Carta 
signed at, 137. 

Rupert, prince, cavalry battle 
nearWorcester,399. Takes 
Bristol, 401. Defeated at 
Marston Moor, 405. Sur- 
renders Bristol, 412. Dis- 
missed, ib. Chased by 
Blake, 434. Commands an 
English fleet, 462. High 
admiral, 470. 

Russell, lord, quells insur- 
rection in Devonshire, 277. 



Salisbury. 

Russell, William, lord, con- 
spires against duke of 
York, 493. Projects an 
insurrection, ib. Trial and 
execution, 494. Attainder 
reversed, 527. 

, lady, pleads for her 

husband, 494. 

, admiral, a Jacobite, 

531. Queen Mary's letter 
to, 532. Defeats the 
French fleet at La Hogue, 
ib. Earl of Orford, 542 
(see Orford). 

, lord John, carries 

repeal of Test and Corpora- 
tion Acts, 699. Introduces 
Parliamentary Reform 
Bill, 702. Its provisions, 
703. Declares against the 
corn-laws, 710. Premier, 
711. Foreign secretary, 
722. Earl Russell (1861). 
Premier again, death, 725. 

Russia, subsidiary treaties 
with, 598, 645. League 
with, 666, 685. Attacks 
the Turkish dominions, 
713. War with, ib., 132 sq. 
Designs against Turkey, 
732. War, 733. Relations 
with England, 735. 

Ruth, St , 529. Killed, ib. 

Ruthven, lord, murders 
Rizzio, 300. 

, earl of Brentford, 406. 

Rutland, earl of, betrays a 
plot against Henry IV., 193. 

, earl of, killed, 211. 

, duke of, privy seal, 

635. 

Rutupia?, 14. 

Ruyter, de, admiral, 436. 
Defeated by Albemarle, 
462. Sails up the Thames, 
464. 

Ryder, sir Dudley, 599. 

, hon. R., home secre- 
tary, 679. 

Rye-house plot, 494. 

Ryswick, treaty of, 536. 

s. 

Sacheverell, Dr., sermon, 559. 
Impeached, 560. Sus- 
pended, ib. Journey to 
Wales, 561. 

Sackville, lord George, 
misbehaviour at Minden, 
602. Dismissed, ib. 

Sadler, sir Ralph, 304. 

Sadowa, battle, 726. 

Saintes, Gamier des, de- 
nounces Pitt, 645. 

Saladin, takes Jerusalem, 119. 
Richard's truce with, 122. 

Salamanca, French barbarity 
at, 683. Battle of, ib. 

Sale, general, 718. 

Salisbury, earl of, attacks 



Salisbury. 

the French harbours, 135. 
Defeats Louis VIII., 142. 

Salisbury, Nevil, earl of, be- 
headed, 211. 

, countess of, attainted, 

264. Executed, 267. 

, earl of (see Cecil). 

, marquis of, 730. 

Foreign secretary, 735. 

San Roque, lines of, 582. 

Sancroft, archbishop of Can- 
terbury, 507. A nonjuror, 
524. Deprived, 529. 

Sandwich, lord, ridiculed by 
Wilkes, 611. 

Sandys, chancellor of the ex- 
chequer, 585. 

Saragossa, battle, 558. 

Saratoga, convention of, 622. 

Sardinia, sends an army to 
the Crimea, 716. 

Sarsfield, 529. 

Sautre, William, burnt, 193. 

Savage, John, sent over to 
assassinate queen Eliza- 
beth, 317. 

Saville, sir George, 625. 

Savoy, conference in the, 456. 

Savoy, duke of, joins Grand 
Alliance, 551. Invades 
France, 557. 

Saxe, marshal, 588. 

Saxon pirates, 11. 

Saxons, called in by the 
Britons, 13. Tribes, 21. 
Religion, 22. Ships, 23. 
Arms, ib. First settle- 
ment, 24. Conquest, 25. 
Historical value of, ib. 
note. Second settlement, 
26. Third settlement, ib. 
Fourth and fifth settle- 
ments, 27. Sixth settle- 
ment, 28. Kingdoms united 
by Egbert, 38. Saxons 
amalgamate with Nor- 
mans, 132 and note. 

Say, lord, privy seal, 454. 

Saye and Sele, lord, refuses 
to pay the ship-money, 375. 

Scandinavians, 41 [see North- 
men, Danes). 

Scapula, Ostorius, 9. 

Scarsdale, earl of, 531. 

Schism Act, 562, 574. 

Schlesvvig, ceded to Prussia, 
724, 726. 

Schomberg, marshal, 523. 
Lands in Ireland, 526. 
Killed, 528. 

Schonbrunn, peace of, 678. 

Schwartz, Martin, 232. 

Scindiah, 717. 

k'cir-gemot (shire-mote), 73. 

gerefa (sheriff), 73. 

Scone, Charles II. crowned 
at, 432. 

Scotia (Ireland), 12. 

Scotland, claims to crown of, 
155. First alliance with 



INDEX. 

France, 157. Overrun by 
Edward I., 158. Again, 
160. Delivered by Bruce, 
164. Truce with, 165. 
Part of, ceded to Edward 
III., 170. Reduced under 
the Commonwealth, 435. 
Royal authority restored 
in, 455. William III. ac- 
knowledged in, 525. Par- 
liament rejects bill for 
Hanoverian succession, 
555 sq. Effect in England, 
556. Union with, 555, 556. 

Scots, 12, 17. Defeated by 
Edward I. at Falkirk, 160. 
Invade England, 167. 
Treaty with the, 168. De- 
feated at Halidon Hill, 
170. Assist the dauphin 
(Charles VII.), 200. 
Routed at Solway, 268. 
Impose conditions on 
Charles I., 414. Deliver 
him up, ib. Displeased 
with English parliament, 
420. Protest against the 
king's trial, 424. Proclaim 
Charles II., 428. 

Scott, sir John, 657 (see 
Eldon). 

Scroggs, chief justice, 485, 
489. 

Scrope, archbishop of York, 
rebellion and execution, 
194. 

, lord, executed, 198. 

Scutage (escuage), 128, 137. 

Sebastian, San, taken, 687. 

Sebastiani. marshal, 672, 677. 

Sebert, king of Essex, 32. 

Secret-service money, 585. 
Limited, 630. 

Security, Act of (Scotch), 
555. 

Sedan, battle, 727. 

Sedgemoor, battle, 501. 

Segontiaci, 7. 

Selby, battle, 405. 

Selden, 363. 

Select men, at Boston, 620. 

Self-denying ordinance, 408. 

Senlac (field of Hastings), 82. 

Septennial Act, 571. 

Serfs, 72. 

Sergeantry, grand 126. 

Seringapatam, taken, 717. 

Servian war, 732, 736. 

Settlement, Act of, 541. 

Sevastopol, invested, 713. 
Taken, 716. 

Seven Years' War, 600, 608. 

Severus, overruns Caledonia, 
11. Dies at York, ib. 

Seville, treaty of, 582. 

Sevmour, Jane, third wife of 
Henry VII I., 261, 262. 
Death, 265. 

, Edward (see Somerset). 

, admiral lord, 275. Mar- 



803 

Siegirid. 

ries the queen dowager, 276. 
Executed, ib. 

Seymour, Mr., impeaches 
lord Clarendon, 464. 

, sir Edward, supports 

the prince of Orange, 511. 

Shaftesbury, earl of, dis- 
missed, 471. Abets the 
duke of Monmouth, 483. 
President of the council, 
484. Advises the Exclu- 
sion Bill, ib. Dismissed, 
486. Indicts the duke of 
York, 487. Indicted for 
treason, 491. Conspires 
against the duke, 493. 
Retirement and death, ib. 

Shah Alum, 637. 

Shannon, frigate, takes the 
Chesapeake, 689. 

Sharpe, archbishop of St. 
Andrews, 457. Murdered, 
486. 

, Granville, 671. 

, Dr., sermon, 504, 505. 

Shaw, Dr., sermon at Paul's 
Cross, 221. 

Sheerness, destroyed by the 
Dutch, 464. 

Shelburne, earl of, secretary, 
614, 629. Prime minister, 
631. Resigns, 635. 

Sheldon, bishop, 458. 

Shepherd, betrays ' Mon- 
mouth's plot, 494. 

Shere Ali, 737. 

Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 
630, 631, 641. 

Sheriffmuir, battle, 569. 

Ship-money, 366, 374. Op- 
posed by Hampden, 375. 

Ships, Saxon 23. 

Shires, or counties, 73. 

Shore, Jane, penance, 221. 

, sir John, governor- 
general of India, 717. 

Shovel, sir Cloudesley, 554. 
Blockades Toulon, 557. 
Lost at sea, ib. 

Shrewsbury, battle, 194. 

Shrewsbury, earl of, super- 
intends the execution of 
queen Mary, 322. 

, earl of, secretary, 

522. 

, duke of, lord chamber- 
lain, 560. Defeats Boling- 
broke's schemes, 565. 
Treasurer,*. Resigns, 567. 

Sidmouth, lord (see Adding- 
ton). President of council, 
665. Retires, 697. 

Sidney, sir Philip, 317, 516. 

, Algernon, joins Mon- 
mouth's conspiracy, 493. 
Apprehended, 494. His- 
tory, 495. Execution, ib. 
Attainder reversed, 527. 

Sidonius, bishop, 23. 

Sicgfrid, tin- pirate, 46. 



804 

Silures. 

Silures, 9. 

Simnel, Lambert, personates 
the young earl of War- 
wick, 232, 233. 

Simon, Richard, incites the 
pretender Simnel, 231, 232. 

Simpson, general, 716. 

Sinope, 713. 

Si ward, earl of Northumber- 
land, 63, 64. 

Six Articles, law of, 265. Re- 
pealed, 275. 

Slave-trade, abolished, 671. 

Slavery, abolished, 705. 

Sledda, 27. 

Slingsby, sir H., beheaded, 
446. 

Sluys, battle, 171. 

Smeton, 261. 

Smith, sir Sydney, at Toulon, 
645. Defence of Acre, 654. 

Smyrna fleet, attacked, 532. 

Sobraon, battle, 719. 

Societies, religious, 743. 

Society, Royal, 519. For the 
Diffusion of Useful Know- 
ledge, 743. 

Socmanni (socmen), 72, 129. 

Solebay, battle, 460. 

Somers, lord, 542, 549, 559. 

Somerset, duke of, minister 
of Henry VI., 209. 

, duke of, protector 

(see Hertford). Overturns 
Henry VIII.'s will, 274. 
Invades Scotland, 275. 
Ambition and unpopu- 
larity, 278. Executed, 
280. 

, earl and countess of, 

sentenced for poisoning 
Overbury, 352. Pardoned, 
353 (see Carr). 

Somerset House, built, 278. 

Sophia, electress of Hanover, 
541. Succession to the 
British crown established, 
556. Death, 565. 

Dorothea of Zell, consort 

of George I., 578. 

Soult, marshal, 675 sq., 679- 
683, 685, 686. 

South Sea Company, 574. 
Collapse of, 575. 

South Saxons (Sussex), 26. 

Southampton, earl of 
(Wriothesley), removed 
by Somerset, 274. Helps 
to overthrow him, 278. 

, earl of, engaged in 

Essex's conspiracy, 336, 
337. 

, earl of, ambassador to 

the parliament, 398. 

, earl of, high treasurer, 

454. 
Southwold Bay, battle in, 468. 
Spa-fields riots, C94. 
Spain, seized by Bonaparte, 
674. 



INDEX. 

Spanish succession, 537. 
War of, 543, 553, 556. 

Speaker, how elected, 483. 

Spensers, favourites of 
Edward II., 164. Exe- 
cuted, 166. 

Spinola, invades the palati- 
nate, 356. 

Spinster, etymology of, 76. 

Stafford, lord, impeached, 
480. Execution, 489 sq. 

Stair, earl of, 586. 

Stamford Bridge, battle, 67. 

Stamp Act (North Ameri- 
can), 611. How received 
in America, 612. Repealed, 
614. 

Standard, battle of the, or 
Northallerton, 104. 

Stanhope, general, expedition 
to Spain, 558. Secretary, 
567, 572. First lord of 
treasury, 573. Made vis- 
count and earl, ib. Con- 
cludes Quadruple Alliance, 
ib. Death, 576. 

, earl, chairman of Revo- 
lution Society, 642. 

Stanley, lord, declares for 
Richmond, 224. 

, sir William, services at 

Bosworth, 224, 230. Exe- 
cuted for treason, 235. 

, lord (see Derby). 

Star Chamber, 239, 341. Ac- 
count of, 342, 373. Abo- 
lished, 386. 

Starenberg, count, 558. 

Steam engines, 739. 

vessels, increase of, 

740. 

Stefano, San, preliminary 
treaty, 734. 

Steinkirk, battle, 532. 

Stephen, king, reign of, 103- 
106. 

Stewart, colonel, 628. 

Stigand, Saxon archbishop 
of Canterbury, 82, 84. De- 
graded, 87. 

Stilicho, 12. 

Stirling, taken by Monk, 435. 
Besieged by Pretender, 593. 

Stoke, battle, 232. 

Stolberg, Louisa of, marries 
the Pretender, 596. 

Stonehenge, 4, 24. 

Storm, great, 552. 

Strachan, admiral sir Richard, 
669, 678. 

Strafford, earl of (Went- 
worth), chief minister of 
Charlesl.,372. Impeached, 
380. Trial, 383. Attainted, 
384. Executed, ib. 
Strahan, defeats Montrose 

435. 
Strathclyde, kingdom, 30. 
Straw, Jack, 184. 
Strode, accused of treason, 390 



Swift. 

Strongbow, 116 (see Clare). 

Stuart, Arabella, plot in her 
favour, 347. 

dynasty, review of, 516. 

, sir John, invades Italy, 

670. 

Sub-infeudation, 124. 

Succession, lineal, when esta- 
blished, 106. Regal, ques- 
tion respecting, 156, 338. 

Suetonius, 9 (see Paulinus). 

Suez Canal, 732. 

Suffolk, de la Pole, earl of, 
besieges Orleans, 202. Ne- 
gotiates Henry VI.'s mar- 
riage, 206. Made a duke, 

207. Accused of treason, 

208. Murdered, ib. 

, Edmund de la Pole, 

earl of, surrendered to 
Henry VII., 238. Death, 
ib. note. 

, Charles Brandon, duke 

of, marries Mary Tudor, 
dowager queen of France, 
244. 

, house of, appointed to 

succeed by Henry VIII.'s 
will, 346. 

, Henry Grey, marquess 

of Dorset, made duke of, 
280. Declares for queen 
Mary, 283. Rebels, 285. 
Executed, 286. 

Sunderland, Robert Spencer, 
earl of, secretary, 484. Ad- 
vocates the Exclusion Bill, 
488. Re-enters the min- 
istry, 492, 500. Turns 
Roman catholic, 504. Cor- 
responds with prince of 
Orange, 509. Corresponds 
with James, 533. 

, Charles Spencer, earl of, 

son-in-law of Marlborough, 
560. Lord-lieutenant of 
Ireland, 567. Secretary, 
573. Death, 576. 

Supremacy, Act of, 293. 

Surajah Dowlah, 609, 638. 

Surinam, conquered, 654. 

Surrey, earl of, minister of 
Henry VIII., 241. Defeals 
the Scots at Flodden, 243. 
Lands at Calais, 247. De- 
feats Albany, ib. (see Nor- 
folk, duke of). 

, earl of (son of Norfolk), 

executed, 271. 

Suspending power, 458 note. 

Sussex, earl of, 304. 

Suwarov, 654. 

Sweyn of Denmark;, 54, 55. 

, son of Canute, 60. 

, son of Godwin, 62, 63. 

, king of Denmark, takes 

partagainst the Conqueror, 
86.. 

Swift, attacks Wood's half- 
pence, 577. 



Sydenham. 

Sydenham, proposes Crom- 
well's protectorate, 439. 
Sydney, lord, secretary, 635. 



Tacitus, account of Britons, 3. 
Taillefer, count of Angou- 

lenie, 133 sq. 
Talavera, battle, 677. 
Talbot, slain, 207. 
"Talents," party so called, 

665. In office, 669. 
Tallages, 128. 
Tallard, marshal, 553. 
Talleyrand, 664. 
Talmasb, general, slain, 533. 
Tangier, dowry of Catharine 

of Braganza, 457. 
Tasciovanus, 8. 
Taxes collected by archbishop 

of Canterbury, 171. 
Taylor, parson, burnt, 287. 
Tea, introduction of, 519. 

Duties, American, 617. 

Ships, how treated in 

America, 618. 
Teignmouth, burnt by the 

French, 528. 
Temple, sir William, forms 

the Triple Alliance, 466. 

Recalled, 468. Plans a 

new privy council, 484. 
Tenants in capite, 125. 

Number of, ib. 
Tencin, cardinal, 587. 
Tenison, archbishop of Can- 
terbury, 533. 
Tenures, Anglo-Saxon, 72. 

Per baroniam, 126. 
Test Act, 470, 473. 

, parliamentary, 474, 480. 

and Coi-poration Acts 

repealed, 699. 
Tewkesbury, battle, 217. 
Thanes, 71. 
Thanet, Isle of, 24, 38. 
Thelwall, prosecution of, 647. 
Theobald, archbishop of Can- 
terbury, 109. 
Theodosius, general, 12. 

I., emperor, 12. 

Theotwin, legate, 115. 
Tlieowas (serfs), 72. 
Thiers, M., 728. 
Thistlewood, plot, 696. 
Thomas, archbishop of Can- 
terbury, impeached by 

the commons, 187. 
, St., of Canterbury 

(Becket), shrine pillaged, 

263. 
Thor, 23. 
Throgmorton, sir Nicholas, 

ambassador to Scotland, 

302. 
Thurlow, lord chancellor, 

624, 629, 635. 
Tiberius, 7. 

Ticonderoga, taken, 602. 
36 



INDEX. 

Tien-manna tale, 74. 

Tilbury, Elizabeth at, 327. 

Tillotson, archbishop of Can- 
terbury, 529. Death, 533. 

Tilsit, peace of, 672. 

Tinchebray, battle, 100. 

Tin-trade, British, 2. 

Tippoo, 639. Slain, 717. 

Titchfield, Charles I. at, 419. 

Tithe Commutation Act, 706. 

Tithes in England, 42. 

Toleration Act, 524. 

Tollendal, Lally, 610. 

Tomkinson, colonel, 454. 

Tone, Theobald AVolfe, 655. 

Tonge, Dr., 478, 488. 

Tonnage and poundage, what, 
348 and note. How 
granted, 370. Levied 
without consent of parlia- 
ment, 372. 

Tonstal, bishop, 284. 

Tories, name, 487. Support 
■William III., 530. Pre- 
dominance under Anne, 
561 sq. Adopt name of 
Conservatives, 705. 

Torres Vedras, lines of, 680. 

Torrington, earl of (Herbert), 
conduct at Beachy Head, 
528. 

Tosti, son of Godwin, 63, 64, 
66, 67. 

Toulon, siege of, 557. Oc- 
cupied by English and 
Spanish, 644. 

Toulouse, battle of, 687. 

Tourville, 528, 532, 533. 

Towns, Roman, in Britain, 
18. 

Townshend, lord, secretary, 
567. Dismissed, 572. Lord- 
lieutenant of Ireland, ib. 
Dismissed, 573. President 
of the council, 574. Sec- 
retary, 576. Resigns, 582. 

, Charles, chancellor of 

exchequer, 615. American 
taxes, ib. Death, ib. 

, Thomas, secretary, 631. 

Towton, battle, 214. 

Tracy, AVilliam de, 113. 

Trade, 722. Free, 740. 

Trafalgar, battle, 668. 

Transtamare, Henry of, 180. 

Treason, high, law of, 186, 
284. Amended, 534. 

Treasurer, lord high, office 
extinguished, 567. 

Tredings (ridings), 73. 

Trelawney, bishop of Bristol, 
507. 

Tresham, Francis, joins gun- 
powder plot, 349, 350. 

Trevor, sir John, speaker, 
expelled the house, 534. 

Triennial Act, first, 383. 
Repealed, 459. Second, 533. 
Repealed, 571. 

Trimmers, party of, 492. 



805 

Urban. 

Trinity College, Cambridge, 
founded, 272. 

Trinobantes, 6. 

Trinoda necessitas, what, 73. 

Tromp, admiral, combats 
with Blake, 436, 437. His 
bravado, 436. Killed, 440. 

Trotter, Mr., 665. 

Troubadours, 124. 

Trowbridge, captain, 650. 

Troyes, treaty of, 200. 

Tudor, sir Owen, 201. Be- 
headed, 211. 

, house of, 225. Period, 

review of, 338. 

Tuisco, 22. 

Tunis, dey of, chastised by 
Blake, 443. 

Turcoing, battle, 646. 

Turkey, war with Russia, 
672. Expedition against, 
ib. War of Greek inde- 
pendence, 699. War with 
Russia, ib. Again, 713. 
Treaties for securing its 
independence, 717. Mis- 
government in, 732. War 
with Russia, ib. sq. 

Turks, take Constantinople, 
230. 

Turner, bishop of Ely, 507. 

Turnpikes, 517. 

Tyler, Wat, 184. Slain by 
Walworth, 185. 

Tyndale's New Testament, 
259. 

Tyrconnel, earl of (Talbot), 
violence in Ireland, 504, 
525. Supports James II., 
525. 

Tyrone, earl of, rebellion, 333. 
Surrenders, 337. 

Tyrrel, shoots Rufus, 97. 

, sir James, murders 

Edward V. and duke of 
York, 221. 

Tythiugs, 74. 

U. 

Uffa, king of East Anglia, 28. 

Uffingas, 28. 

Ulster, kingdom of, 116. 
Planted, 351. 

Uniformity, Acts of, 276, 
293, 456, 474. 

Union, Scotch, 554. Articles 
of, 555. Carried in Scot- 
land, 556. Act of, ib. 

, Irish, 655, 656. 

United Irishmen, 655. 

States of America, 

independence recognized, 
633. Pass non-intercourse 
act, 684. Declare war, ib. 

Universities, European, con- 
sulted on Henry VIII. 's 
divorce, 253. 

University bill, Irish, 730. 

of London, 743. 

Urban VI., pope, 97. 



806 

Urban. 

Urban VIII., pope, obstructs 
the Spanisli match, 359. 

Ushant, action off, 624. 

Utrecht, conference at, 
opened, 562. Peace of, 
563. 

Uvedale, sir William, 398. 

Uxbridge, conference at, 408. 

V. 

Valenciennes, taken, 644. 

Valentia, 12. 

Valentine.'holds the speaker 
in the chair, 370. 

Valentinian I., 12. 

Van Paris, burnt, 276. 

Vane, sir H., character, 381. 
Negotiates the Solemn 
League, 403. An indepen- 
dent, 407. Commissioner 
for Scotland, 435. Ex- 
cepted from indemnity, 
454. Trial, 457. Execu- 
tion, ib. 

Vansittart, Mr., administra- 
tion of India, 636. 

, Mr., chancellor of the 

exchequer, 682. 

Varangians, 87. 

Vassalage, Scotch, 96, 118. 
Sold by Richard I., 121. 

Vassals, condition of, 125. 

Vaudois, the, supported by 
Cromwell, 447. 

Venables, admiral, 443. 

Vendome, marshal, 558. 

Verdun, English detained at, 
664. 

Vere, earl of Oxford, governs 
Richard II., 186. 

, sir Horace, defends the 

palatinate, 356. 

Vernon, admiral, takes Porto 
Bello, 584. 

Versailles, treaty, 600. Peace 
of, 633. Unpopular, 635. 
Peace of, with Prussia, 728. 

Vcrulamium, taken by 
Ca;sar, 7. 

Vespasian, subdues the Isle 
ot Wight, 8. 

V icar-geiieraI,Thomas Crom- 
well appointed, 261. 

Vic-tor, marshal, 677, 681. 

Emmanuel II., 722. 

Victoria, reign of, 707 sq. 
Assumes the title of em- 
press of India, 732. 

Vidomar of Limoges, 123. 

Vienna, treaty of, 577. 
Entered by Napoleon, 666. 
Congress of, 689, 693. 

Vienne, John de, 175. 

Vigo, taken, 329. 

Vikings, 41. Flag, ib. 

Mile, de Paris, the, taken, 
631. 

Villeins, protected by Magna 
Carta, 138. 



INDEX. 



Villenage, Anglo-Norman, 
129. Extinguished, 225. 

Villeneuve, admiral, 667. 

Villeroi, marshal, 535, 553. 
Defeated at Ramillies, 554. 

Villiers, Barbara, 497 note. 

, George, 353 (see Buck- 
ingham). 

Vimiera, battle, 675. 

Vincent, Cape St., battles off. 
627, 650. 

, earlSt.,650(seeJervis). 

Vinegar Hill, battle, 656. 

Virginia, colony, 316, 354. 

Virius Lupus, 11. 

Viscount, title of, 227. 

Visitors, ecclesiastical, 275. 

Vittoria, battle of, 685. 

Vortigern, 13, 24. 

Vortimer, 24. 

w. 

Wade, marshal, 592. 

Wagram, battle, 678. 

Wakefield, battles, 211, 402. 

Wakeman, sir George, 478. 
Trial, 485. 

Walcheren expedition, 678. 

Wales, conquered, 153. 
United with England, 261. 

Wales, prince of, title, 154. 

, dowager princess, ap. 

pointed regent, 597. 

Walker, a clergyman, de- 
fends Londonderry, 526. 
Killed at the Boyne, 528. 

Wall, Roman, 16. 

Wallace, William, 160, 161. 

Waller, Edmund, the poet, 
conspiracy, 401. 

, sir William, parlia- 
mentary general, 400, 401, 
406, 408. Conspires 
against Cromwell, 446. 

Walpole, sir Robert, 559. 
Expelled the commons, 
563. Restored, 568. Pay- 
master-general, 567. Re- 
signs, 573. Paymaster 
again, 574. Chancellor of 
exchequer, and first lord 
of thetreasury, 576. System 
of corruption, 577. Re- 
ceives the Garter, ib. 
Reappointed by George 
II., 581. Administration, 
582, 583. Resigns, 585. 
Made earl of Orford, ib. 

, Horace, Historic 

Doubts, 221 note, 585 note. 

Walsch (Welsh), 30. 

Walsingham, secretary, 318, 
324. 

Walters, Lucy, 483. 

Waltham Abbey, 69. 

Waltheof, earl, 84, 86, 89. 

Walworth, lord mayor, slays 
Wat Tyler, 185. 

Wandewash, battle, 610. 



"Wellesley. 

Wantsumu, the, 38. 

Wapentake, 73. 

Warbeck, Perkin, personates 
Richard, duke of York, 
234-237. 

Warburton, bishop, 611. 

Wardle, colonel, 676. 

Wardship (feudal), 128. 

AVarehousing system, 740. 

Wargaum, battle, 639. 

Warham, archbishop of Can- 
terbury and chancellor, 
244. 

Warrenne, earl, 152. Gover- 
nor of Scotland, 158. De- 
feated by Wallace, 160. 

Wars, private, 126. 

Warwick, Guy de Beau- 
champ, earl of, 163. 

, earl of, grandson, 

banished by Richard II., 
188. 

, Richard Nevil, earl 

of, tutor of Henry VI., 
201. The Kingmaker, 
207. Flies to Calais, 210. 
Defeated at St. Albans, 
211. Victorious at Tow ton, 
214. Alienated by Edward 
lV.'s marriage, 215. Agree- 
ment with queen Margaret, 
ib. Invades England, 216. 
Proclaims Henry VI., ib. 
Regent, ib. Slain at Bar- 
net, 217. 

, Edward Plantagenet, 

earl of, imprisoned, 231. 
Led through London, 232. 
Beheaded, 237. 

, earl of (Dudley), op- 
poses Somerset, 278. Earl 
marshal, ib. Becomes 
duke of Northumberland, 
280 (see Northumberland). 

, Robert Rich, earl of, 

parliamentary general, re- 
signs, 408. His grandson 
marries Cromwell's daugh- 
ter, 445. 

Washington, George, ap- 
pointed commander-in- 
chief by the Americans, 
619, 621, 629. 

Washington, American cap- 
ital, taken, 689. 

Waterloo, battle, 690. 

Watling Street, 13, 45. 

Watt, James, 739. 

Wealas (" Welsh kind "), 35. 

Wedderburn, solicitor-gene- 
ral, 617. Made chief 
justice and lord Lough- 
borough, 627. Retires, 
657. 

Wcdgewood, 739. 

Weights and measures, 137. 

Wellesley, marquess (lord 
Mornington), foreign secre- 
tary, 679, 682. Governor- 
general of India, 717. 



Wellington. 

Wellington, duke of (sir Ar- 
thur Wellesley), at Copen- 
hagen, 672. In Peninsula, 
671. Superseded, 675. 
Resumes command, 677. 
Invades Spain, ib. At 
Talavera, ib. Made vis- 
count Wellington, ib. Oc- 
cupies Torres Vedras, 680. 
Defeats Massena, 682. 
Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, 
683. Advance into Spain, 
ib. Defeats Marmont, ib. 
Enters Madrid, ib. Re- 
tires, 684. Grant to, 685. 
Re-enters Spain, ib. En- 
ters France, 686. Pursues 
Soult, ib. Made duke, 

689. Grant to, ib. Opinion 
on Bonaparte's escape, 

690. Defeats him at 
Waterloo, 691. Master- 
general of ordnance, 694. 
Resigns, 698. Premier, 
699. Duel with earl of Win- 
chelsea, 701. Death and 
character, 712. Achieve- 
ments in India, 717. 

" Welsh kind " (Weal as), 35 

Wends, or Slavonians, 59. 

Wentworth, Peter, sent to 
the Tower, 330. 

, sir Thomas, leader of 

the commons, 363. Made 
earl of Strafford and minis- 
ter, 372 (see Strafford). 

, general, 584. 

Wergild, what, 74. 

Wesley, John, 743. 

West, admiral, 598. 

Saxons (Wessex), 

kingdom of, 27. 

Westminster Abbey, 32, 66. 

Hall, 98. 

Westmoreland, earl of, con- 
spires to liberate the queen 
of Scots, 307 (see Neville). 

Wharton, earl of, 560, 563. 

, duke of, 576. 

Whig, origin of name, 487. 

Whitbread, Mr., 665. Im- 
peaches lord Melville, 666. 

White, colonel, ejects the 
Harebone's parliament, 439. 

, bishop of Peterborough, 

507. 

Whitebread, Jesuit, 485. 

Whitelock, account of Straf- 
ford's behaviour, 384. 

Whitfield, Rev. G., 743. 

Whitgift, archbishop of 
Canterbury, character, 315. 

Whitworth, lord, insulted 
by Bonaparte, 664. 

Wibbandun, battle, 31. 

Wic-gerefa (town - reeve), 
76. 

Wickliffe, John, 190 sq. 

Wiglaf, king of Mercia, 37. 

Wihtgar, 27. 



INDEX. 

Wilberforce, AVilliam, 671. 

Wilkes, writes against lord 
Bute, 607. Arrested, 610. 
Duel, 611. Outlawed, ib. 
Returned for Middlesex, 
615. Sentence and riot, 
ib. Popularity, ib. Ex- 
pelled, ib. Active against 
the Gordon rioters, 626. 

William I., duke of Nor- 
mandy (the Conqueror), 
63, 81. Obtains an oath 
from Harold, 65. De 
mands the crown from 
him, 67. Defeats Harold 
at Hastings, 69. Enters 
London, 82. Reign of, 
81-93. 

II., reign of, 95-98. 

III., reign of, 521-544. 

IV., reign of, 701-706. 

William Longsword, duke of 
Normandy, 80. 

, son of Robert of Nor- 
mandy, 101. 

, son of Henry I., 101. 

William,dukeofGuienne, 97. 

William of Poitiers, account 
of English nobility, 85. 

William the Lion, of Scot- 
land, invades England, 118. 

William, archbishop of Can- 
terbury, 103. 

William I. of Prussia, elected 
German emperor, 728. 

Williams, general, defends 
Kars, 716. 

Willis, Dr., 641. 

Wilmington, lord (see 
Compton). 

Wilson, sir Robert, 677. 

, general, 720. 

Winchelsea, lord, resigns, 
588. 

, earl of, duel with Wel- 
lington, 701. 

Winchester palace, 93. 

Windebank, sir F., secretary 
absconds, 381. 

Windsor castle, how built, 
182. 

Winter, Thomas, engages in 
gunpowder plot, 348, 350. 

Winton Ceaster (Venta Bel- 
garum), Winchester, 27. 

"Wiseman, cardinal, 712. 

Wishart, burnt, 275. 

Witena-gemot, 72. 

Witnesses, judicial, when 
first summoned, 150. 

Witt, de, admiral, 436. 

, pensionary, 461. Ne- 
gotiates with Temple, 466. 
Murdered, 469. 

Wlencing, 26. 

Woden, 23. 

Wodesbeorg, battle, 31. 

Wolfe, general, 601. Expe- 
dition against Quebec, 603. 
Dies victorious, ib. 



807 

York. 

Wolseley, sir Garnet, 730. 

Wolsey, cardinal, 242. 
Obtains the revenues of 
Tournay, 243. Arch- 
bishop of York, etc., 244. 
Magnificence of, ib. Treaty 
with Francis, 245. Legate, 
etc., ib. Gained by Charles 
V., 247. Expostulates 
with the commons, 248. 
Inclines to Francis I., 249. 
Tries the king's divorce 
case, 251. Disgraced, 252. 
Condemned, but pardoned, 
253. Charged with high 
treason, 254. Death, ib. 
Founded Christ Church, 
Oxon, 272. 

Wolves, extirpated, 53. 

Wood's halfpence, 576. 

Woodstock, manor of, con- 
ferred on Marlborough, 553. 

Woodville, Elizabeth (lady 
Grey), marries Edward IV., 
215. Takes sanctuary, 
220. 

Wool, grant of, 172. 

Woollen manufacture, 226. 

Worcester, earl of, revolts 
against Henry IV., 194 
Beheaded, ib. 

-, battles, 399, 433. 

Wotton, Dr., 295. 

Wren, sir Christopher, 519. 

Wriothesley, chancellor, 
270. Executor, 273. Cre- 
ated earl of Southampton, 
274 (see Southampton). 

Writs, established by Magna 
Carta, 137. 

Wulstan, bishop of Worces- 
ter, 87. 

Wiirtemburg, a kingdom, 
666. 

Wyatt's insurrection, 285 
Executed, 286. 

Y. 

Yarmouth, countess of (So- 
phia de Walmoden), 582. 

, lord, 670. 

Yonge, sir William, 588. 

York, archbishopric founded, 
34. Cathedral, ib. Coun- 
cil at, 380. Taken by the 
Roundheads, 406. 

, archbishop of, rebels 

against Henry VII., 263 
(see Scrope). 

, duke of, guardian, joins 

Henry of Lancaster, 188. 

., Richard, duke of, re- 
gent of France, 205. His 
claim to the English crown, 
207. Marches on London, 
209. Gains the battle of 
St. Albans, ib. Killed at 
Wakefield, 211. 

, Edward, duke of (Ed- 
ward IV.), gains the battle 



808 

York. 

of Mortimer's Cross, 211. 
Proclaimed king, ib. 

York, Richard, duke of, son 
of Edward IV., murdered, 
221. Inquiry into his 
death, 235. 

1 , duke of (James II.), 

marries Anne Hyde, 465. A 
Roman catholic, 458. Im- 
proves naval tactics, 460. 
Defeats the Dutch atSoulh- 
wold Bay, 468. Resigns 
command, 470. Marries 
Mary of Modena, 471. Ex- 
empted from parliament- 



INDEX. 

ary test, 481. Retires to 
Brussels, 483. High com- 
missioner in Scotland, 486. 
Cruelty, ib. Conspiracy 
against, 493. Restored as 
admiral, 496 (see James 
II.). 
York, Frederick, duke of, 
lands at Ostend, 644. Nar- 
row escape, 646. Resigns 
command, ib. Expedition 
to Holland, and capitula- 
tion, 654. Colonel Wardle's 
charges against, 676. Re- 
signs commandership, ib. 



Zutphen. 

Reinstated, 681. His oath' 

698. Death, ib. 
York, cardinal, the young 

Pretender's brother, 596. 
York Place, Wolsey's palace 

(Whitehall). 252. 

Town, capitulates, 629. 

Young, gives evidence against 

Marlborough, 531. 

Z. 

Zuleistein, 509, 523. 
Zurich, treaty of, 722. 
Zutphen, battle, 317. 



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